Author: Jonathan & Erik Bernstein

Do your crisis management plans include being blackballed by the competition?

So-called “black hat” tactics, often effective but unethical, or even illegal, ways of achieving goals, do exist in the world of PR and marketing. While, for the most part, reputable organizations have a policy of not putting shady tactics to work, employees looking to cut corners or get a leg up on the competition can easily be tempted into joining the dark side, as can desperate business owners and those who simply lack ethics.

Even though Reddit is quickly joining the mainsteam, it still maintains a reputation of being friendly to those who dabble in the grey areas of the web, and as such it’s not an entirely surprising place to find questionable tactics being put to use there, and exposed as well!

Yesterday, PR Daily’s Michael Nolledo reported on one of the black hat tactics being used on Reddit, essentially the practice of having your competition banned from the site, as exposed by a self-purported search engine marketer who goes by the name, “Friggersly.”

The conversation Friggersly reportedly came across reveals a candid discussion that outlines tactics for knocking down a competitor. Here’s a snippet:

[17:10] Personally I prefer just making a load of accounts off one IP then trying to make them look savvy.
[17:10] They’re going to get caught at some point but that’s the point.
[17:10] Post in all kinds of s— subreddits but make sure you’ve got the target site being used on all of them.
[17:10] Make it look like you ALMOST know what you’re doing.
[17:11] Then keep that up for a few weeks.
[17:11] Then BAM
[17:11] Banned.
[17:11] Yeah that’s how I do it.
[17:11] Got one in progress today and another on the list for next month.
[17:11] Takes f— all time too. Just do it for an hour or so a day.
[17:11] Then before you know it none of your competitors can use Reddit.
[17:12] hehe mean 😉
[17:12] But yeah it works 😛
[17:12] Can’t argue results.
[17:12] You guys do this often?
[17:12] moreorless

Although this online conversation cannot be readily verified due to the covert tactics involved, knowing there’s potential success in such a calculated takedown effort is a scary thought. (Of course, this conversation could itself have been falsified; you never know on the Internet.)

While it is POSSIBLE that this conversation could have been falsified, the original Reddit post, and accompanying replies on the topic, are quite in depth, and sound awfully believable if you’re familiar with the way Reddit works.

Competition is fierce these days, making it important to cover your butt with a bit of preemptive crisis management. Victims of tactics like these may find themselves suddenly banned from a website on which they have spent months crafting communications and promotions, with little recourse except to plead their case to busy moderators who are taking on a hefty workload for no pay.

The best thing you can do to prevent becoming a victim of a scheme like the one described is to keep an accurate log of all online marketing and PR activities. Not only will you have plenty of proof that’s you’re operating above the board to provide site owners or moderators with should an attacker sully your good name, but you’ll also have a clear representation of the hard work you’ve put in that can be shared with clients when you have those, “what exactly are we paying you for?” conversations that anyone working on the web is all too familiar with.

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For more resources, see the Free Management Library topic: Crisis Management
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[Jonathan Bernstein is president of Bernstein Crisis Management, Inc., an international crisis management consultancy, author of Manager’s Guide to Crisis Management and Keeping the Wolves at Bay – Media Training. Erik Bernstein is Social Media Manager for the firm, and also editor of its newsletter, Crisis Manager]

Take steps to avoid this preventable crisis

The focus on content creation as the new, must-do form of marketing has resulted in an incredible number of completely involuntary copyright infringements across the web. Even experts who literally work with web content every single day are running into foul territory! For proof, look no further than this quote from a refreshingly honest tale, by The Content Factory’s Kari DePhillips, that describes the $8,000 lawsuit her organization caught as a result of running the wrong photo in a blog post:

More than three months after the blog had been posted, the client got an email from an attorney. This particular lawyer deals with one thing and one thing only: image copyright infringement. For the sake of the story, let’s say his name is Curtis M. Leech, Esq.

The long-forgotten blog that was posted months ago had come back to haunt us. Mr. Leech sent the client a formal complaint letter, saying that they were being sued for $8,000 for using his client’s copyrighted photo on their website.

We were under the mistaken impression that before anyone could be sued, the offender had to ignore a request to take down the copyrighted image. Because the lawsuit came without any kind of warning and this was the first time we’d ever been accused of such a thing, we were hoping that replacing the image and sincerely apologizing to Mr. Leech and his client would remedy the situation. We were wrong. Welcome to the world of “Fair Use.”

Current Fair Use image copyright laws say that you’re financially liable for posting copyrighted images, even if:

• You did it by accident
• You immediately take down the picture after receiving a DMCA takedown notice
• The picture is resized
• If the picture is licensed to your web developer (Getty Images requires that you get your own license, thankyouverymuch)
• You link back to the photo source and cite the photographer’s name
• Your site isn’t commercial and you make no money from your blogs
• You have a disclaimer on the site
• The pic is embedded instead of saved on your server
• You found it on the Internet (that’s not an excuse!)

Spot check: How many of you have used images you found via various free stock image depositories on you or your organization’s blog? Ok, now how many of you checked to see if that image was licensed for not only private, but also commercial, use? Don’t panic! Go ahead and pull them down, sigh in relief that you didn’t have to eat a lawsuit, then read on…

Still not worried?

If you think this isn’t a crisis management risk, consider how many one-man shops and small businesses would be completely devastated by losing $8,000 from their operating budget. Heck, just consider how much additional work you would have to do to replace that $8,000 yourself. Even if you are a mega-corporation, the fact copyright infringement crises can be avoided simply by educating your editors content crew makes this one a no-brainer.

Sometimes, software-powered copyright protection services are so zealous to catch violators in the act that they cause issues for legitimate users. We experienced this ourselves just recently when a client, who was fully authorized to use the name of a network television show in one of their popular YouTube videos, was repeatedly flagged as a copyright violator, even after obtaining re-authorization from the network. It eventually actually took legal representatives getting involved in order to have the video placed on the protection services’ “white list” of authorized users.

The lesson here is that any time you’re using something created by someone outside your organization, whether it be art, idea, name or manufacturing process, make certain that you have the proper rights to do what you’re doing. Acting without research, or without permission, may save you money in the short term, but you will eventually pay.

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For more resources, see the Free Management Library topic: Crisis Management
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[Jonathan Bernstein is president of Bernstein Crisis Management, Inc., an international crisis management consultancy, author of Manager’s Guide to Crisis Management and Keeping the Wolves at Bay – Media Training. Erik Bernstein is Social Media Manager for the firm, and also editor of its newsletter, Crisis Manager]

 

 

Ignoring the 24/7 nature of social media is asking for trouble

Neglecting the fact that social media pays no regard to standard business hours led to embarrassment for Qantas airlines after a pornographic image sat on its Facebook page for some seven hours, only being removed after a child spotted the pic and brought it to his father’s attention.

Here’s the story, from Australia’s Marketing Magazine:

The boy had visited the page to enter a competition the airline is currently running. The image was left up on the page for up to seven hours and was removed after the boy’s father complained to the airline.

The father of the affected boy told The Age, “When you rolled over it on the iPad a larger version of the image popped up… the anatomical details were quite clearly recognisable.”

A spokesperson from Qantas told Marketing, “Spam was posted to the Qantas Facebook page in the middle of the night, which included an inappropriate image the size of a profile picture. We removed the post as soon as we saw it and offered an apology to a gentleman who contacted us to complain.”

Currently the airline’s social media pages are only monitored during business hours.

Now, is this really a crisis for Qantas? No, it’s not, and a sincere apology to the family involved is just fine as far as a response. However, it is a perfect example of why organizations, especially huge global brands like Qantas, should include 24/7 social media monitoring as part of their standard crisis management and reputation management plans.

Imagine if it wasn’t just a single small image, but a massive flood of pornography. How about an organized consumer protest, timed to hit at, say, 7 PM on a Friday night. Getting a bit more serious, right? The airline certainly has stakeholders in a wide variety of time zones, so why would its social media monitoring stop in its tracks when it’s quitting time in Australia?

Between computers, smartphones, tablets and the enormous number of monitoring solutions out there, it’s not difficult to at least keep tabs on what’s happening at any hour of the day. Although you can’t guarantee that your social media presences won’t come under attack, or that an unpredictable crisis won’t emerge, you will be aware of the situation, and can act quickly to take the appropriate action.

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For more resources, see the Free Management Library topic: Crisis Management
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[Jonathan Bernstein is president of Bernstein Crisis Management, Inc., an international crisis management consultancy, author of Manager’s Guide to Crisis Management and Keeping the Wolves at Bay – Media Training. Erik Bernstein is Social Media Manager for the firm, and also editor of its newsletter, Crisis Manager]

Pointing out how poorly you pay your own employees is a crisis management faux pas

So, you set out to create a website, accessible to the public, aimed at helping your employees budget. You have hopes of helping them out, but let’s be real here, you’re also looking to grab you some good PR in the process. Once you get started, however, you realize that there is no way a typical employee at your organization makes enough to live on, even with a second job, and leaving out minor expenses like food, water, and clothing…because those are luxury items, right?

Most of us would scrap the project on the spot, but not McDonald’s! The company, which has already run into a few stumbling blocks while getting acquainted with how the modern web works, must not have thought it was a problem because they went live. As could be expected, the company took a beating in the media, largely as result of the buzz generated following video, from the activists at Low Pay is Not Okay:

In a market where consumers are more aware than ever of the ethics behind their favorite brands, coming across as a cold, callous company is a major crisis management faux pas. While obviously it’s better to not BE that cold, callous company, reality is that some organizations are solely focused on making as much money as possible. If that’s your deal, be realistic and try not to point it out to the public in a glaringly obvious manner.

There really is no crisis management move that would make this situation better for McDonald’s, and since its leadership clearly has no plans to raise the wages of its employees, our recommendation would be that in the future at least they keep anything that directly points out how poorly their employees are treated away from a publicly accessible site.

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For more resources, see the Free Management Library topic: Crisis Management
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[Jonathan Bernstein is president of Bernstein Crisis Management, Inc., an international crisis management consultancy, author of Manager’s Guide to Crisis Management and Keeping the Wolves at Bay – Media Training. Erik Bernstein is Social Media Manager for the firm, and also editor of its newsletter, Crisis Manager]

Report sheds light on heated race

A new study has revealed that, contrary to what many believe, major news websites and Twitter are neck and neck when it comes to breaking high-profile stories.

The UK’s Metro has more details:

The research by the University of Edinburgh shows Twitter brought ‘added value’ by providing ‘local perspectives on major news items’.

Dr Miles Osborne, who led the work, said: ‘Twitter and traditional news outlets each have their strengths in terms of delivering news.

‘In contrast to popular belief, our results show that neither stream consistently reports on breaking news first. Indeed, traditional newswire sources often report events before Twitter.

What the study didn’t investigate is the thing that’s sent a growing number of mainstream news outlets into crisis management mode, namely the lapse of fact-checking and other traditional journalistic ethics considerations that has occurred in the rush to beat social media to print.

The precise roles that social media and traditional news outlets should play remains a hot topic, but perhaps studies like this one will help the organizations involved determine who should be reporting on what, and how.

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For more resources, see the Free Management Library topic: Crisis Management
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[Jonathan Bernstein is president of Bernstein Crisis Management, Inc., an international crisis management consultancy, author of Manager’s Guide to Crisis Management and Keeping the Wolves at Bay – Media Training. Erik Bernstein is Social Media Manager for the firm, and also editor of its newsletter, Crisis Manager]

The wrong words online can come back to haunt you

The case of Justin Carter, the Central Texas teen jailed for over five months as a result of a Facebook comment, is a powerful lesson in just how serious social media has gotten, and why your personal crisis management considerations should include careful censorship of controversial conversation.

Here’s what went down, as described in a HuffPost blog by Ryan Grenoble:

Earlier this year, Carter and a friend got into an Facebook argument with someone regarding “League of Legends,” an online video game with notoriously die-hard fans. Justin’s father, Jack, explained to ABC local affiliate KVUE that at the end of the conversation “[s]omeone had said something to the effect of ‘Oh you’re insane, you’re crazy, you’re messed up in the head,’ to which [Justin] replied ‘Oh yeah, I’m real messed up in the head, I’m going to go shoot up a school full of kids and eat their still, beating hearts,’ and the next two lines were lol and jk [all sic].”

Now, we fully agree that Justin’s comment was wildly inappropriate, and warranted a full investigation, but here’s the rub…after finding no weapons, plans, web searches, or any other evidence that Justin was using anything other than very poorly planned sarcasm, he still went to jail with a $500,000 bond. Nearly six months later, having celebrated, if you could call it that, his nineteenth birthday behind bars, and, according to his father, being beaten and thrown naked into solitary confinement for a large part of that time, Justin’s family has just barely managed to bail him out. Of course, he’ll still stand trial for making a “terroristic threat,” a charge that could haunt him for the rest of his life whether he is exonerated or not.

From what we see on Facebook and other social media sites on a daily basis, this could end up being just about anybody. People post statements like, “I wish I could just burn this office down” or “I’m going to kick my boss’ ass if he yells at me one more time” without a second thought, not realizing that with a phone call and the wrong judge (of which there seem to be an inordinate number in Texas), they could wind up in a situation very much like Carter’s.

Crisis Management 101 for personal social media communications: You aren’t just speaking to your friends. Sure, those close to you may know you, and “get” your sick sense of humor, off-color jokes, etc, but when you post a message on social media, it’s out there for all to see. If you want to cover your own behind, make sure the things you post can’t be misconstrued, especially as a threat against person or property, or you could wind up the next Justin Carter.

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For more resources, see the Free Management Library topic: Crisis Management
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[Jonathan Bernstein is president of Bernstein Crisis Management, Inc., an international crisis management consultancy, author of Manager’s Guide to Crisis Management and Keeping the Wolves at Bay – Media Training. Erik Bernstein is Social Media Manager for the firm, and also editor of its newsletter, Crisis Manager]

How Microsoft handled heavy backlash over XBox One announcement

When Microsoft announced that its upcoming Xbox One game console would require a once-daily “check-in” online, as well as severely restrict the ability to play, trade and sell used games, it set off an explosion of outrage among the gaming community, a community which consists of some of the most heavy-spending, brand-loyal and vocal consumers out there.

Immediately, lists like this one, found in Reddit’s popular /r/gaming forum, began to propagate, along with other, far more vicious material and countless memes slamming Microsoft. Microsoft’s main competitor in the gaming market, Sony, even got in on the act, publishing a video that mockingly shows how to share games on its just-announced Playstation 4:

Well, Microsoft hasn’t become the leviathan it is today by making stupid decisions, and after taking a week to sift through the conversations online, as well as conduct what we’re sure were some rather frantic XBox dev team meetings, the company announced that it was reversing its policies on sharing and required connectivity. Here’s a quote, from the official statement:

Since unveiling our plans for Xbox One, my team and I have heard directly from many of you, read your comments and listened to your feedback. I would like to take the opportunity today to thank you for your assistance in helping us to reshape the future of Xbox One.

You told us how much you loved the flexibility you have today with games delivered on disc. The ability to lend, share, and resell these games at your discretion is of incredible importance to you. Also important to you is the freedom to play offline, for any length of time, anywhere in the world.

Microsoft went back to the most basic of Crisis Management 101 tenets with this one; if your stakeholders are ticked about something, and you’re able to change it, do so! Sure, the always-fickle internet gaming community is going to rumble, grumble, and trash talk Microsoft a bit more, but the reality is that the reason many said they would refuse to buy the XBox one has been nullified, putting Microsoft firmly back in the competition for top next-gen console.

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For more resources, see the Free Management Library topic: Crisis Management
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[Jonathan Bernstein is president of Bernstein Crisis Management, Inc., an international crisis management consultancy, author of Manager’s Guide to Crisis Management and Keeping the Wolves at Bay – Media Training. Erik Bernstein is Social Media Manager for the firm, and also editor of its newsletter, Crisis Manager]

Crisis management required after media highlights contrast between stated mission and reality

The revelation that some disabled Goodwill workers make as little as 22 cents an hour while execs regularly rake in as much as $1.1 million annually has created a crisis of reputation for the nonprofit organization.

According to NBC News, Labor Department documents feature long lists of employees making well under $2 an hour thanks to a Depression-era law called the Special Wage Certificate Program, meant to encourage employers to hire disabled workers. Goodwill execs willingly appeared in the NBC report, but were utterly unapologetic, describing the jobs they offer as being, “about their (worker’s) fulfillment, it’s about being a part of something.”

This situation actually reminds me of a discussion we had during last week’s, “Ask the Crisis Manager Anything” Google Hangout, in which Pat Philbin shared what he believes to be one of the leading causes of easily-preventable crises, namely a contrast between an organization’s stated ideals and its real-life actions. Let’s see how that applies to our case here…Goodwill takes donated product and sells it for a profit, as well as collecting a hefty sum from taxpayers ($87 million last year alone), all under this mission statement:

“Goodwill works to enhance the dignity and quality of life of individuals and families by strengthening communities, eliminating barriers to opportunity, and helping people in need reach their full potential through learning and the power of work.”

People donating clothing, goods, and straight-up cash to Goodwill assume they are helping provide affordable goods for low-income people and contributing to paychecks for those who may not otherwise have a job. When Goodwill says its goal is “enhancing dignity and quality of life,” and then pays disabled workers sweatshop wages, all while management takes in high six-figure salaries, the resulting conflict creates the crisis we’re seeing now.

This issue has already sparked protests both online and off, as well as discussion among lawmakers as to the validity of the 70+ year-old law being used (and exploited, as recent cases have shown), today. Obviously the donations aren’t going to stop coming in to Goodwill entirely based on this revelation alone, but a quick read through comments on various articles about the issue show a hefty sum of readers sharing their determination to not only never give to the organization again, but also spread the world to anyone who will listen.

Our crisis management recommendation to Goodwill? Move to modernize your program before the government makes you do it. Yes, it is true that in a matter of weeks this report will be history, but as long as the clash between stated ideals and real-life actions continues to exist, an organization’s reputation will never, ever be secure.

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For more resources, see the Free Management Library topic: Crisis Management
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[Jonathan Bernstein is president of Bernstein Crisis Management, Inc., an international crisis management consultancy, author of Manager’s Guide to Crisis Management and Keeping the Wolves at Bay – Media Training. Erik Bernstein is Social Media Manager for the firm, and also editor of its newsletter, Crisis Manager]

No amount of crisis management can prevent Food Network from giving Deen the boot

Paula Deen has enjoyed a long run as one of the most well-known celebrity chefs in the world, but a poorly-handled admission of racist views and actions has forced Food Network to drop her from its roster.

One read through this quote, from a Fox News article describing her deposition for a pending lawsuit filed by an ex-employee, and you’ll know why:

According to the reports, in the deposition, Deen replied “Yes, of course,” when asked if she used the N-word.

Deen also reportedly admitted telling racist jokes, explaining: “It’s just what they are — they’re jokes…most jokes are about Jewish people, rednecks, black folks…I can’t determine what offends another person.”

Jackson said also Deen wanted African-American employees to act like slaves for a big wedding she was planning. Deen explained she got the idea from a restaurant where “the whole entire waiter staff was middle-aged black men, and they had on beautiful white jackets with a black bow tie,” the National Enquirer reports. The magazine also quoted Deen as saying: “I mean, it was really impressive. That restaurant represented a certain era in America…after the Civil War, during the Civil War, before the Civil War…It was not only black men, it was black women…I would say they were slaves.”

Jaw-dropping, to say the least. The deposition transcript is available all over the web, and in it you can see Deen digging herself a deeper hole with every response. From defending her brother for showing porn to employees, to repeated statements that dropping N-bombs all over the workplace is fine, as long as they’re used in a joke, Deen made sure there was no wiggle room when it came to explaining her views to the public, and her employers.

The lesson here? Well, first off, if you still harbor racist or bigoted notions, you’d damn sure better keep them away from your professional life – while remembering that, these days, it’s pretty hard to keep even your private life private.

Second, if you have done something in your past that you know is going to look bad, don’t try to defend it, and act apologetically if you must discuss the issue. Had Deen said in the deposition, “yes, I did say those things, but I now realize they were inappropriate and hurtful,” she may still have a job.

At this point, no amount of crisis management (and she’s sure trying, with a YouTube apology already out and a second try at making her Today show appearance scheduled) will disguise the fact that Deen was utterly unconcerned about the way her actions impacted others and unashamed of the outrageously racist and inappropriate behavior that went on at her restaurants until it cost her a job. Deen still has legions of loyal fans that will spend on her various retail products, but she’ll have to leave the TV chef gig to her sons because no exec in their right mind is going to give her another show.

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For more resources, see the Free Management Library topic: Crisis Management
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[Jonathan Bernstein is president of Bernstein Crisis Management, Inc., an international crisis management consultancy, author of Manager’s Guide to Crisis Management and Keeping the Wolves at Bay – Media Training. Erik Bernstein is Social Media Manager for the firm, and also editor of its newsletter, Crisis Manager]

Online reputation issues can be a double-edged sword

Not a week goes by recently that we don’t see an organization that’s in need crisis management after releasing a new commercial or web video that is CLEARLY going to press the buttons of one group or another.

The latest is an ad, from burger chain Red Robin, that’s stirred up vegetarians because of a Mom-type character’s sarcastic line, “They even have a garden burger, just in case your teenage daughter is going through a ‘phase.'”

In browsing the Red Robin Facebook, we saw a whole lot of comments like these:

The frequency of these “accidental” reputation crises begins to raise another question…are companies inciting drama on purpose? It’s certainly not a new tactic, and it’s a proven, highly effective way to generate conversation about your brand, as well as grab anywhere from a couple hundred to tens of thousands of new followers. It’s also a risky one that can quickly backfire if you don’t have the amount of support, or as large a reputation cushion, as you thought. In this case, while there is certainly a hefty contingent of Red Robin supporters defending the organization, many of the negative posters on social media are piling on to discussions of the commercial with other complaints, like dirty tables or poor service, that would probably otherwise have gone unvoiced.

As for Red Robin? The organization doesn’t sound too upset, only replying to a handful of social media posters with, ““… our intent was to indeed promote some of our different menu offerings with our Gardenburger ad, and we appreciate you sharing your feedback here,” hardly a heartfelt apology. In the end, the company may have analyzed stakeholder reactions and decided that losing a percentage of their already-marginal vegetarian customers is nothing compared to pulling in equal or higher numbers of burger-hungry carnivores while reinforcing the loyalty of others.

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For more resources, see the Free Management Library topic: Crisis Management
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[Jonathan Bernstein is president of Bernstein Crisis Management, Inc., an international crisis management consultancy, author of Manager’s Guide to Crisis Management and Keeping the Wolves at Bay – Media Training. Erik Bernstein is Social Media Manager for the firm, and also editor of its newsletter, Crisis Manager]