Web Attack – Das Gift der Massen. Wenn Mundpropaganda außer Kontrolle gerät und wie Unternehmen damit umgehen. Darum geht es in einem aktuellen Beitrag der Business Week.

“In the beginning, the idea of this new conversation seemed so benign. Radical transparency: the new public-relations nirvana! Companies, employees, and customers engage in a Webified dialectic. Executives gain insight into product development, consumer needs, and strategic opportunities. All the back-and-forth empowers consumers, who previously were relegated to shouting at call-center minions. Venom can be a great leading indicator.”

“Trashing brands online can also be high theater. Rats cruising around a Greenwich Village KFC/Taco Bell on YouTube. MySpacers busting their employers’ chops. Faux ads bashing the Chevy Tahoe as a gas-guzzling, global-warming monster. Millions of people watch this stuff—then join in and pile on. Is it any wonder companies lose control of the conversation?”

Wieder einmal das ewige Thema “Wie behalte ich die Kontrolle über Gespräche und meine Marke” und “Was mache ich im Ernstfall?” Hier 5 Vorschläge der Business Week:

1. ENGAGE CRITICS. Create a blog so you can strike back quickly.

2. BE VIGILANT. Hire a team of media experts to troll for bad news, rumors, and trends. Know what influencers are saying about you at all times.

3. JUMP IN AND OPEN UP. Address anything that could turn into a bonfire immediately. Replace “no comment” with transparency, candor, and humility.

4. DON’T OVEREACT. Let tiny spasms of venom go. They’ll disappear under the relentless pileup of new information.

5. STAY PROFESSIONAL. Respond to personal attacks for strategic reasons, not psychological ones. Don’t use the Web for therapy.

Naja, ganz so einfach gehts dann doch nicht. Ein Beispiel dafür, dass sich selbst Dialog-Experten schwer tun mit Kritik umzugehen, und mit ihrer Reaktion manchmal total daneben liegen, kann man in den Kommentaren zu Bernd Röthlingshöfers Beitrag “Publicity ist kein Zahlungsmittel” nachlesen. Theorie und Praxis sind eben doch zwei Paar Schuhe…

Quellen: Business Week, John Ratcliffe-Lee via Mediablog