With more than 15 million businesses and organizations using Facebook for marketing and self-promotion, business owners and managers need to not only be aware of how to maximize their company’s Facebook presence, but also how to handle PR crises and avoid potential missteps that can damage the brand.

1. How to Avoid Common PR Pitfalls
& Secure Your Brand
November 26, 2013
Presentation by Leigh-Anne Mauk Lawrence
Social Media & Public Information Specialist
Hagerstown Community College

2. Social Media Influence Today
Top Four Contenders in 2013
Facebook
• 665 million daily active users
• 1.1 billion+ monthly active users
• 15 million+ businesses and organizations have a Facebook fan page
Twitter
• 288 million monthly active users, which translates to 21% of the world’s
Internet population using Twitter every month
• Fastest growing social network in the world
YouTube
• 1 billion unique monthly visitors
• 6 billion hours of videos are watched every month
• YouTube reaches more U.S. adults ages 18-34 than any cable network
Google+
• 359 million monthly active users
Sources: www.jeffbullas.com
www.globalwebindex.net
www.facebook.com
Social media icons: www.niftybuttons.com
2

3. Not Just For “Kids” Anymore…
• Twitter: The 55-to-64 year old age bracket is the fastest growing
demographic (79% growth rate since 2012)
• Facebook and Google+: The 45-to-54 year old age bracket is the
fastest growing demographic at 46% and 56% respectively
Sources: www.jeffbullas.com
www.globalwebindex.net
http://knowledge.creatingresults.com
www.pewresearch.org
3

4. 4

5. Top 20 Brands on Facebook
May 2013
1. YouTube
2. Coca-Cola
3. MTV
4. Disney
5. Red Bull
6. Converse
7. Starbucks
8. Oreo
9. Playstation
10. Walmart
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
McDonalds
Blackberry
iTunes
Skype
Pringles
Monster Energy
Samsung Mobile
Subway
Victoria’s Secret
Target
*Excluding Facebook
Source: www.ignitesocialmedia.com
5

6. What Makes These
Brands Successful?
They listen. They respond. They engage.
Source: www.facebook.com/cocacola
6

7. Most Disturbing Facebook
Brand Statistic
95% of all Facebook wall posts are
NOT answered by brands
unanswered
answered
Source: www.enfuzed.com
7

8. Social Media PR Disasters
Social Media PR Disasters happen when brands:
Fail to react
(i.e., ignore what is being said about the brand)
•
React negatively
(i.e., in a defensive or hostile manner)
•
Mix personal views with business
•
Are careless with their social media posts
(i.e., accidentally post personal updates from a company account)
•
Newsjack national or international tragedies
(i.e., when you try to use these events as a marketing opportunity)
Image credit: freedigitalphotos.net
•
Sources: http://blog.reachlocal.com
http://blog.getreachcast.com
8

9. Reacting Defensively:
Amy’s Baking Company
What Happened:
Arizona-based restaurant Amy’s Baking Company was featured on “Kitchen Nightmares”
in May 2013. The show revealed that the owners:
•
•
•
Resold cakes made by other bakeries at higher prices
Treated their employees terribly
Cursed out customers who complained about their food
Social Media Firestorm:
A public shaming campaign began on sites like Yelp, as well as the bakery’s Facebook
and Twitter pages. The owners did not handle it well.
One of their early Facebook posts read:
“I AM NOT STUPID ALL OF YOU ARE. YOU JUST DO NOT KNOW GOOD FOOD.
IT IS NOT UNCOMMON TO RESELL THINGS WALMART DOES NOT MAKE THEIR
ELECTRONICS OR TOYS SO LAY OFF!!!!”
Sources: International Business Times (www.ibtimes.com)
www.fox.com/kitchennightmares
9

10. Newsjacking and Carelessness
Right: Several brands made the mistake of
trying to “newsjack” Hurricane Sandy in
2012.
The public reacted badly and brands ended
up having to delete their posts and offer
public apologies.
Below: A KitchenAid Twitter team member
accidentally posted a personal tweet from
the brand account. The company quickly
deleted the tweet and apologized, but it
took some time to straighten out the
mistake.
Source: http://blog.reachlocal.com
10

11. Silence is Deadly…
Respond Even If It’s Not Your Fault
The Infamous Taco Bell Photo
What Happened: A Taco Bell employee posted a
photo of himself licking a stack of taco shells in the
kitchen of the restaurant where he worked on his
personal Facebook page. The image quickly went
viral.
Taco Bell was quick to respond on the company’s
website, but DID NOT post any public
announcements on their official social media
pages.
AND: They disabled comments on the brand’s
Facebook after answering only a few, attempting to
silence their customers and stop the conversation.
Sources: www.usatoday.com
www.mashable.com
www.melissaagnescrisismanagement.com
11

12. PR Disaster Averted
Facebook Brand Success Story:
What Happened: DKNY approached
New York photographer Brandon Stanton
to purchase him images to use in
storefronts around the world.
Stanton declined and was shocked
several months later when a friend sent
him a photo of a Bangkok storefront that
featured a number of his photos. He took
to Facebook to share his story.
The brand responded immediately on its
Facebook page (right).
(Note: Stanton requested the company make a charitable
donation instead of paying him for his images.)
Source: www.melissaagnescrisismanagement.com
12

13. To Avoid a Social Media Crisis
1. Don’t ignore Facebook in a crisis. If you have a fan page,
make sure that breaking news or updates that appear on your
website also find their way to your company’s Facebook page.
Image credit: freedigitalphotos.net
Takeaways: Steps You Can Take
2. Have a social media plan in place before a crisis happens. Make sure you know
who will respond and what type of responses are permitted.
3. Think before you post. Don’t get defensive or hostile. Apologize to the customer (even
if it’s not your fault) and try to offer a solution (not just an explanation).
4. Own the storyline. Continue to address comments, questions, and complaints as they
develop and as events unfold. Don’t let silence speak for you (failing to respond only
upsets people further).
5. Be careful when newsjacking. Don’t use tragedies to try to market your company.
Your best bet is to offer sympathy and/or volunteer to help those affected by the tragedy
(e.g., fundraising, collecting food, etc.).
Sources: http://blog.reachlocal.com
www.retailwire.com
www.melissaagnescrisismanagement.com
13

14. 14

15. Protecting the Brand
Whether you’re part of a large company or a small, independent business,
it’s important that you know how to protect your brand on Facebook.
Create a social media policy
This policy should not only govern page
administrators that post on the company’s
behalf, but should also cover employees.
Source: http://technabob.com
“Even if your employees are not posting on
behalf of your company, their actions online
can still affect how customers or prospects
view your business.”
In 2012, GameStop fired employees for
posting photos of themselves “planking”
in the store.
Get a policy in place so that you can set expectations for your employees and have a
course of action for when violations occur.
*Also check out Monster’s small business article on “What to Do When an Employee Violates Your Social
Media Policy”: http://hiring.monster.com/hr/hr-best-practices/small-business/social-media-trends/socialmedia-guidelines.aspx.
Source: http://blog.reachlocal.com
15

16. Protecting the Brand
Be aware of current social media laws
Social media laws are constantly changing and evolving as new
cases are brought to light.
For example, in 2012, the National Labor Relations Board ruled
that employees CAN use social media to complain or comment
on management without retribution.
Social Media Law Resources
-
National Labor Relations Board: www.nlrb.gov
Federal Trade Commission: www.ftc.gov
Glen Gilmore (Forbes Top 50 Social Media Power Influencer.
Expert in social media law, crisis communications, and digital
marketing): www.glengilmore.com
Sources: www.bloomberg.com
www.glengilmore.com
16

17. Protecting the Brand
Monitor your brand’s reputation online
•
Check Facebook (and any other social media
accounts) on a regular basis, preferably at least
once or twice a day.
•
Monitor review sites like Yelp (especially if you
are a restaurant or other small business that
relies on word of mouth and customer reviews
to get people in the door).
•
Set up a Google alert for your company. Once a
Google alert has been set up, you will receive an
email any time your brand or company name is
mentioned online (not just through social media).
Image credit: freedigitalphotos.net
Sources: http://blog.reachlocal.com
www.sproutsocial.com
17

18. Protecting the Brand
Be careful what you post
When using photos on Facebook, you need to either:
•
Own the image yourself
•
Purchase a stock image through a site like
Shutterstock.com
•
Image credit: freedigitalphotos.net
Images are a great way to engage fans and followers on
Facebook. However, you can’t just grab an image from
Google and upload it to your Facebook page. Such actions
can land you on the wrong side of a lawsuit. Always respect
copyrighted work.
Use a free image licensed under Creative Commons
Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike
Sources: http://blog.reachlocal.com
www.sproutsocial.com
18

19. Big Biz or Small Biz:
The Same Facebook Rules Apply
Final Takeaways
Choose a page administrator who
is responsible, reliable, and will
represent the company well.
2.
Training is important. Make sure your
social media administrators not only
understand what they can and cannot
do on behalf of the brand, but also know
how to respond in the event of a crisis.
If you’re the social media administrator,
seek out training for yourself.
3.
Engage with your customers regularly. Post fresh, new content to your page wall on a regular
basis. Posts should be short, friendly, and to-the-point. Photos are a must.
4.
Put customer service first. Respond to questions and address complaints in a timely fashion.
Show that you care and that you value customer input and feedback.
5.
Think before you post. Use good judgment and act in the best interest of the brand.
Image credit: freedigitalphotos.net
1.
19

20. Contact Information
Leigh-Anne Mauk Lawrence
Email: lmlawrence@hagerstowncc.edu
Twitter: @writenowsocial
Social media icon on title slide: http://hydrattz.deviantart.com
20