The document discusses several examples of social media crises experienced by major brands and what can be learned from their mistakes. It describes crises caused by an accidental inappropriate tweet by Chrysler, Kenneth Cole insensitively hijacking a hashtag about political unrest in Egypt, and Nestle attempting to censor criticism online. However, it also provides a positive example of how the Red Cross defused a crisis caused by an accidental pro-drinking tweet through their quick, honest, and humanized response. The key lessons are that brands must participate in social media conversations, respect consumers, and have a crisis response plan to address issues sensitively and promptly.

1. Social media horror stories…
and what we can learn
Presented by: Wendy Schollum
March 2011

2. Whose company uses social media as part of
their marketing?

3. Who thinks they shouldn’t use social media
because of online brand attacks?

4. Where ever you can amplify a message
someone will inevitably accidentally amplify the…

5. In the past, this may have been…

6. Now, we have social media...

7. An estimated two thirds of the global population
use social media…

9. Today, we’re going to discuss:
• Real world social media crisis’.
• How big brands reacted.
• What the fallout was.
• What we can learn from their mistakes.

10. Common causes of social media disasters…
• Lack of representation online.
• Accidental opinion.
• Insensitive statement or action.
• Trying to censor opinions online.

11. Are you AWOL online?

12. The danger of a lack of representation online
• Not having a social media presence will not protect
your brand.
• There is less than a 1% chance that your business
won’t be mentioned online in the next 18 months*.
• Two thirds of the global population use social media.
• People talk about business and brand experiences
online every day.

13. Online conversations, about
your company, are taking
place online every day…
Whether you realise it, or not…

14. You need to be participating in the
online conversation, to…
• Monitor what’s being said about your
brand.
• Identify and manage potential threats.
…if you don’t control your brand online, someone else will.
• Demonstrate a long history of
professionalism and positive consumer
interactions.
• Develop a loyal following of brand
advocates
…your first defense against negative online press.

15. Social media crisis management,
lesson one…
• Get involved.
• Build an online community of brand
advocates.
• Monitor what’s being said about you
online.

16. Common causes of social media disasters…
• Lack of representation online.
• Accidental opinion.

17. Chrysler Automotives social media crisis…
… an accidental tweet saw Chrysler drop the “f-bomb”.

18. Social media users were outraged…

19. 3 hours later Chrysler posted an apology…
… citing hacking as the reason for the offensive tweet.

20. This lie created a crisis within a crisis…
… as mainstream media picked up the story.

21. What can we learn?
• Know your social media software.
• Be mindful of your digital footprint.
• Never lie to your audience.
It’s ok to make mistakes. It’s not ok to lie online.

22. Common causes of social media disasters…
• Lack of representation online.
• Accidental opinion.
• Insensitive statement or action.

23. The Kenneth Cole insensitivity crisis…

24. Cole hijacked the #Cairo hash tag…
…that was being used globally to monitor updates from Egypt.

25. He took 2 hours to respond to complaints…
…and didn’t actually apologise - despite global outrage.

26. Cole took 5 hours to delete the initial tweet…
…and post an apology. By this stage, the tweet had gone viral.

27. Bloggers and news sites picked up the story…
… a mock Twitter profile was even setup comparing Cole to BP

28. Within hours, the debate hit Facebook…
…exposing Cole’s insensitive promotion to thousands more users.

30. What can we learn?
• Never base your online advertising schemes on
high tension or unstable events.
• Never hijack hash tags on Twitter.
• In a “sensitivity crisis” be one of the first to admit
your mistake and make sure you apologise.
• Don’t try to hide from a crisis.
• Don’t try to fight popular opinion. On social media,
the user is always right.

31. Common causes of social media disasters…
• Lack of representation online.
• Accidental opinion.
• Insensitive statement or action.
• Trying to censor opinions online.

32. Nestle’s social media crisis…
…started with an online argument with Greenpeace.

33. A bloody Nestle product commercial parody …
…exposed Nestle’s use of palm oil in their products.

34. Nestle took action to have the video banned…
…accidentally declaring war on online freedom of speech.

35. Greenpeace re-released the video…
…along with an online and offline anti-Nestle campaign.

36. The Nestle Facebook page was hijacked…
…with comments from consumers, demanding they stop using palm oil.

37. Nestle started responding to users…
…but only to demand users adhere to unreasonable rules, on their page.

38. Nestle started publically fighting with users…
…which only further encouraged protesters to attack their page.

39. What did Nestle do wrong?
• They petitioned to get the Greenpeace YouTube video
(with only 1,000 views) banned.
This only drew attention to it – resulting in over 1.5 million
views (just 2 months after the video was banned).
• They ignored consumer opinion and deleted Facebook
comments they didn’t like.
• They went silent when things got really bad – leaving
Greenpeace with all the press coverage.

40. A social media crisis with a happy ending…
…started with an accidental tweet.

41. A pro binge drinking tweet was up for an hour…
…before the Red Cross Director of social media was woken (at 1am).

42. A humorous response to concerns was posted…
…which immediately defused the situation and reassured users.

43. After discovering the Red Cross “slip”…
…Dogfish encouraged their followers to donate to the Red Cross.

44. Users were also motivated by beer stockists…
…who offered a free pint of beer if they donated a blood pint (to ARC)

45. The Red Cross embraced the online chatter…
…by setting up a web page dedicated to Dogfish drinker donations

46. This is how to handle a crisis well…
…speed, honesty and “humanising” the brand saved the Red Cross.

47. The common theme…
• Participation in social media is mandatory.
• Education is imperative.
• Having a social media crisis plan is essential.
• Respect is the key.

48. Want to know more?
• Call: +64 (0)6 834 2482.
• Email: support@xplore.net
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