Web Attack 101

Nice article in the BusinessWeek about what corporations should do in a case of a nasty blog attack (Dell Hell, anyone?). “Most companies are wholly unprepared to deal with the new nastiness that’s erupting online”, writes Michelle Conlin in her article. The article continues: “Millions of dollars in labor are being spent discussing whether or not you should respond on the Web”.

Like it or not, there is always a change that people start blogging about your company, your products, your services, or all of this at the same time. Companies have two options: ignore and hope it will go away, or respond to the attacks.

“Companies such as Lenovo, Soutwest Airlines and Dell have have specialist dedicated to engaging or co-opting their critics”. A whole new industry is emerging , with companies like BuzzLogic providing services to scan the internet to find bloggers and social media which are important to marketers.

In the article, 5 tips are provided for companies managing the menace of online mobs:

Engage critics
Create a blog so you can strike quickly. Establish ground rules, and filter nasty, anonymous comments.

Be vigilant
Hire a team of media experts to troll for bad news and trends. Know what influencers are saying about you at all times.

Jump in and open up
Address anything that could turn into a bonfire immediately. Replace ‘no comment’ with transparency, candor and humility.

Don’t overreact
Let tiny spasms of venom go. They’ll dissappear under the relentless pileup of new information.

Stay professional
Respond to personal attacks for strategic reasons, not psychological ones. Don’t use the Web for therapy.

Source: BusinessWeek, April 16, 2007

DigiRedo take: May be also a good read for the pharmaceutical industry. When we asked last week in Berlin which companies have a policy in place how to deal with cyber attacks it stayed pretty silent in the audience….