Dealing With Negative Comments and Publicity Online
ByGreenpeace vs. Nestle: A Social Media War
What will you do if someone launches a social media grenade?
Witness the public spectacle that developed as Greenpeace supporters became Facebook fans of Nestle in order to flood Nestle’s wall with hateful comments. Nestle’s Community Manager’s attitude toward the first wave of attackers inflamed a whole army of haters who descended on Nestle’s Facebook Page like a swarm of killer bees while the rest of us watched to see how Nestle would respond.
If you’re new to the Nestle-Greenpeace brouhaha, read this blog post detailing the timeline of events, which started March 16, 2010.
There are companies who become fearful of taking their business online through social media after seeing PR nightmares like the recent one Nestle suffered. But since the marketplace, your competitors, and your market have moved online, to refuse to tap into the marketing potential of social media is akin to being afraid to drive a car because you might get into an accident. Yes, there are risks, but if you’re alert and aware of the potential dangers, you can greatly reduce those risks and enjoy considerable rewards. Having a game plan in place for difficult social media situations is like having an up-to-date AAA membership, a good spare tire and a fully-charged cell phone.
We started a discussion about Social Media Wars on New England Multimedia’s Facebook Page and got great feedback from a member of Greenpeace who supported the attack, but didn’t take part. We also heard from the Community Manager for the Rhode Island Blood Center, as well as a social media marketer for a brand whose Facebook Page fans number in the tens of thousands, a blogger, and a consumer.
Some questions we’ve asked, and want to hear your thoughts on:
1) What would you recommend Nestle do in response?
2) What steps do you think should be taken before this happens to a brand?
3) Do you think it’s better to ignore negative comments or go on the offensive?
If you’re on Facebook, feel free to cross-post your comments between the Social Media Wars Discussion there and the comment section here.
Note: Because I want your comment to stand, please read our simple comment policy before replying! Thank-you!
Michelle handles all Social Media for New England Multimedia. You can contact her by email, on our Facebook, or on our Twitter.
Does Nestle actually own that facebook page? If so, why do they not simply delete the nonconstructive comments and face the legitimate concerns head on? If the social media person at Nestle is savvy enough, he/she will be able to handle this relatively simple solution.
On the other hand, if this page was simply created as a “slam” page by a Greenpeace member, it may be copyright infringement. This would make it a slander/libel issue, and either facebook should delete the page or Nestle should take it to the court system in whatever country the perpetrator lives.
…is this an oversimplification? Am I missing something?
Michelle, great post. I think Nestle should have handled the first wave differently. Fueling the fire, so to speak, is never a good idea. As an Internet marketing blogger, I often find myself posting on controversial subjects and that yields 10-20% of the people to take it literally to heart or be offended. I find the best way to handle these situations is to address the concerns of the people that see issue in it. I’ve been known to take things too far from time to time and I’m always willing to go out and make changes if I re-read one of my posts and find that it was unintentionally evil. Regarding your third question, I think it’s best to address those negative comments, however without doing it offensively or defensively. You have to take a neutral ground almost so you are not repeatedly adding fuel to the fire of someone that sees it in a different light. I will always try to explain to someone my side and why I thought it was worth posting, even if they were rude to me about it.
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Brian, thanks for the perspective from a marketing POV. I agree that it’s best to take a neutral stance. Remove your own feelings/emotions from the equation and imagine things from the critics’ POV.
Seek understanding, validate wherever possible, be willing to humble yourself, be teachable.
Thanks for reading and especially commenting!
Michelle for New England Multimedia and Q Web Consulting
http://twitter.com/NEMultimedia
http://facebook.com/NewEnglandMultimedia
Hi, Sandy!
The Facebook Page belongs to Nestle. Greenpeace started a public campaign to put pressure on Nestle to stop using palm oil acquired from deforesting, and some members of Greenpeace joined Nestle’s Facebook Page and started challenging Nestle. Nestle’s Community Manager (the person who updates and handles their Facebook Page) made remarks that added fuel to the fire, including threatening censorship of anyone who was using altered Nestle logos for their profile pictures. A tit-for-tat started, and as the news about the social media war spread in the blogosphere, it attracted more attention and became a PR nightmare for Nestle. Before higher-ups could respond and get control of the situation, the Facebook Page was overwhelmed.
The Community Manager apologized for being rude initially, but the attention was no longer on him by then. People were jumping on the “We Hate Nestle” bandwagon all in the name of orangutans who live in the forests being destroyed. Nestle issued a press release, but nobody cared by then — except Greenpeace and its members!
So glad to see you here! Thanks for commenting!
~Michelle for New England Multimedia and Q Web Consulting
http://twitter.com/NEMultimedia
http://facebook.com/NewEnglandMultimedia
I received an update from Facebook in my news feed this morning and decided to check in on the Greenpeace vs. Nestle saga. Discovered a cleaned-up profile with nothing but Nestle updates and people cheering them on and thought perhaps they’d deleted every trace of the attack.
Then I noticed that Nestle had taken a quiet proactive step — they simply changed their Facebook landing page to “Nestle only”, so visitors to their Facebook don’t see the negativity upon arrival. Their most recent update concerns an environmental action they’re taking to reduce packaging in the UK.
~Michelle Quillin for New England Multimedia and Q Web Consulting
http://facebook.com/NewEnglandMultimedia
http://twitter.com/NEMultimedia
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