When PR agency Webber Shandwick recently launched a ‘crisis simulator’ called Firebell, it made me think about the effectiveness of damage limitation strategies deployed by companies facing negative feedback from social sites like Facebook.

There’s been many a time when I’ve seen people ask why there isn’t an ‘I don’t like this’ button on Facebook. There are some two million plus Facebook users who ‘Like’ the idea of having one, and it illustrates the weight of opinion which the community can create.

It’s becoming a very powerful way for even small groups of consumers to air their grievances, and brands are incredibly sensitive to the lack of control they have. Carried along by the wave on enthusiasm to get involved with Facebook, what are organisations doing when opinion goes against them?

What are the warning signs?

It’s inevitable that any brand looking to engage with users on the site will get negative comments, have their wall spammed, covered with bad language, etc. Having a quick look at any big brand Facebook pages shows they all have to contend with these issues. What’s more important and potentially the most damaging are the comment trends – are there any negative themes among users which frequently come to the surface? Is there a major problem which is taking over the debate on the site?

What can you possibly do?

Define the role of your Facebook campaign from the start. Sure, it’s a great way to get involved with consumers, but is it really going act as a customer service channel? How does it fit into any current customer contact strategy? Organisations might find it better to tackle complaints 1-2-1 rather than having a debate in public.

Plan ahead. Any PR practitioner will tell you that effective crisis management begins with forward planning. Any brand worth its salt will have anticipated the types of issue which could be aired on Facebook and have a process in place to minimise their impact. Try to think round all the main problems relevant to your business and role play your response. Rehearse how you will behave when people start saying they don’t like you, and establish a step-by-step process for who responds, what they say and how they say it.

Use Paid Search (PPC). One of the first destinations when news of any kind breaking is search giant Google. Increasingly, companies are buying specific key words and phrases that prospective searchers, clients, shareholders etc may be searching for. The strategy is to direct these searches to a specific landing page that deals with the negative comments and possibly giving a company view on events will at least quell and hopefully counter the negative comment.

The benefit use of a PPC platform such as AdWords is plain to see. Immediacy and communication management are achievable if used in the right way. The risk for the brand, however, is finding themselves in a no-win situation, as was the case for BP in the midst of the recent oil spill crisis when they received some very negative press for adopting that very tactic. Only BP probably knows how much help their PPC campaign provided (and still is – it’s still active). What cannot be disputed is that it gave them a direct and controlled route to the general public.

Front up & fix whatever is wrong. Something very positive can come out of a bad Facebook situation – organisations that are seen to be honest, open and proactive about problems which are aired of Facebook can come out of the situation with reputation enhanced. At the very least they can build some goodwill by being seen to respond – look at Gap for an example – the very public backlash to their plans for a new logo had them running around announcing crowd sourcing projects and public consultation. The result? Decision reversed: http://bit.ly/9xvtvJ. And put this in context – all that negativity about a logo.

Get back to business as usual. In most cases a public dressing down on Facebook is a temporary blip – in reality, reputations are rarely affected over the long term unless mistakes keep happening, or are simply monumental in their importance. If there has been a problem, deal with it and move on.