LeveragingConsumerBrandStorytellingandMarketingTacticsinIssuesandReputation-BasedScenarios.StephanMerkens,ManagingDirector,TeneoStrategy

Inthepast,manybusinessescouldalmostcompletelycontrolperceptionoftheirbrands.Adagenciescouldcraftbrandnarrativesandreleasecontentintheformofcampaignsandmediareleasestoaudiences.Forthoseintheaudiencewhohadobjectionstothecampaign,thebrandorthebusinesshadlimitedopportunitiestosharetheirviewsormobilizelike-mindedconsumersandfaceddauntinghurdles(e.g.Time,effort,cost)iftheywantedtodoso.Today,withtheriseofdigitalmediaandanabundanceofsocialplatforms,companiesarenolongertheonlycustodiansoftheirbrands.Peoplenowhavetheabilitytocommunicatetheirthoughtsandfeelingsquickly,cheaplyandglobally.UserGeneratedcontentandtheriseofdigitalinfluencemeansthatmoreandmorepeopleformanopinionofabusinessorbrandbyconversationsinitiatedbyothersondigitalchannels.Moreimportantly,conversation-startersareofteninfluencerswhoopinionsaretrustedandvaluedbythosethatfollowthem.Onedoesn’thavetolookveryfarbacktoseeexamplesofjusthowpowerfulsocialmediacanbeinshapingperceptionaroundamovementandinsomecasesseriouslydamagingabrand.PresidentObama’s2008campaignusedsocialmediaplatformslikeYouTube,Facebook,andTwittertoengageinactiveconversationwithitstargetaudience–youngvoters—theconversationbecameameansformillionsofAmericanstoventtheirfrustrationwiththepoliciesthenpresident,PresidentGeorgeW.Bush,playingadecidingroleinreturningtheDemocratstopower.Inthiscase,PresidentObama’scampaignteamcorrectlyidentifiedinfluencerswhocouldcarrytheirmessagetoabroaderpopulacewithdramaticresults.SocialmediaplayedadefiningroleinboththeoustingofTunisianPresidentZineElAbidineBenAliandtheimminentoverthrowofMubarakduringtheArabSpring.Networksformedonlinewerecrucialinorganizingacoregroupofactivists,specificallyinEgypt.CivilsocietyleadersinArabcountriesemphasizedtheroleof"theinternet,mobilephones,andsocialmedia"intheprotests.Additionally,digitalmediahasbeenusedbyArabstoexercisefreedomofspeechandasaspaceforcivicengagement.Throughouttheuprising,wealsosawtheemergenceofTwitterasaprimarysourceofnewsforprotesters,whousedhashtagstohelpotherswithsimilarinterestsfocusonnewsspecifictothem.Brandshavealsohadtheirshareofruninswithsocialmedia:In2005,ADellcustomerandinfluentialbloggernamedJeffJarvispostedhisfrustrationaboutDellscustomerserviceandwarrantypolicytohisblog.DellchosetoignoreJarvis’complaintanddidnotreachouttoJarvisoranyofhisreaders.HiswidelycirculatedcriticismofthecompanyledhundredsofreaderstoleavecommentsabouttheirownexperienceswithDell.Becauseofthelargenumberofreaders,thearticlegainednotorietyandtheboostinreadershippromotedthe“DellHell”articletoatoppositioninGoogleSearch.Dellfinallyreworkeditssocialmediamonitoringprocessin2007butthestoriesstayedwiththebrandformanyyearsaftertheincident.In2009OilCompanyTrafiguratried,throughlegalinjunction,tostopanumberofUKmediaoutletsfromreportingontheresultsofaparliamentaryinquiryintothedumpingoftoxicmaterialsinAfrica.A

Guardianreporter,AlanRusbridgertweetedoutacrypticmessagetohisfollowerswhointurnfollowedonlinecluestodissectthestoryandpostrelevantlinksouttoothers.ThelinksweresubsequentlypickedupbyanumberofprominentTwitterinfluencersincludingactorStephenFryandhis830,000fans.TheresultingbacklashforcedTrafiguratostoplegalproceedingsandadmitculpability.In2015SeaWorldheldtheir#AskSeaWorldhashtagcampaigninanattempttorehabilitatetheirimageafterthereleaseofBlackfish,a2013documentarythatputafocusoncaptivekillerwhales.Thebrandencourageduserstoaskquestionsaboutwhalecare,butjustlikealmosteveryothertimeabrandopensitsplatformupforitsaudience,thecampaigndidn’tgoasexpectedandSeaWorldwashitwithastormoftweetsaboutthecontroversy.Tomakethingsworse,SeaWorldbroughtevenmorenegativeattentiontoitselfbyinsultingtheuserswhoposted.Andtheseexamplesarenotisolatedcases.Everyday,moreandmorebrandsarerealizingthatSocialMediahasthepowertochangeperceptionentirely.Onepersoncannowhavethepowertomobilizeandentireonlinecommunity.Establishedbrandswhoatonetimehadcontrolovertheconversationcannowfaceexistentialcrisesbecauseofconversationsoccurringondigitalmediaandtheriseofinfluencerswhoareactivelyworkingtounderminetheworkbusinessesputintocarefullycuratetheirbrands.Inresponse,manylargebrandshaveinitiatedsocialmediastrategiesinanefforttoengageandmanageonlineconversations,buteventhoughmanyhavelargesocialfollowings(notallofwhomarefanswithpositiveperceptionsofthecompany)thenumbersaredwarfedbythesheernumbersofindividualsthathaveapotentialtobedetractorsinsocialmediaintheeventofacrisis.Justlookathowmanypeopleengageonsocialmedia

• Facebook:684millionactiveusers• Twitter:500milliontweetsdaily• Pinterest:70millionpinsdaily• Instagram:75milliondailyactiveusers

Furthermore,detractorsarealsoadeptatleveragingthepowerofsocialplatformstosharemessagesquickly.Thesedetractorsalsoexploitanenthusiasmgap.Rarelydofanstakethetimeoutoftheirdaytocreateengagingcontenttoshowtheirbrandlove;butbecausedetractorsareoftenthosewhoselivelihoodsdependonfurtheringtheirinfluencersandfollowers,theydohavethetimetocraftcontentthatcanbequicklyandeasilyconsumedandshared,whichinturngetstheirmessageouttothelargestaudiencepossible.Thespeedinwhichthesedetractorscanmoveposesseriousissuesforacompanyincrisis.Whileacompanycancraftacarefullywordedstatementthat’sgiventotraditionalmediaoutlets,howdoyourespondtocuriousconsumerswhoareinteractingwiththecompanyonsocial?Whiletheremightbearesponsetreeinplacetorespondtoamediainquiryhowdoyouhandlethesedetractors?Whichones–ifany–doyouengagewith?Howdoyoucontrolthisdetractor-ledonlineconversation?Whileatraditionaloutletmightpublishacompany’sstatementandmoveon,thedetractorscouldcontinuetheirassaultandthoseindividualsimportanttothebusinessmaybegintoaskmoreandmorequestionsandwillexpectanswers,andnotsilence,fromthecompany.Theonlywayforbrandstohopetocompeteistoadaptdigitalmarketingtacticsandaddthemtotheircrisismanagementtoolbox.Digitalmarketingtacticshavealottoofferbrandsastheyworkthroughcrises.Tacticsthatwereonceconsideredsolelymeantforthemarketingteam,arenowbeingleveragedtohelpcommunications

teamsdealwithcrisisandreputationalrisk.Throughoutthispaper,wewilllookatadaptedtacticsandapproachestakenfromdigitalmarketingthatcanassistthosewhoaredealingwithissues.DigitalEngagementModelThismodeloutlinesatypicalprocessforthecreationofcontentondigitalchannelsandisthebackboneformostdigitalmarketingexecutionsthatconcentrateonfanengagement.Thismodelcanalsoapplyequallytothecreation,managementandamplificationofcontentintheeventofacrisis.Ultimatelyinbothinstances,it’saboutunderstandingconversations,creatingcontentforthemostrelevantindividualsandpromotingthatinteraction,alltodriveengagementandcontrolperception.

Listen:UnderstandingtheissuesathandMarketingorganizationshaveusedsociallisteningandanalyticsforawhilenowtoanalyzeconversationsandadaptmarketingcontenttotakeadvantageofviewer’semotionalconnectiontoabrand.Communicationsorganizationsandagenciesarealsostartingtorealizethatconversationanalysiscanalsohelpidentifyopportunitiesforbusinessestoengageinconversationandcreatecontentthatcanbedistributedproactivelytooffsetnegativeperception.Manybusinessesforgoanalysisofconversationsinsteadfocusingoncreatingbrandedcontentthatpromotesself-servingstories.Whilethereisusuallyasmallamountofengagement,theengagementistypicallynotsustained,norisithighlypositivebecauseitisn’trelevanttocustomers.Byexaminingconversationstakingplaceondigitalchannels(inclusiveofsocialmedia,blogsandforums),weareabletonotonlycaptureunfilteredexpressionsofsentimentonanytopic,butwecanalsousedigitaltoolstoanalyzeahighvolumeofconversationsatonce.Bycollectingandanalyzingthisdatawecanthenmapfactorssuchasrelevantconversationtopics,conversationandbrandsentimentaswellasthemostrelevantinfluencerswithintheconversation.

Create:TellingtherightstorywiththerightcontentDuringacrisissituation,it’softenverydifficulttobreakthroughthesheervolumeofcoverageandconversationaroundaparticularincident.Thevenerablepressrelease,whilestillanecessaryevilofcrisis,isonlyonepartofaneffectiveapproachthatmustalsonowincludecreating“snackable”shareablecontentsuitableforsocialengagement.Theterm“snackable”contentreferstonotonlythesizeoramountofinformationbeingoffered,butalsoitseaseofconsumptionanditsshareability.Snackablecontentcanbeconsumedonitsownoractasateaserforricher“meals”thatausercanconsumeovertimeiftheirinterestispeaked.Takeforexample,apharmaceuticalorautomotivebrandthatisdealingwithaproductrecallornegativeinfluenceractivity.Thenaturalapproachwouldbetopointtoastudyandresearchtohelpoffsetnegativepublicityandsupporttheirproducts.Thisapproachrarelyproveseffective-Studiesbytheirnaturetendtoprovidealotofverylong-formproduct-specificinformationwhichcanbedauntingevenforthemostengagedreader.Theycanalsobeperceivedassponsoredbythebrandinquestion,oftenleadingtomorecontroversy.Thiscontentisalsonotdesignedtobeconsumedthroughdigitalchannelswhichhave,bydesign,limitedcontentcapacity.Totakeapageoutofthedetractorplaybook,individualswhoarelookingtomobilizegroupsoffollowersonsocialmediatypicallyproducehighlyvisualcontentthatpresentsmessagesinaneasilyconsumableformatthatpeoplearemorelikelytoshare.Inorderforbrandstocounteractnegativecontentwithacounterpoint,theyhavetoadoptsimilartacticsforthecreationoftheirowncontent.Thisdoesn’tmeanthatthefactsaren’tpresented,onlythatkeyfactsandthemesarepresentedinaveryvisual,andeasilyconsumed,waythatcanlinkovertoa“meal”.Itisalsoimperativethatbrandslookbeyondownedcontenttosatisfytheneedsoftheirfollowers.Curatedcontent,orcontentcollectedfromoutsidesourcesandpromoted,isequallyasimportantandallowsbrandstoshareinformationtooutsidesourcesthatboostcredibility.Thereareanumberofthirdpartytoolsthatallowsocialmediateamstominechannelsforappropriatecontentandrequestpermissionforuse.Thosetoolscangivebrandsahostofcontentoptionstosharewithfollowers.

Engage:FindingthevoicesthatmatterInamanagingreputation,creatingtherightmixofinformativeandengagingcontentthatsupportsabusiness’spointofviewisdefinitelykeytodrivingacompany’smessageinacrisissituation.Butequallyimportantisfindingoutletsandindividualsthatthegeneralpublicwilldeemtrustworthy.Individualshavefarmoretrustofwordofmouthcommunicationsthantheydoofestablishedbusinesses.Inthepast,wewouldhavereferredtothe“1-9-90”rulewhichstatesthatofallinteractionsontheweb,the1percentthatactuallycontrolconversationandareabletocreatecontentthatresonateswiththelargestnumberofviewers(typicallythe90%).Withtheabundanceofsocialmediaplatformsthatpromotesocialsharingandcontentcreation,thatnumberofinfluencerscontinuestorise,butinordertoidentifyinfluencers,westillneedtolookattheirassociatedmeasuresofinfluence:

ReachReachisameasureofanentity’sabilitytoincreasetheaudiencesizeforamessage.RelevanceTheinfluencerspertinencetotheoverallconversationandhowoftentheinfluencertalksabouttopicsrelevanttotheconversationofinterest.ResonanceHowdeepalongaperson’sgraphdoestherelevantcontentproliferate?Thisusuallysignifiesagoodmatchbetweenthekindsoffollowinganentityhasandthemessagestheyputout.

Influencersareimportantbecause:

Influencersgainrespectandbuildcredibility.Influencerssetthemselvesapartfromthecompetition.Influencercontentcontributestonaturalsearchresults.

Becauseoftheircontrolofcontent,andthetrustthattheyfosterinindividualswhoengagewiththem,influencershaveamuchgreaterchanceofshapingperceptionofaparticularissueandinturnalteringtheoutcomeofacrisissituationforabusiness.

Amplify:ExpandingyourreachAscontentiscreatedandsharedthereareopportunitiestoshapehowthatcontentisconsumed.Again,aswelookatanycrisissituation,werealizethattherewillbebothpositiveandnegativecontentbeingshared.ThereareanumberoftacticsthataretypicallyusedindigitalmarketingthatCanbeleveragedtodriveengagementwithtargetedaudiences.SEOSEOorSearchEngineOptimizationcanbeaccomplishedeasilyandessentiallymakescontenteasiertofindthroughsearchengines.It’satacticthatisoftenusedbyadvertiserstodrivebrandawareness.WithSEO,contentisoptimizedforsearchthroughpropertaggingandthroughpromotiontotrustedsitesinthesearchenginenetwork.

AneffectiveSEOprogramlooksatsearchdemandonanyparticulartopictodeterminethebestkeywordswithwhichtoassociatecontent.SEOcanbethenusedtoreplaceorsuppressoffendingcontentwithproactivecontentsharingadifferentpointofview.SEOreliesonhavinganabundanceofcontentinmultipleplacestohelpdrivesearchrankings–hencetheneedtoengageInfluencersandpartnerstocreateandcuratecontentonbehalfofaBrand.SyndicationContentSyndicationallowsbrandstotakepreviouslypublishedcontentandpromoteittomedianetworksthathavesimilarengagementtargetsasthebrandbeingpromoted.Thisisextremelyeffectivetodriveproactivepositivecontent.ContentSyndicationcanalsoemploydemographictargetingtoensurethatcontentisplacedineasyviewofaveryspecificaudience.Also,unlikeSEO,contentthatisusedinsyndicationcancomefromsourcesoutsideanetworkanddoesn’trequirenotificationorattribution.PaidDisplayFinally,ContentcanbepromotedthroughPaidmediasuchasdisplayadvertising,advertorials,sponsoredcontentandsocialmediabanneradstotargetedaudiences.Itisimportanttonotethatwhenbuyingpaidmedia,businessesneedtouseanalyticsandinsightstohelpidentifytargetaudiencesandcontentaswellasrelevantplatformsformaximumengagement.

Ultimately,aspeoplecontinuetoengageindifferentwaysdigitally,thetacticsthatcommunicationspractitionerswillusetomanageperceptionmustadapt.Weknowthatbrandimagehasforthemostpartbecomedemocratizedbecauseofdigitalmedia,sobyunderstandingandadaptingthewaysthatcontentiscreatedandsharedwithinthesenewmediachannels,wehaveachancetoinfluencethewayourbrandsareperceivedandrespondtonegativesituationsinaninformedwaythatcanpreventsocialmediameltdown.