What do you do if you find your Facebook audience filled with trolls and “fans” just looking for free product? If you’re Burger King Norway, you launch a promo specifically aimed at driving them away. Faced with an influx of false fans, the Burger King Norway account launched the Whopper Sellout promotion.
Fans were given the option of becoming a “true” fan with continued access to the Facebook page or becoming a “Whopper Sellout.” Although the sellouts were given a voucher for a free Whopper, they were also banned from the Facebook page for life. At the end of the promotion, all 1,000 of the Whopper vouchers were issued, the Facebook fan count dropped by 30,000, and 8,400 “true” fans remained. As of today, the fan count has risen to 10,624.
Although the Burger King Norway account counts the promotion as a success, a quick look at the “People Talking About This” figures (94) suggests otherwise.
If your brand is experiencing a similar influx of negative users, here are a few things to consider before launching a similar promotion.
Switch up your content
Although there are probably “fans” who respond negatively to your brand in general, there are probably some who are just responding negatively to the content you share. What issues are they taking with it? Is it timed poorly? Is it too derivative? Is it too off topic? Take those critiques into consideration and see what positive changes, if any, you might be able to make with your content. Giving your content a face-lift could help tone down some of those trolls.
Take a new tone with dealing with unruly users
Is your attitude towards your unruly fans too lax? Taking a more disciplined approach to community management could help improve their attitudes. Laying out ground rules, dealing with complaints head on and issuing warnings when necessary will help show you mean business, and that you won’t tolerate trolls.
Ban abusive users when it becomes too much
If you constantly find yourself butting heads with specific users who are focused only on causing trouble and being disrespectful to the page and other users, it could be time to consider banning them. Obviously, this isn’t a step that should be taken lightly, but remember that banning is always an option in extreme situations.
What are your thought on Burger King Norway’s promotion? Do you think it served them well, or was it not as effective as they believe it to be? Share your thoughts with us.
