Nothing Can Save Negative Buzz On Twitter

Okay, maybe that’s a little too harsh. But we can’t deny that it is difficult to save a company from negative buzz, especially on social media.

Impression is powerful. It can distort our judgment and affect our evaluation. And it can have a long lasting effect, making it hard to change. Most of the time, even a great ad can’t help.–

Brent Coker of the University of Melbourne, Faculty of Business and Economics did a study, whereby three groups watched an ’emotive’ mobile phone ad – one with no sponsor or logo attribution, the other labeled with a disliked brand and the third labeled with a liked brand.

He found that more than 70 percent of people find advertising ‘sinister’ and ‘deviant’ if they dislike the company. Participants also hated the brand more than before they saw the advertisement, because of sinister attributions.

Coker also said, “When asked why they rated the brand as they did, the overwhelming response was due to evaluations they had read online in social media forums. If a company is already disliked, good advertising can actually ‘go bad’. Spending thousands to turn things around may actually just make things worse.’

What does this mean?

Prevention is better than cure, and if you are already in deep shit, don’t try to sweet talk your way out. Start by addressing the problems that caused the negative buzz, be sincere, and make the effort to change things. Listen to your customers, and show them that you are delivering your promises. Leave the puffy ads till later.