Social Media Crisis Management:

Online PR Strategies to Stop Negative Publicity

Recently, Nestle was attacked by Greenpeace and a major social media crisis ensued. They launched a viral video that equated eating a KitKat to killing an orangutan (video). Nestle, unable to contain the rampant Youtube, Facebook, and Twitter chatter decided to simply give in to all of Greenpeace's demands and issued a statement that they will no longer use palm oil harvested from rain forests.

Nestle conceeded to terrorist demands.

What Nestle Should Have Done -- Rapidly

Terrorists always cloak their self-serving agenda under some holy sheep's clothing. In this case, Greenpeace chose an endangered species because eating a twig from an Amazon rain forest tree isn't nearly as sensational as eating an orangutan's finger.

The following facts will help you build a defensive and offensive strategy to rapidly diffuse social media pr crises.

FACTS:

1. Haters, Trolls, and Online Terrorists do not want you to do what they say they want you to do. They just want the attention.
In other words, don't waste your time and resources conceeding to their demands. You'll loose market positioning, market share, and brand sanctity. Even if Nestle had immediately agreed to conceed to Greenpeaces' demands, Greenpeace would have continued to make the issue a bigger frenzy until it gets what it wants -- more charitable donations from gullible foundations and elderly millionaires.

2. There are many good people within any terrorist organization.
Find them using syntax scraping in blogs, Twitter, Facebook, and other social media. Contact them. Win them over by asking how you can help them fulfill their agenda. Ask them to help arm you with internal facts by simply blogging their observations. Consult a law firm regarding FTC and FCC regulations. Encourage whistleblowing.

3. Many executives at the top of any terrorist organization are involved in activities that the social media public would interpret as being corrupt.
Create a strike team that will work 24hours a day to find and reveal corruption within the terrorist organization or mob or forum that is attacking your organization. In the case of Nestle, they should have looked for a Greenpeace executive who plays golf with a Hershey's executive.

4. Even your loyal Facebook friends and Twitter followers don't care about you.
Everyone just wants to see a good fight. Everyone just wants to be entertained and feel a little bit of excitement. The social media world doesn't care whose right or wrong. They care about being entertained. So if you want to spotlight off your company, simply find other companies to share the limelight with. In Nestle's case, find other major corporations like Proctor and Gamble who consume even more palm oil from rain forests and present them to the pirana that is your public.

Remember, if you and your buddy are being chased by a bear in the forest, you don't have to run faster than the bear -- just your buddy.

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