Nestle’s social media fail
In trying to suppress Greenpeace’s campaign, Nestle has presented itself as naive and also draconian. The critical feedback it has received on it’s Facebook page and across the web proves it. Just what the people behind the brand were trying to achieve remains unclear, although it is unlikely they set out to demonstrate their fundamental misunderstanding of the medium.
A more positive outcome can be still achieved if Nestle adapt their approach quickly. It would appear like many brands they jumped on the social media bandwagon without understanding the inherent power shift that underpins the social web.
It is now time for Nestle to listen and learn. Only by assessing the key concerns of their online audience can they devise an appropriate strategy. If they don’t want (or are not prepared) to have real engagement and dialogue with their stakeholders, they should not have set up shop in a social space or tried to mess around with democracy. Trying to control the uncontrollable is never going to work and establishing a social presence without an appropriate value proposition has opened them up to serious reputation damage and potentially diminished sales.
A sensible move would now be to use their Facebook page to start talking about what they are doing to address Greenpeace and others’ concerns about their social and environmental impacts.
Greenpeace has a history of digital campaigning including its CoalFinger campaign designed to raise awareness and encourage action against the coal industry. Whilst it puts a lot of energy and resource into its digital campaigns, Greenpeace could improve their effectiveness through a more sustained approach.