How to: deal with social media hijacking
- Kate Hennessy
- 13 October 2009
Guiding you through the scenarios is Mike Crebar, creative director at digital agency Pusher, and Sean O'Byrne, integrated communications director at public relations company Mark Communications.
Hijacking
So, what exactly is a campaign hijacking?
"It's when consumers misrepresent a brand, a persona within a campaign, or an element of a campaign," says Crebar. They can also "outright cheat or sabotage your marketing efforts".
While it's usually bigger companies that are most vulnerable to malicious campaign hijacking (Starbucks, Burger King and Doritos are all recent high-profile examples), any company can be at risk.
"Make sure that before you open the door for consumers to honestly express themselves in relation to your brand, that you have cleaned out any skeletons in the cupboard," says Crebar. "Or at least have a solid and real solution in the pipeline for any social issue that may harm your brand."
Monitor your online campaign constantly after it's launched, or hire someone to monitor it.
Crebar kept constant vigil over the disasterous Samboy chips campaign
but was still surprised by how fast things moved.
"With all the tools available to encourage sharing, and mainstream media now led by online chatter, a campaign can change directions rapidly."
If your campaign is hijacked, however, here's a guide to get you through the worst.
1. Don't panic
Try to view it from a consumer's point of view, says Crebar. Is it funny? Serious? Who cares? O'Byrne adds that it's important to have a very strong and easy-to-deploy reaction statement ready to go.
2. Contact them
Crebar advises you to get in touch with the person or party hijacking your campaign and acknowledge them via the same blog, book, feed or space they are operating from. Consider releasing your reaction statement using a friendly and influential social media commentator, adds O'Byrne.
3. Find an agency
If it's serious, urgent, potentially disastrous, or could be leveraged in a positive way, find an agency to help, Crebar advises. O'Byrne believes you should acknowledge the groundswell against your campaign, but think of a creative solution that allows you to leverage the activity and interest. Sometimes all it takes to help turn a story around is engaging some key influencers with the right story or more information.
And take heart. The most common hijackings are friendly, says Crebar.
"They usually occur when consumers take the reigns of a fun idea and rally behind it with their friends." #
