In the cruel world of business, there are many ways to compete, and one of the most effective is the so-called "black PR", that is, the formation of a negative opinion about a person, product or brand among the target audience. Now this tool is also used in social networks.
Dirty technology in the competition
Black PR is a special type of public relations, the main task of which is to create negative associations among the audience with a specific person, product, or brand. In the 90s of the last century in Russia, in order to discredit a competitor, significant financial investments were required, since the main information wars were fought through the print media and television. Especially wealthy people opened their own newspapers, and those who had less funds simply bought airtime and advertising space. The main battles in those days were not about business, but about politics, since the concept of competition was just emerging in Russia.
With the advent of the Internet in everyday life, competition has become, on the one hand, cheaper and easier, and on the other, much more dangerous, since there is always the possibility that the enemy will turn out to be more decisive and aggressive. Nevertheless, information wars are increasingly raging on the Internet. And the ever-growing popularity of social networks has given black pr specialists new opportunities.
Social media - cheap and effective
Most people tend to trust the opinions of others, especially the uninterested. It is no coincidence that one of the most popular searches in search engines is "reviews". The opportunity to consult with those who have already used the service or purchased a product greatly facilitates the selection process for a potential buyer. Before the development of social networks, the main information of this kind could be found on various thematic forums, but it was with the advent of social networks that the reviews became widespread.
One of the ways of black PR on social networks is registering a fake account, supposedly representing a competitor's brand. This account may, for example, post offensive posts and comments.
Thanks to the instant citation system, texts full of indignation in blogs and on sites like VKontakte and Odnoklassniki are spreading with frightening speed. Even the most unreasoned opinion for a person who doubts his choice is enough for him to refuse a purchase, so custom-made publications on social networks are an effective tool of black PR. It is almost impossible to distinguish competition from the usual resentment of a disgruntled buyer, although there are still some differences. For example, the same type of reviews on different sites, and even published at about the same time, means that a competing company is trying to spoil the reputation of a product or brand.
Posting numerous compliments often works the opposite way. When faced with carbon-copy texts, the user rightly decides that the company seeks to improve its tarnished reputation.
On the other hand, even realizing that a negative review is most likely fake, a person may opt for another company. That is why black PR on social networks and on the Internet in general is an extremely dangerous tool that can spoil the reputation of a company in a matter of days.
