Overseeing social media across multiple retail locations for a popular, sometimes controversial food retailer is a complicated proposition. But at least customers’ comments related to crises are usually directed at the corporate, not the local level, according to Natanya Anderson, Whole Foods’ director of social media and digital marketing. She spoke at Ad Age’s Digital Conference in New York on Tuesday.

To make a close connection to the local community, Whole Foods’ local social media encompasses four areas: brand social, city social, functional social (i.e. healthy eating) and store social, Anderson explained. Overall, she said the company has a “big eco-system of 604 social media presences.”

“We have different expectations for local social”, Anderson noted, and they follow a plan:

• The brand acts as the local authority and connects to residents’ lives by featuring local products.
• They focus on creating and curating content. Their new Detroit store will feature different offerings than their east coast stores.
• Local employees are dedicated to customer service. For example, they can snap photos of products that customers request.
• Local staff members often email Anderson before posting on their local social platforms. “We’re adding a local crisis management element”, she said. (Perhaps Whole Foods’ CEO John Mackey should have checked in first before his controversial comments on President Obama’s healthcare program earlier this year.)
• They have dedicated mailing lists to disseminate information to local customers.

Whole Foods has devoted many resources and a large infrastructure to make local social media work, and Anderson claims it has been worthwhile from a number of perspectives:

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It’s hard to remember a world before Whole Foods–a time when the best cheese around came wrapped in plastic and organic meant something wasn’t a car part. All of that has changed, of course, thanks to brands that capitalized on a more eco-conscious and discerning “foodie” public that will pay extra—sometimes a lot extra—for Alaffia Shea and Green Tea Revitalizing Body Lotion or Organic Capellini.

However, with organic mania came imposters and obfuscation, and the public became wary of brands claiming to be environmentally friendly. The public understandably became cynical as oil companies and other environmental offenders flooded our screens with touchy-feely commercials filled with smiling locals and leaping whales and financial companies preached about fiscal responsibility and being a good American. So when it seemed like every food brand on the shelves of our supermarkets were suddenly organic, we—the public—knew something wasn’t right. And those instincts are healthy.

Because Whole Foods was ahead of the curve regarding the organic movement, the public has typically exercised a strong faith in the brand.

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A few weeks ago we gave you a list of the 10 brands Americans hate most and tried to figure out why. Today we’re taking the opposite approach with the help of Harris Interactive‘s latest public opinion poll gauging the most (and least) trusted brands in the country.

Here are the brands held in highest esteem by the 19,000 random people who participated in the poll (along with our attempts to figure out how they got there):

1. Amazon: It could be the fact that Amazon remains the first and biggest online retailer with a reputation for security and an endless inventory. It could be the brand’s truly innovative recommendation system. Or it could be Amazon’s plan to create its own “virtual” currency–because no dishonest individual would ever make his own money, right?

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Grocery shopping is stressful–even for people who claim to enjoy it.

Life was easier when we didn’t have so many choices and the shampoo aisle wasn’t crowded with befuddled men refusing to call their wives and ask for advice on whether they need conditioner for oily, smooth or damaged hair. (Go with the classic clean, guys. Works every time.) And that’s just shampoo; we’ve yet to consider toothpaste, arugula and seven different types of corn flakes. It all leaves the modern shopper thinking: “God, I could use a beer.”

Finally, supermarket chains such as Whole Foods and Wegmans are acknowledging their customers’ desperation. Bars are becoming part of the grocery shopping experience–some stores’ shopping carts even feature cup holders for alcoholic beverages!

Not surprisingly, this development has been popular with men. We like our beer, particularly when we’re out of our comfort zone.

It’s never wise public relations policy to design and implement strategies based on clichés, but in this case the logic is sound.

Why?

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We know that a PR professional’s job often includes telling powerful people what to say–and when to say it. Today we feel fairly safe offering this little nugget of wisdom to every client: Unless you’re a left-wing Eastern European politician, never use the words “fascist” or “fascism” to describe your opponents, no matter who they may be. It’s never appropriate, and it always makes you look like an ass. Whole Foods CEO John Mackey recently learned that lesson.

Mackey stepped into the national health care debate back in 2009, when he penned a Wall Street Journal op-ed arguing that President Obama‘s signature health care overhaul was a form of “socialism” that would ultimately lead to complete government control over our nation’s health care system.

Now he’s hitting the various media outlets to promote his book Conscious Capitalism, which apparently details the ways in which certain businesses (his own included, of course) make the world a better place without the interference of the big, bad government. While visiting NPR‘s “Morning Edition“, he turned his previous criticism on its head, arguing that:

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LivingSocial offered a sweet deal for McDonald’s fans today:  $13 for five Big Macs and five large fries, a 50 percent discount. The idea is not that one should consume all this food themselves (although you can since the vouchers can be spread across multiple visits), but that it should be given as a gift for the holidays; “the perfect stocking stuffer for friends and family everywhere,” the deal says.

At this point, more than 187,000 of the deals have been sold with 10 hours remaining. However, the deal has not been deemed a resounding success when compared to the frenzy surrounding the Whole Foods deal a few months ago. Slate blames two factors.

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Daily deals are a dime a dozen these days, but get the right brand to sign on, and you’ve got a PR win.

Today on LivingSocial, spend $10 and you get a $20 Whole Foods gift card. And five percent of the sale price is being donated to the Whole Kids Foundation, which is focused on nutritional issues for children and families.

Not only have we seen this deal passed around a few times this morning on Twitter and Facebook, but it’s being written up on sites across the Internet. With a strong customer base and a nickname like “Whole Paycheck,” the Whole Foods brand is adding a boost to today’s deal, without a doubt. As of 12:30 ET, nearly 523,000 cards had been sold. Make that 523,001.

*Update: The AP reports that sales on this deal hit a record with 115,000 sold per hour, 30 deals per second.