What happens when social media turns against itself?

By Rebecca Penz

Social media is the new black. Everybody’s wearing it: corporations, individuals, even five year-olds are learning to navigate through the unlimited, uncontrolled world of the internet. The potential to access billions of people at minimal expense is a temptation that few organizations can or should ignore.

But what happens when social media turns against you. The ability to access billions of people can turn into managing the thunder of those same billions when things go terribly wrong. The online world has changed the way people act. Children are no longer seen and not heard, not online anyway. Free expression is all the rage. Don’t have an opinion, don’t bother coming online. And so, public scrutiny of ad campaigns and business activities is at an all-time high. Social media empowers individuals to connect with other individuals. When those individuals unite over a cause, they create one loud voice.

Motrin gets a massive headache
A major faux-pas by Motrin brought on the vitriol of its audience. Motrin posted an ad on its website targeting moms with new babies (see YouTube video link). The ad suggested that even though baby-wearing has major benefits for the baby, it is a major source of back and neck pain for mothers. Motrin did not anticipate the large scale rebellion from the middle class mothers of America. Within a few hours of the post, there was widespread blogging about the ad. By that evening, it was the most tweeted subject on Twitter. And by the following morning, rebuttal videos starring angry moms were posted on YouTube including a nine-minute video played to the tune of Danny Boy. Motrin’s greatest mistake was underestimating the passion that mothers have for the health of their babies (in this case the benefits of babywearing). Motrin ended up pulling the ad and apologizing, and only time will tell what the impact will be on the brand.

Sony and the tech savvy:
In YouTube’s early years, numerous companies posted uncredited videos in an effort to start viral marketing campaigns. Sony posted a video featuring two adults making a rap video about how much they wanted a Playstation portable for Christmas (See YouTube video link). Sony apparently forgot the tech savvy nature of their target audience. The blogosphere called them to account. Within weeks, Sony made a public apology to its consumers for misleading them. But despite their best efforts, Sony will never be able to erase the memory of this mistake. New postings of disgust and ridicule still pop up weekly.

Facebook makes an about face
You would think those in the business of developing the technologies would be savvy enough to steer clear. Not so. When Facebook changed their terms of service (see YouTube video link) and proclaimed ownership of all things posted on Facebook even after deletion by the poster, they became their own worst enemy. At least three Facebook sites were developed with the sole purpose of killing the new terms of service. The revolt of its users forced Facebook to revert to the old terms of service.

Things to remember (User Be Warned)
1. Once you post it, you can never take it back!
2. Viral marketing can work both ways. Social media is fundamentally based on two-way communication, so the enormous audience that is exposed to positive publicity is also able to hear and spread negative feedback.
3. Beware of blatant or subversive advertising – social networkers are highly sensitive to sneaky approaches and your attempt could backfire miserably.
4. Continue to monitor your brand. Being on and investing in a social media community are two completely different concepts. Anyone can sign up for a social platform but not everyone can spend the time and energy it takes to invest in the community of the site.

Welcome to the "Global Village"

By Cara Weirmier

Facebook has officially done what MySpace began, ushered us into the Global Village era. Everyone is either “on” facebook, or at least knows someone who uses this medium. What an opportunity for the PR professional. From the pop-up ads that come on every time a page loads, to the “groups” that people can join, millions can be reached. Go onto facebook and type into the search your favourite Hollywood star, sports hero, political figure, or even cause. They will be there. Even better, it’s free! What a fantastic thing for our profession! Get the message out to millions, and you can’t get any more in budget than free!

Many non-profits and activists use these new social sites to further their cause. From missing children, to breast cancer awareness, to saving the trees, Facebook has become the "it" place to be heard. Teens to baby-boomers can be found surfing Facebook, and it only takes one joining your group to get the ball rolling, so to speak. If one a person sees that their friend has joined a new group, chances are good that they will at least check it out. Then they join, and their other friends join... One group that shows the potential audience out there is called "Six Degrees of Separation-The Experiment." http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=14436512661 It was started to see if they could get everyone on facebook to join their group, to prove that we can all be connected somehow. As of 4:30pm, February 28th I checked and found that there were 3,537,284 members.

This medium also makes it easier to monitor your audience. You can see who has joined your group. You can see what gender they are, age, race etc. You can begin posts within your group to start conversations, which in turn will help you gather more information from the users to help tweak your message or campaign. You have at your fingertips instant access to survey information that in the past would have taken weeks, perhaps months to prepare, send out, receive and tabulate. Now you have instant, or near instant, feedback.

Diamond Shreddies: A simple idea turned into a successful social media campaign

By Jimi Galvao

Image source: http://themarketingguy.wordpress.com/2008/03/27/new-diamond-shreddies-a-new-spin/?referer=sphere_related_content/

In January 2008, Post (Kraft Canada), the well-known cereal company, launched a quirky ad campaign centred on one of its core products: Shreddies. The bland and relatively tasteless whole wheat cereal was first introduced on the market over 60 years ago. Sold only in Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom, Shreddies, even though enjoyed by consumers, had lost pizzazz in the public eye and company executives soon realized that it had been many years since any marketing attention had been directed its way (some 15 years ago to be exact, and with cartoon Shreddie-shaped mascots “Freddie” and “Eddie” singing a “Good, good, whole wheat Shreddies” jingle).

Toronto-based agency Ogilvy & Mather rose to the occasion with an expansive, and consequently, award-winning, marketing campaign hinged around a very simple concept: turning the square cereal on a 45 degree angle to give the questionable appearance of a “new Diamond” variety being created. The campaign included an array of communication tactics that involved print, billboard, television, and a new cereal box design. However, where the campaign truly picked up steam was on the Internet via social media.

A website, www.diamondshreddies.com, was developed, on which a video was launched in September 2008. The video features the “president” of Shreddies introducing a regular/diamond cereal box combo-pack. A unique teaser campaign was put together to promote the video, and press releases were sent, specifically targeted at bloggers and social media web portals.

The question of “Are they kidding or are they being serious?” quickly became viral and fodder for blog sites everywhere. When I did a Google search on Diamond Shreddies, 57 pages of results were generated, with the vast majority being blog postings or comments to blog postings. And then, of course, there was YouTube. Hollie Shaw writes in “Shredding the Cassies pays for O&M”:

As word-of-mouth grew consumers began enacting Shreddies stunts in online media. People made spoof videos and one individual held an eBay auction for a box of “last of the square Shreddies.” It sold for $36.

The Diamond Shreddies campaign continues on, although I think everyone knows by now that it is a joke. While I agree that the brilliance of the campaign can be attributed to the simplicity of the idea behind it, I feel that it was the use of social media that made it a success. The PR professionals involved recognized early on the importance of social media in communicating messages to large audience groups. Mangala D’sa, Senior Product Manager of Kraft Canada says, “We felt our customers had taken to the Internet, and this was the fastest way to reach them.”

Social media, whether we like it or not, is a major part of how the world communicates today. As such, the public relations industry cannot ignore the vast potential that this form of media holds in conveying and delivering messages. It is a powerful tool that will continue to be refined as new technologies are invented and implemented.

As for my vote on diamond versus square Shreddies, the jury is still out.