When brands are being battered online, consumers can be defenders

“[Brand defenders] make videos and they stand up for the brands. They can be very valuable in offsetting negative communication,” Hoyer says. 

In newly published research, he explores what drives different types of defenders and how companies can appeal to each type. The work is published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Interactive Marketing. 

Together with a team of marketing researchers from the University of Bern in Switzerland, Hoyer first looked at how often consumers stand up for brands online. 

The researchers reviewed three months’ worth of comments on the Facebook pages of eight US brands. On average, one in every 20 comments was a defence against criticism, ranging from 1% of total comments for AT&T (a telecommunications business) to 10% for Tesla (electric vehicles and energy products). 

Love, justice and ego 

The team contacted 10 of the commenters for interviews, then followed up with an online survey of 570 people who had refuted brand critics within the past six months. Using cluster analysis, they broke the defenders into three groups, each with a distinct set of motivations. 

‘Brand promoters’ are the customers who have the strongest satisfaction with the brand and attachment to it. They feel an altruistic desire to give something back. “People feel emotionally connected,” Hoyer explains. “So, when the brand is being attacked, they’re being attacked as well.” 

Companies can encourage promoters by acknowledging them, he says. “People like to be told: ‘We appreciate you’. It’s all about building strong relationships. They love the brand and they love to be recognised by the brand.” 

‘Justice promoters’ on the other hand, are not emotionally attached. Its main motivator is a feeling that the brand is being wrongly condemned. 

“They just believe in fair play,” Hoyer notes. “They simply want to restore equity – not because they love the brand, but because they think it’s unfair [that] it’s been attacked.” 

Because they feel less strongly about the brand, he adds, it’s tougher to market to them and you must appeal to a sense of fairness. 

‘Self-promoters’ are defenders who are motivated as much by ego as by attachment. By speaking up, they present a positive online image. They may also hope to get rewards from the brand. 

“Those are people that like to get attention on social media,” Hoyer observes. “They figure if they stand up and say something, they’ll get a lot of likes. If they see a brand being attacked and defend it, they can get followers. 

“It’s not about the brand. It’s about ‘me’ in a general sense, and wanting attention online and promoting myself.” 

Mobilising the three ‘defender’ groups 

When it comes to mobilising all three types, the researchers suggest, it can be effective to send private thank-you messages or to acknowledge their comments with likes. Customers could also be treated to rewards such as raising their level in an online game. 

What companies should avoid, though, is being too obvious about their encouragement. 

“Publicly praising brand defenders should be approached with caution,” the researchers write. “It may give the impression that they are company representatives, potentially harming credibility.” 

You can find out more about the study here.