What is a bad buzz?

Bad buzz: definition

A bad buzz is a buzz phenomenon, meaning negative word of mouth that unfolds and grows on the internet. It damages the communication of a company, brand, or public figure that suffers it or causes it. Most often, it is a marketing campaign that does not work as planned and then takes criticism, mockery, or remixes from internet users, especially on social networks, where bad buzzes are common.

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Sources of bad buzz

A company can suffer a bad buzz when a customer who is very unhappy with the quality of a product or a service goes to complain on social networks and potentially starts a wave of poor reviews from other customers who feel wronged. There are also intentional bad buzzes, or bad buzzes orchestrated as part of a viral marketing campaign.

The sources of bad buzz are many and varied. They can come from viral marketing actions that internet users then remix, or from a company announcement that sparks controversy: mass layoffs, poor working conditions, a financial scandal, a food-hygiene problem, and so on.

Since the rise of social networks, companies take bad buzz very seriously, given how easy it is for a customer to share an opinion with a wide audience and for that to go viral enough to tarnish their e-reputation. Think in particular of the slanted reviews some users leave on various Google My Business pages.