Storm warning

So what many social media sceptics fear can actually happen - friends and followers on social networks can suddenly act as critics and unleash a storm of protest that a company can hardly escape and find it difficult to get away without damaging its reputation. We call this phenomenon a ≪hitstorm≫ and in a Werbewoche survey, social media practitioners agreed that it will happen more frequently in future. The first such case occurred in our country at the end of August, which was campaigned for and picked up on by the mass media. Sportswear manufacturer Mammut, Sunrise and other companies were attacked because they had signed up to the Economiesuisse business association's list of opponents of the CO₂ Act. They all retreated, albeit with varying degrees of speed, and the list has since been taken down.

Mammut has over 60,000 fans on Facebook and some of them disliked the commitment against the CO₂ law because it contradicted the super-ecological corporate philosophy that was actively communicated to the outside world. After a day, the situation was reassessed and classified as critical due to the growing number of comments, as PR manager Harald Schreiber recalls. In consultation with the management, it was decided to withdraw from the list, whereupon the mood of the users turned positive. Anyone looking for traces of the storm today and scrolling through the public entries on the Mammut Facebook page must be careful not to overlook the few relevant posts. Schreiber confirms that it was around fifty commenters who forced the mammoth to make a U-turn. So did they capitulate too early? Schreiber says no, because it was not possible to estimate whether the ≪Shitstorm≫ would spread and possibly last for weeks, which is why he opted for early damage limitation.

Over a dozen social media practitioners took part in the Werbewoche survey and around half of them were able to report examples of criticism that had been heaped on their fans on Facebook. These were spontaneous expressions of displeasure that soon died down and therefore did not cause any major waves. However, when a campaign is conducted in a targeted and professional manner, different rules apply. This becomes clear when talking to the creator of the CO₂ campaign: Andreas Freimuller, a campaign consultant, manages such campaigns professionally, but in the case of Mammut ≪he spent five hours≫acting out of his own interests. ≪That's the joke of social media≫, he tells Werbewoche, ≪you have to mobilize very few people to achieve a big impact≫. Otherwise, to build up a comparable momentum, you really had to put manpower into it and commission two or three people to do it professionally. Social media is much more effective, so you can also do it as a hobby. However, social media is overrated for campaign management and campaigns could not only be successfully managed via this channel. ≪Social media is important for drawing attention to an issue and getting into the mass media, after that it is no longer of much value, because a thousand people clicking a button is worth less than ten people calling the company and raising the issue in person. As with a classic campaign strategy, relationships with politicians, associations and journalists are also needed, as well as other supporting messages such as videos that can be distributed virally. This reveals a mindset and approach that not all communication professionals are familiar with. Anyone who tries to ride out a ≪hitstorm≫ using traditional methods (such as appeasing press releases) or hopes to get rid of it by flooding their pinboard with their own messages, for example, is playing into the hands of the opposing camp: such a clumsily stubborn approach is perceived as an insult by the activists, as points of criticism are not addressed seriously and individually. This provides ammunition to prolong the campaign.

When asked what tips he would give his opponents, Freimuller outlines these three points:

1. planning: In order to avoid counterproductive knee-jerk reactions, such as deleting posts or blocking the pinboard, preparations for crisis communication must also include social media. It is best to run through various scenarios and, above all, the management team must be familiar with social media so that decisions can be made quickly and reactions can be swift.

2. powers: Social media supervisors need more authority than they typically have today. In order to be able to react quickly, they must be able to comment independently on the content of critical issues. Because even if there is disagreement, it is important to communicate with each other in a dialog and not stubbornly stonewall with standard statements.

3. company management: Communication managers should be involved in company decisions so that they can point out potential areas of attack at an early stage and take precautions to eliminate or minimize them.

These points relate to the strategic/tactical level and therefore differ from much of the advice on the topic of ≪shitstorms≫, which focuses on the operational level. This is because the often recommended prompt, honest and direct dialog, including on critical aspects of business policy, is not possible at the push of a button in the event of a crisis if the company is not fundamentally prepared for this and has aligned its corporate culture accordingly. Simon Marquard from Kuoni, for example, concludes: "It is important that the company remains true to itself and can always keep the promise of its own brand to its stakeholders, on social media and in all other areas." This is because social media offers a large target area, which is why such campaigns could be repeated in the future. Marcel Hartlein, Head of Online Properties at KPMG in Zurich, shares this view: ≪In principle, most companies are vulnerable.≫ He points to the particular challenges of reputation protection and risk management, which he sees in the sheer degree of dissemination and electronic memory on the internet. And Oliver Kneier, Project Manager at Valora Retail, says: ≪We often find that attacks are indeed staged. The community is getting stronger and you have to expect a loss of communication control≫. This is because dealing with a community is ≪continually different than via traditional communication channels, especially more direct≫. Christoph J.
Walther

> More on the topic of shitstorms (PDF)