FROM TINY INCIDENT TO BIG CRISIS IN A FLASH
Thought of the Month: Avoid the “Hoovers” in your life. These are the people who are always negative and complaining. They suck all of your energy and joy. They see the glass half empty and spill the rest.
For those of my subscribers who are, like me, squarely in the over 55 age category, you probably aren’t going to want to hear this. But there is no getting around it. If you care about the reputation of your organization, you must become familiar with today’s social media communications tools. Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, Twitter, etc. cannot be foreign to you. You better find a way to be prepared to use them quickly, especially if you come under attack on any of them.
There are many examples of people who have found instant fame on YouTube. (If you haven’t heard of the latest, Susan Boyle, just search her name on www.YouTube.com. I promise it will raise your spirits.) Sadly, there are also many examples of companies who have suddenly found themselves painted in very negative terms in a video posted there or talked about in the most unflattering terms on Twitter or Facebook.
A dramatic recent example involves the Domino’s food chain. On a Monday, two employees (bored or disgruntled or just stupid?) filmed themselves as they did a number of gross and disgusting things to food they were preparing, supposedly for delivery. Then they posted it on YouTube. By Wednesday, it had been viewed by more than a million people. When “Domino’s” was Googled, five of the twelve listings on the first page referred to this repugnant video clip. Discussions about it spread through Twitter postings.
Senior company executives learned about the video on Tuesday when a blogger who writes for Consumerist.com alerted them. They were able to use clues from the video to trace the franchise involved to Conover, NC. The franchise owner immediately fired the two employees. To his credit, he quickly called in the local health department, who advised him to throw out all open containers of food. He did. But corporate executives decided not to respond aggressively, evidently hoping that the controversy would die a quick death.
In retrospect, those executives wish they had taken it more seriously. Domino’s spokesperson, Tim McIntyre, said, “What we missed was the perpetual mushroom effect of viral sensations.” Significant reputation damage was done. Mr. McIntyre said he heard that even some loyal customers of 10-20 years were second-guessing their relationship with the company. And a research firm, YouGov, which conducts daily on-line consumer surveys about hundreds of brands, found that the perception of Domino’s went from positive to
negative in just a few days.
Certainly there have been negative stories about fast food restaurants in the past. (Remember the alleged finger in Wendy’s chili?) What sets the Domino’s incident apart and makes it absolutely chilling is the lightning speed with which these stories spread and how wide they reach.
All this means that you must be ever vigilant to what is being said about you on the Internet in all of its many forms. I used to tell clients to Google their company’s name on a regular basis — maybe once or twice a week. Now I have to say you should do it daily and also monitor Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter. This is especially true if your organization has high visibility or you or your industry have been involved in a recent controversy. Forewarned is forearmed, as they say. If you don’t know bad things are being said about you, you’ll really be behind the 8-ball. The further behind the story you get, the harder it will be to get your side of the story heard and believed.
You also have to be able to respond quickly — within hours — to the attack. Don’t stop at posting your rebuttal on your own website. (You ARE ready to do that without having to call your IT expert in at midnight, aren’t you? Remember those “dark pages” I’ve recommended in the past?) You also have to get to those social networking sites where the charges were posted and the others where the story will be picked up. If you don’t know how to do that, go get a 20-30 year old and find out NOW! And research
what other websites or social networking sites are popular in your industry (like Domino’s used Consumerist.com). You may have a trade association that could be helpful. The more places your story is posted, the better the chance that your side will also appear when your organization’s name is Googled.
No doubt about it — it’s a scary world out there! Remember when we just had to worry about the deadlines for newspapers and TV news shows? Now it’s a 24/7 world. But you can respond to the challenge — I know you can. Even if you are over 55!
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SPECIAL NOTE: Celebrate with me! When I first published my book, I set a goal to have it used by a half dozen colleges or universities. Last month I received an order from Kansas State University which made it the ninth institution of higher learning that has used it as a text or supplemental reading. To celebrate, I’m offering my readers a copy at the same price I offer to the college students — $14.95 (a 25% discount off list price). Just let me know by e-mail that you’d like a copy of “Keeping Cool on the
Hot Seat: Dealing Effectively with the Media in Times of Crisis” and provide me with your snail-mail address.
Until next month…KEEP COOL!
