What is a Shitstorm? Definition, tips & more

What is a Shitstorm?

A shitstorm is when a person, organisation or company is subjected to a large volume of negative publicity. This typically occurs via the media, which triggers word of mouth and further negative coverage, but may have been set off by one or more bad reviews, a tip to a media outlet, a public statement, an action or something similar — something that initiates a kind of snowball effect.

Most often it is large companies or well-known individuals who are hit by shitstorms, but smaller and medium-sized businesses or lesser-known individuals can also end up in a shitstorm one way or another.

Examples of well-known Danish shitstorms

Below you will find some examples of well-known shitstorms in Denmark:

Falck VS Bios case (read more here)
Bestseller refuses to pay rent (read more here)
Jensen's Bøfhus shitstorm (read more here)
Danske Bank money laundering case (read more here)
Domino's date-labelling of raw ingredients (read more here)
Power shitstorm over poor customer experiences (read more here)

How does a Shitstorm start?

A shitstorm can start in several ways. For example, a company may have been delivering poor customer experiences over an extended period, leading to bad reviews that the media catches wind of, and from there the ball starts rolling (e.g. Power's shitstorm). Other times it may be a matter that was not entirely ethical, moral or legally sound, which becomes public and spreads among the population (e.g. Danske Bank's money laundering and Falck VS Bios).

Below you can see an example of exactly how a shitstorm can start:

One or many poor customer experiences.
Customers leave bad reviews on Trustpilot.
The media receives tips from one or more dissatisfied customers about the growing wave of negative coverage, or picks it up themselves.
The media begins writing about the emerging shitstorm and the poor customer experiences.
The word-of-mouth effect kicks in.
Articles and posts are shared on social media, resulting in even wider reach.
The articles rank in search engines on brand searches and more.

How is a Shitstorm best handled?

There is no definitive answer to how a shitstorm is best handled. However, here are our top 5 tips for managing a shitstorm. These apply before, during and after:

5 tips for handling a shitstorm

Monitor and "maintain" your reputation constantly.
If negative coverage is spreading, create a plan for what needs to be responded to, where, how and by whom.
Execute across each individual medium and channel: search engine optimisation, PR campaigns, responding to reviews, public statements, etc.
Focus on highlighting the positive.
Repeat the above.

This discipline is called reputation management, and it is something we at Searchmind can help you with.