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By on March 30, 2010

Nestle Finding That Social Media’s Not So Sweet

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You really have to careful these days if you are doing any kind of business that can be remotely connected to something that will set off a guerilla social media attack by what I’ll call the ‘socialnistas’. This is the social media user that is looking for a fight, looking for a way to “make a difference” even if that difference comes at the expense of many others.

Nestle has stepped in the social media muck as of late with its association with a company that supplies palm oil to the Swiss chocolate giant. So much for being neutral, huh? The Wall Street Journal tells us more

For nearly two weeks, environmental activists have been using social media to wage war against Nestlé over its purchases of palm oil for use in KitKat candy bars and other products, catching the Swiss food giant off guard.

Protesters have posted a negative video on YouTube, deluged Nestlé’s Facebook page and peppered Twitter with claims that Nestlé is contributing to destruction of Indonesia’s rain forest, potentially exacerbating global warming and endangering orangutans. The allegations stem from Nestlé’s purchases of palm-oil from an Indonesian company that Greenpeace International says has cleared rain forest to establish palm plantations.

Mind you, the amount of palm oil purchased by Nestle from this company was only 1.25% of all the palm oil purchased by the company. That doesn’t matter to the folks behind the campaign to bring Nestle to its knees.

So what is Nestle taking away from all of this? Some serious lessons in social media, at the very least. It appears as if the company cannot get a social media word in edge wise and is taking its lumps in the process.

Nestlé says it is pressuring its providers to scrutinize their supply chains to keep that from happening, but it has had trouble making itself heard above the din. The difficulty with social media, says Nestlé spokeswoman Nina Backes, is “to show that we are listening, which we obviously are, while not getting involved in a shouting match.”

Activist groups have long used Web sites, grass-roots email campaigns and videos to publicize their causes. But the attack on Nestlé is part of a new wave of digitally savvy protests, marketing experts say.

“This is the place where major corporations are very vulnerable,” says Daniel Kessler, press officer at Greenpeace.

Nestle has been getting slammed on their Facebook page as well. At one point recently the company announced that anyone posting on the site with a logo that looked like the KitKat logo that read Killers (this was from a video that had gone viral which was produced in protest of Nestle’s practice) would have their post deleted. Well, Nestle found that the technique was one way to get new ‘fans’. Unfortunately as the number of Facebook fans on the page went up to 95,000 most of the newcomers were anti-Nestle. Let’s just say that Nestle’s Facebook page is not a Nestle lovefest these days. If you would like to see some social media vitriol check it out.

Late last week, Ms. Backes says, Nestlé resumed posting information on Facebook to tell consumers about its palm-oil sourcing practices. She says it is too soon to judge whether sales of KitKats or other Nestlé products have been affected by the protests.

“Like all companies, we are learning about how best to use social media, particularly with such complex issues,” Ms. Backes says. “What we take out of this is that you have to engage.”

So what are we witnessing here? Is it the dawn of the power of social media or can we be seeing it used as a bully pit as well? Nestle may have made a mistake in the eyes of many but if they are not allowed to make amends in the social media space because they can’t rise above the noise is that actually a good thing? Who wins in a situation like this one?

What do you think Nestle should do next? What about Greenpeace? If they can’t hear Nestle crying uncle are they really bringing about change or are they just piling on at this point? Some wonder if Nestle should shut down their social media efforts, especially Facebook, and start over. Some experts chime in

Jeremiah Owyang, an analyst at Altimeter Group, a digital-media consulting firm, says that would close off all lines of communication. Ian Schafer, CEO of digital-marketing firm Deep Focus, sees it differently. “The damage has been so done, it might not be a bad idea to shut down the page and start over,” Mr. Schafer says. “It is tough to turn that negativity around.”

Your thoughts?


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12 comments on “Nestle Finding That Social Media’s Not So Sweet”

  1. Emma L. Devlin Says:

    March 30th, 2010 at 2:25 am

    Sounds to me as if they should start over. The lines of communication aren’t closed by simply closing their Facebook account and the people they want to hear them are not listening anyway. Time to regroup and come back later.
    Nestle has obviously heard the hue & cry from protesters. For the socialnistas to continue their rampage is nothing more than cyberbullying. If Greenpeace & the other activists keep up this behavior with Nestle and others they might soon find no one listens to them. I’m all for using social media as a podium for pointing out where companies go wrong but once you’ve been heard, you need to give the companies a fair opportunity to react.

  2. B3N Says:

    March 30th, 2010 at 2:47 am

    You ask good questions. A good company will listen to its customers, and I think Nestle will. Nestle has a loud enough trumpet to cry uncle when its ready. 1.25% is a large number in the world of big business, and should send a loud message to the suppliers involved. Honestly, who loses from this campaign? If the environmentalists get a product that is more earth friendly, then the company wins more customers, and those who don’t care don’t notice a difference, then very few people will be complaining.

  3. Richard Menon Says:

    March 30th, 2010 at 3:00 am

    Hi, As per my observation social media needs patience and fair work, spamming doesn’t work in it. i agree with Emma as well. Nestle need to incorporate or use interesting stuff, brain storming activity which catch more audience.

    Getting Success in Social media is hard but once you get never fell down.

  4. Andrew Says:

    March 30th, 2010 at 4:47 am

    Just my personal opinion, but… Shouldn’t their first step be to change their palm oil sourcing? Or at least put in place a process for change. ie. Address the problem people are upset about.

    Then communicate that you’ve addressed the problem.

    Frank Reed Reply:
    March 30th, 2010 at 7:39 am

    @Andrew – If you check out the Wall Street Journal article you’ll see that they are not using that supplier but there is apparently some link to another supplier that sources some of their palm oil from the same organization. As a result Nestle has not “tried hard enough” in the eyes of those trying to take them down.

    One issue Nestle is having is that they are being “shouted down” by those who have taken over the Nestle Facebook page. Go to the page and see that more than just Nestle bashing is going on.

    I am not making excuses for Nestle but the people doing this need to know when they have won or made progress and allow for the attacked to be heard as well.

  5. Jaan Kanellis Says:

    March 30th, 2010 at 5:32 am

    Are they even trying to moderate their page? Jeeez
    .-= Jaan Kanellis´s last blog ..Google’s Algorithm History by Wired.com =-.

  6. S.E. Troll Says:

    March 30th, 2010 at 10:36 am

    Greenpeace was all I needed to see. I’ll be stopping on my way home from work for a jumbo box of Kit Kats and the biggest bottle of bleach I can find.

    Viva la Nestle!

  7. Ray Welch Says:

    March 30th, 2010 at 10:42 am

    One thing Nestle could incorporate into their strategy, or increase focus on, is their commitment to sourcing and using renewable resources. Turn the negative into a positive. Thru their social media, the company has learned consumers are interested in where ingredients are sourced. That is valuable, timely information. Rather than run away from the perceived problem by shutting down a facebook page, embrace the situation and focus some marketing dollars on consumer awareness.

  8. @wei_yang Says:

    March 30th, 2010 at 10:46 am

    The best way to respond may be to have the CEO/COO produce a video response and upload it to YouTube. A message of: “we hear you and we’re working on it,” explaining that change for a global company takes time but is in the works would greatly help with calming the mob.

    One of the unfortunate side effects of social media is the mob mentality. The same thing that makes a message go viral can also make a damaging message go viral. However, you have to realize that in most cases the people that put in their vote for a cause do not go beyond that one interaction. The key is to identify the influencers who are leading the waves and make sure you let them know on a one-on-one basis that they are heard – similar to picking off the generals in a war.
    .-= @wei_yang´s last blog ..FourSquare vs. Gowalla at SXSWi 2010: We Have a Winner! =-.

  9. Jim Kaczkowski Says:

    March 30th, 2010 at 10:56 am

    Here’s a chronology . . . not good timing before Easter in the US http://tinyurl.com/yzmnmvz

  10. Ralph Leon Says:

    March 30th, 2010 at 3:06 pm

    They always say publicity is publicity and from looking at their fan page, there are people sticking up for the brand. I think they have a really big opportunity here. Right now they are getting numerous fans, coverage, and talk about the brand. Once they fix this problem that exposure can really help them out. There really should be a response back though. Maybe a current status update of how they are going to fix the oil problem. I think instead of just hiding from the problem they need to face it, address it in real time, and stop digging a deeper hole.

  11. Patrick Garmoe Says:

    March 30th, 2010 at 4:31 pm

    Nestle should make a point of repeatedly making its stance clear through various social media channels, acknowledge the outrage, and perhaps be clear on some of the reasons why they don’t switch, etc., much like Ford did in the Fire Station social media example from ronamok.com. The problem for Nestle is not that they need a big megaphone (that’s old media thinking). They’re dealing with a mob of angry people online. Just like you can’t change the mob’s opinion in the street, you can’t do it online. What they need to remember is that 99 percent of people are in their camp (they just aren’t speaking up). So Nestle simply needs to state its case, address it honestly, and move on. Don’t believe you’re going to convince those rabid people who are angry at you. Just make sure you’re explaining your side of the story well, so those with a passing interest get your side of the story, and can make an educated opinion.