Xenophon Strategies

The Muzzle Doesn't Work in Social Media

Matt Meenan

Clients often ask us how they should respond to negative comments online. Do you engage? Does responding elevate the claim being made and possibly make a small issue bigger? If the comment is on your Facebook page – do you just delete it? If it’s on a third-party Web site, should you report it or ask for it to be removed?

There are no hard-and-fast answers -- you need to assess situations on a case-by-case basis. But, in every situation, you want to avoid being heavy-handed in how you respond. Nothing can blow up in your face more quickly than a clumsy, dismissive response to negative commentary online, much less trying to censor your critics.

Nestlé recently learned this lesson, the hard way, following a coordinated attack of their Facebook fan page by Greenpeace activists upset with their use of palm oil in certain products.

From The Wall Street Journal:

“Thousands of protesters swarmed onto Facebook and Twitter and shared the video across the Web. Some Facebook users replaced their profile pictures with the "Killer" logo and posted negative comments about Nestlé on its Facebook fan page. The postings continue, with many of them encouraging a boycott of Nestlé products, but the number peaked last week, according to Nielsen Co.

In the protest's first days, Nestlé asked Google's YouTube video site to remove the mock commercial, citing copyright infringement, Ms. Backes says. YouTube pulled the video, but it continued to spread on the Web.

Nestlé also told Facebook users it would delete their comments from its Facebook page if they included the altered logo. Social-media experts say that only incited the protesters. Nestlé's fan base on Facebook, now mostly protesters, swelled to more than 95,000.”

Ouch.

Unfortunately for Nestlé, their fan page has now basically been high-jacked by the activists. It will be interesting to see if the protest group loses steam over time or if Nestlé cries “uncle” and closes down the page for good.

What you need to remember is this - If you open yourself up by engaging fans and supporters online, you need to be ready and willing to engage your critics too. And, when you do engage, manage with diplomacy.  Trying to muzzle, or censor, your critics will only fuel their desire to harm your brand.

Tweet this link

« return to blog | Apr 1, 2010 | reputation and issues management | social media