Social media backlash - are you prepared?

Recently I was asked to prepare a small blog for The Ruby Connection with the topic being “Social Media Fab or Flab.” In the blog "An unwilling convert" I came to the conclusion that whilst I am not a compulsive user of social media I do find it useful and can see the various benefits and pitfalls of this communication medium.

When talking with a contact of mine a couple of months ago we got to discussing the risks associated with social media use in the workplace and the increased role its use is playing in reputational crises for organsiations. This discussion was prompted by a recent You Tube video of a Domino’s Pizza employee adding his own “touch” to a pizza. Within hours it was all over the web and social media sites were going nuts over it causing huge damage to Domino’s reputation.

On any given day you can search on sites such as Twitter and find an organisations name and a lament about terrible service, product breakdowns, etc. Just look up your telephone provider on Twitter and guaranteed you will find someone complaining on-line about them. This can happen for good reason or no reason at all.

Does your business have a crisis communications strategy? Does it include social media? Do you have a workplace policy on the appropriate use of social media sites?

Without appropriate communication plans and strategies in place, reacting to media crises before they get out of control becomes exponentially more difficult.

Consider the recent experience of Maclaren in the U.S.A. They have recently had to recall every baby stroller sold in the United States in the past decade (approx 1 million). The purpose is to install a cover for the stroller's hinge mechanism, which is sharp enough to cut through a baby's fingers should they happen to be in the wrong spot as the stroller is opened (12 occurrences).

Maclaren appeared to be very proactive with their approach to managing this crisis by alerting the authorities to the problem and asking their assistance in the recall. They also went public prior to the press getting wind of it advising consumers what and how to have their stroller repaired. The company also included some social media in their response strategies by announcing that they had designed covers for the offending hinges and releasing videos on You-Tube and other sites on how to attach them.

This was a reasonable start but with social media sites the damage starts and spreads like wild fire. There was uproar when consumers could not access the Maclaren website for further information. The site was overloaded with traffic and crashed. To make things a little worse the notification appears in a link on the top of the Maclaren U.S.A. website page with 10 other items in the smallest font - Recall. It is not obvious at all.

This lack of access to information has prompted an even bigger backlash via social media.

Think about how social media can affect your business. What if you had a disgruntled customer that riled up others about a product or a service that you provide – how would you deal with it? Alternatively, what if one of your employees was on-line complaining about the bad day that they had or about you or one of the other workers? Do you have strategies and policies in place to manage these things?

If social media protests can cause a major public relations crisis in a big organisation, imagine the long term effects on a small to medium sized business.

Samantha Ford
Adarna Consulting
www.adarnaconsulting.com.au