Avoiding the piranhas: social media crisis strategies

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Here’s the thing about social media – when it’s all going your way, it’s fantastic. It feels like you – and your biz – are surrounded by a personal cheer squad.

But when it goes wrong – as it often does – it’s a whole other ball game. Just ask the farmers behind Fleurieu Milk and Yogurt Company, who are probably ruing the day they jumped on the social media bandwagon without robust social media crisis strategies in place.

Last week, this small local dairy company was the target of anti-Muslim propagandists who claimed the Halal certification that the company paid for in order to supply the airline, Emirates, was somehow funding terrorism.

(When I first became aware of the story, a quick check of Google showed that the “halal-certification-funds-terrorism” was nothing more than a conspiracy theory)

After a sustained attack from these bullies, the company opted to drop the certification – losing a $50,000 contract, and, unfortunately raising the ire of people accusing the company of bowing to pressure from a racist vocal minority.

Fleurieu Milk and Dairy’s Facebook page became a war of words between the bullies and those angry at the company for letting the bigots win.

The company has now taken down its Facebook page.

I feel nothing but empathy for a small business who was the target of such a sustained, misinformed attack (which came on top of them losing a valued employee in a horrific car accident).

But it also provides another valuable lesson to all the small businesses out there who paddle in the social media pool – unaware it is full of piranhas.

While Fleurieu Milk claims that the loss of the Emirates contract is no big deal in terms of the company bottom line, it’s hard to quantify the damage that has been done through lack of social media crisis strategies.

Don’t let it happen to you! Try these simple tips if you find yourself under attack on social media.

Do your research: If you are under sustained attack about a business practice – such as halal certification – it pays to research the subject. In some cases, the naysayers might actually have a point, in which case you can thank them for bringing it to your attention. But if they are peddling falsehoods, you need to address the issue with the facts. Even better, do your research BEFORE making a business decision – weigh up the pros and cons and then ask yourself whether it is something that is likely to garner unwanted attention (and how you might counter such attention).

Find allies: In the case of Fleurieu Milk, the Dairy Farmers Association has been quoted as “disappointed” that the South Australian small business had not gone to it for assistance and advice. A spokesman told the ABC: “This has come back to this small milk company, without the resources to defend themselves, they’ve decided it’s easier to walk away than actually try to defend this. It’s particularly unfair to put that sort of pressure on a small, little milk company that’s just trying to operate … a very good business. Disappointingly this time, Fleurieu didn’t come to us to seek our help but we are there to help.” Although it may not seem like it when you are under attack, but if you have been operating a good business – which by all accounts Fleurieu Milk has done for eight years – there will be people willing to back you, Seek them out and ask for help.

Respond. Once. With facts: When someone posts something negative on your business social media page, acknowledge them, correct any facts and move on. Don’t get into a “he said/she said” argument with a bully – you will never win. See the next point.

Don’t feed the piranhas: If you do choose to get into a public argument on your Facebook page (or any other social media platform) you are just giving the critics air and keeping the topic alive. I used to say the same thing years ago when my bosses had the urge to get into a pissing contest through the newspaper’s letter pages. Let the issue die. And NEVER delete a negative Facebook post – that’s the best way to guarantee they will take their complaint somewhere you can’t control. Remember, you can change your settings to not allow others to post on your wall.

It will pass: It may not seem like it when you are in the eye of a social media storm, but if you refuse to engage with the bullies, they will get bored and move on to another target. And hopefully their new target will have learnt from you how to fend them off.

Unfortunately, by taking down its Facebook page, Fleurieu Milk has lost a valuable marketing avenue. Hopfully, when things dies down, it will be revived and the company will have a social media crisis strategy in place.

At the end of the day, managing a social media crisis is not much different than managing negative media or customer complaints – you just have to move faster!

Till next time

Nicole