As the long-awaited news breaks on Twitter and Facebook that a possible end might be coming to the leaking oil catastrophe that has plagued the Gulf of Mexico for months, I thought it might be an appropriate time to reflect on the significance of social media during the BP oil spill of 2010.
These days it’s hard to keep anything secret, and even harder to contain bad news. With the ease of expressing opinions and conversing with others via social media platforms, any news—especially bad news—seems to spread like a rash. This has definitely been the case with the BP oil spill. Everything from mobile applications to Facebook fan pages and YouTube video channels have been created in its name. These social media platforms have provided an area for people to reveal horrifying images of animals soaked in oil, share their opinions on the event and on BP as a company, and, of course, bash those in control.
BP has weathered an exorbitant amount of criticism for the spill and their lack of crisis management on the logistical side of things; the company was also not prepared to communicate with or respond to troubled Tweeters and Facebookers online.
So what digital lessons can be learned from this mess? Well first, crisis management must expand further than traditional media. Companies must be ready to respond online. A good way to do so is to hire a person or delegate the task of social media monitoring and responding to an individual who is currently in your organization. This way there is one person that is always staying on top of the latest comments and conversations taking place online about your business—and they can be the social media point person in case of a crisis.
Second, create multimedia press releases and other online content that can be shared on various sites. Online video viewership is beginning to surpass views of popular news programs on TV. So companies should be sure to cover their bases by spreading video content online.
In today’s world, the public appreciates transparency. Even if there are no good excuses for a company misstep, sometimes telling the truth can go a long way in diffusing a bad public relations situation. And with social media, people are bound to find out whether you tell them or not, so it’s best they hear it from the source.
Though it may be difficult to foresee worst-case scenarios, make sure you are thinking digitally when preparing your crisis management plan and remember to take action online as well.
