Marketing Opportunities in a Social Media Crisis

Abstract

The evolution and accessibility of the Internet grants consumers the freedom of expression, including the opportunity to instantly share experiences, feedback, and opinions with any entities present in the online world. When there is a flood of negative messages online about a brand, a social media crisis, known also as an online firestorm, can be born. This thesis aims to investigate possible situations in which a company could experience a social media crisis, and potential strategies to mitigate it, to attempt to reduce the brand damage and perhaps bring benefits for the company. The literature used in this research is about social media, word-of-mouth, brand crisis management, and online firestorms. The main research methods used are qualitative: previous research studies, observations, online content analysis, secondary data collection, case studies, and expert interviews. Some of the main findings of this thesis are: electronic word-of-mouth is considered very reliable by the end consumer, online backlash has the means of escalating and spreading quickly, companies should have specialized departments and custom approaches when dealing with a brand crisis; and the ability to adapt the response strategy to a specific crisis as it unfolds, the consumer-brand relationship is key and should represent a priority in brand crises; there are potential hidden opportunities to benefit from in brand crises. This information could supply corporate representatives and other interested individuals with suggestions and directions on how to recognize and decrease a social media firestorm, as well as how to potentially take advantage of the situation to benefit the brand.