It’s been said that all publicity is good publicity. But is that really true in the age of social media marketing?
“Buzz”. Pure and simple. That’s probably one of the biggest benefits that a company or organization can gain from participating in social media networks. The public relations and branding value of good “buzz” – a.k.a. word-of-mouth, is worth its weight in gold.
So what happens if the “buzz” out there turns sour and your brand is being criticized or ridiculed all over the net?
Well, with the rampant popularity of social networks, it was just a matter of time before those kinds of stories made the news.
Two examples come to mind: One American story and one local.
This recent story in the Chicago Sun-Times made international news:
“Horizon Group Management LLC filed a lawsuit claiming libel against Twitter user Amanda Bonnen today, requesting $50,000 in damages. Bonnen, who reportedly (had approximately) 20 followers on Twitter at the time, posted the following tweet (short message) complaining about the company on May 12, 2009:
“@JessB123 You should come over anyway. Who said sleeping in a moldy apartment was bad for you? Horizon really thinks it’s okay”
Shortly after that tweet got out, Jeffrey Michael, a representative of the Horizon realty group told a Chicago Sun-Times reporter, that the company would take legal action against Bonnen. He also verified that Bonnen had since moved out and that Horizon had never had a conversation with her about the Twitter post or asked her to remove it. The Horizon spokesperson said,
“We’re a sue first, ask questions later kind of an organization.”
Accordingly, the lawsuit is the first case claiming libel due to defaming statements made on Twitter. .. the complaint claims that Bonnen “maliciously and wrongfully published the false and defamatory Tweet on Twitter, thereby allowing the Tweet to be distributed throughout the world.”
How ironic! Bonnen’s Twitter account was soon discontinued and her 20 followers would have quickly forgotten her “tweet” about Horizon and moved on. But the announcement of this lawsuit only served to pour gasoline on the media firestorm, causing even more of the public to revile the Chicago realtor.
Horizon has since tried to downplay Jeffrey Michael’s somewhat cavalier remark saying it was meant “tongue-in-cheek”. But the public relations damage has been done.
Enter the Twitter Backlash
What is a Twitter Backlash? Deborah Alridge describes a Twitter backlash as the phenomenon by which “a tweet goes viral after a member of the Twitter community is harmed by someone….anyone…without good cause. Suddenly, thousands of twitterers and millions of their followers are slamming you, spreading your name like wildfire across the web.”
Alridge adds:
“I’m sure right now, Horizon Realty wishes they had just fixed the mold, because if you are trending anywhere in the top 10 of Twitter, there are literally MILLIONS of tweets going out about you every minute. Greater people than a lowly Chicago realtor have been done irreparable harm by a Twitter backlash storm.”
In Ontario, Canada, we’ve recently read in the Record about the University of Waterloo’s rebranding efforts which include the redesign of their university logo. Suffice it to say, the initial reaction to the new logo has been far from positive.
One group of UW students and alumni felt so strongly opposed to their university’s new logo that they registered their opposition to it on Facebook within days. They complained that they should have had input into the design and felt that they had been kept out of the loop. To date, the “Students and Alumni Against the New University of Waterloo Logo” Facebook group has grown to over 7,000 members.
Since the new logo was leaked two months early from the time it was scheduled to launch, the snowballing negative attention and media coverage from forums like Facebook have resulted in the kind of “buzz” that no institution would welcome.
Unlike the Horizon management, however, it does appear that the UW administration has attempted to do damage control by engaging in a discussion with the disgruntled Facebook group. It remains to be seen how successful these public relations efforts will prove.
Instant Market Research
Companies and institutions that want to be where their customers or constituents are, have to navigate through uncharted social media channels in order to gain brand exposure and hear what they think.
Well deployed and managed social media tools can be an incredible means by which brand or product criticisms can be transformed into constructive feedback or instant market research which, in turn, can lead to product or service improvement.
Humans are innately social creatures. Whether a tenant, a university student or a customer, we all just want to be heard. When we are able to freely express our opinions and feel listened to, the good-will that creates can only help to contribute to “good buzz.”
Photo Credit: The Record
Your comments on this blog are welcome. Do you think there is such a thing as “bad publicity”?
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