What Your Credit Union Can Learn From Anthropologie's Social Media Faux Pas
Retailer Anthropologie came under fire earlier this week for selling a candlestick that many deemed offensive. Several blogs and websites called for them to remove the candlestick from their site, and they did. However, their response when it came to addressing the issue on social media left a lot to be desired.
Their Facebook page was flooded with comments from customers, upset about the product. But instead of responding individually to each post, they simply copied and pasted the same response to over 20 comments.
When your credit union is taking heat on social media, there is a right way and a wrong way to handle it. Here are three ways that Anthropolgie could have handled this situation better.
- Respond sincerely. People want to know that they are being heard. Take the time to craft a response and post it as a status or tweet. Then respond to each comment with your apologies and direct them to that status. Anthropologie's method of copy and pasting a the same response to over twenty commenters only served to futher upset their fanbase.
- Be transparent. If a mistake was made, admit it. People understand that your credit union is staffed by humans. Mistakes will be made. By hiding behind corporate doublespeak and obsfucation, you'll make the public wonder what it is you are trying to keep from them.
- Respond quickly. Letting ill sentiment fester online without being acknowledged is terrible for your brand. People will think that you either don't regularly check your social media sites often (bad) or that you see but are ignoring the situation (even worse). As soon as you start to see an inkling of the masses starting to get upset, start figuring out how you're going to address it.
One thing that many business find helpful is a Crisis Response document. Spend some time with your PR department and solidify what course of action needs to be taken to address how to respond in situations like these. This way you'll be prepared if and when your community needs you to respond.
How does your credit union deal with upset members on social media? Let us know in the comment section!
DeAndre
DeAndre Upshaw is a former Young & Free Texas Spokester. He's a marketing professional living in Dallas and a Beyonce enthusiast. DeAndre is the host and executive producer of The State of Awesome. Follow him on Twitter and check out his personal website.
