What is a shitstorm and how does it come about?
A shitstorm is a special case of a communications crisis that consists of a mass wave of outrage and insults on social networks. It can be triggered by statements on social networks or attempts to launch PR via social media, as recently happened to Oliver Kahn , for example . Another example is the shitstorm triggered by the hashtag #fragnestlé . But statements in other media and facts that have become known can also lead to many people attacking a company or person together. Stars like Justin Bieber or companies like Volkswagen are affected because of #dieselgate. Politicians are also regularly exposed to smaller or larger waves of this kind. Unfortunately, it sometimes affects private individuals too, and often completely unjustified, like the young woman who had only asked a question on Twitter, was suddenly ridiculed en masse by others and then withdrew from Twitter completely (and whose case I do not want to go into here in more detail for good reasons). Even school toilets can be the cause of such a wave of outrage and insults.
In principle, almost anything can suddenly generate a large, even facebook data negative, response. In my experience, however, there are three typical triggers:
Triggered by activities of the company in question or one of its employees on the web. Examples: A company advertises a product with false claims and a competitor exposes this. Or a company that has a strong opponent, such as an environmental lobby, provokes them into a counter-campaign with offensive communication.
Triggered by a company's reaction to statements on the web. Example: A blogger makes a negative statement about a product and the manufacturer takes legal action against it or tries to suppress the expression of opinion.
Triggered by other people due to (perceived) grievances, for example in company policy. Example: incident, accident, danger, scandal - and the opponents use the web to denounce this and to organize and intensify their protest.
A shitstorm can be part of a larger communications or corporate crisis or an isolated social media phenomenon. The consequences vary accordingly.
Are there factors that make a shitstorm particularly likely or encourage it?
There are certain factors that significantly increase the likelihood of a shitstorm being triggered, as a recently published joint study by The University of Michigan-Dearborn, Otto Beisheim School of Management, Vallendar, and Otto-Friedrich University Bamberg has shown:
A large community or interest group supports the shitstorm (collaborative brand attack).
A large number of users feel exploited or manipulated by the company in question.
The company reacts inappropriately, for example by trying to delete negative comments or simply ignoring them instead of dealing with the situation constructively.
The content itself invites further sharing because it is emotional, funny or surprising.