Don’t Cower From Social Media, Go On The Offense!
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The world is full of crazy people. Hopefully none of them are your own flesh and blood! My boys are 7 and 9 years old, so they are still a little too young to get caught up in the Tide Pod Challenge. Thank heavens!
What starts as “innocent” practical jokes can get completely out of hand very quickly in our ever connected world of social media. Our young generation isn’t old enough or wise enough to understand that sometimes their actions can have grave consequences. They may think that it’s somehow funny to watch someone get violently ill spewing out the colors of the rainbow without the knowledge that it could poison or permanently alter someone else’s life.
So, what do you do if you are the manufacturer, distributor or retailer of a technology product that has been caught up on the wrong side of it’s intended use? I friend and colleague recently advised P&G, quite publicly on CNN, that P&G should remove Tide Pods from store shelves. He believed it would improve their brand and perhaps shield from product liability. I completely disagree.
In this case, P&G has taken many steps in the right direction. They have worked with YouTube, Facebook and Twitter to remove posts or videos that promote the challenge, and have created their own social media response pointing out how misguided this challenge is. I would suggest they go one step further and send a representative to schools where this has been a problem and work with the schools to pull together the study body and appeal to them to be better citizens.
But I wouldn’t pull product from store shelves or out of distribution channels if the product is clearly being used outside of it’s intended purpose. That is lost revenue where profits can be put to better use educating the public.
Protect your brand and stand your ground on social media. The younger generations respect authenticity and your brand will become better for it. If you tuck your tail and run, they will remember that as they reach for your competitor’s products.
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© Mark Travis – All Rights Reserved http://www.travis-company.com
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