5 TIPS TO HELP BRAND MANAGERS SURVIVE SOCIAL MEDIA MOBS
Christine Comey Lewis
Social media users are a tough crowd . They can be quick to praise or share a funny cat video , but similarly also fast to criticize or vent . There is strength in numbers , and like-minded people can quickly activate others to align with their mindset and validate these frustrations against brands or people on social media .
Here are five tips to help you survive an online backlash : 1 . Avoid being defensive . This is one of the key rules to avoiding social media regret in general . No good can come from being defensive or pointing fingers . Own your mistakes , or at least accept the possibility that one exists and that you are taking the proper steps to evaluate the situation .
The Honest Co . recently earned negative backlash on social media from users posting pictures of their sunburned skin after using the company ’ s sunscreen . Rather than expressing empathy for these unhappy customers , the company first posted a defensive statement that backed up how its product was created and explained the proper directions on how to use the product . Doing so implied that the customers that are complaining did not correctly apply the sunscreen and , while this may be true , the real reason for the sunburns has yet to be proven . The company later switched gears and posted a new statement with a more understanding and sympathetic tone , promising to “… do what it takes to make it right .” 2 . Apologize and mean it . If you make a mistake , own it . There is nothing worse than the non-apology apology . There is a tremendous difference between saying , “ I ’ m sorry that you were offended ” versus “ I ’ m sorry that I offended you .” Your audience will smell the insincerity of a non-apology apology a mile away .
Taylor Swift did this flawlessly following a Twitter war with Nicki Minaj that made headlines after she mistakenly thought that a tweet by Nicki was aimed at her . Realizing her mistake she tweeted , “ I thought I was being called out . I missed the point , I misunderstood , then misspoke . I ’ m sorry , Nicki .” 3 . Be inclusive , not isolating of your target audience . As a new mother of an 8-month old , I can absolutely appreciate the frustrations that people have with the Bugaboo bikini ad featuring a model running in a bikini pushing a toddler in one of its strollers . While admittedly a high end luxury brand that is not accessible to the average mom , the brand isolated its target mom audience by being insensitive to how new mothers are notoriously self-conscious about their bodies .
As InkHouse ’ s own Beth Monaghan wrote on Fortune . com , “ Reaching a target audience is contingent upon understanding the passions and fears of its member – it ’ s about solving their problems . Bugaboo ’ s posts exacerbated a problem rather than solving it . They forgot the emotional journey a mother travels on her way back to feeling attractive again .” 4 . Be authentic and true to your brand . Authenticity is the only way to build brand credibility on social media . We are starting to see this play out with influencers pushing big brands on social media . Many are even starting to pull back and be more selective about which brands ( if any ) they plug to avoid criticism from their followers . 5 . Engage with negative comments ( respectfully ). Have a plan in place to respond and engage with any criticism . This is the best way to show your target audience that you care about their concerns and want to make an honest connection .
When CVS announced its plan to stop selling cigarettes last year , not surprisingly there were haters that criticized that they would still continue to sell unhealthy products like junk food and alcohol . The company took the time to individually respond to each critical comment with polite brevity explaining its decision . Do you have any other tips to help brands navigate social media backlash ?
Christine Comey Lewis is an account director at Inkhouse PR . A version of this post originally appeared on the Inkhouse blog . Culled from : http :// www . prdaily . eu
46 | PRTIMES AFRICA MARCH 2016