I think there are many great things to consider for PR professionals when it comes to social media. Social media is about bringing together dialogue, forming relationships, and engaging audiences to build a sustainable and positive community. However, there have been some cases where some issues have raised some red flags for me not only from a crisis point of view when it comes to social media, but an ethical one as well.
Here are some recent cases that I feel need to be discussed along with some of the implications these have on the strategic and ethical component of social media:
- Jimmy Kimmel and the “Fake Twerk” Viral Video: Late night host Jimmy Kimmel just recently revealed that a viral video that had been circulated around the web as well as have air time on popular news shows was actually a fake. He made this announcement on his show which of course made this announcement go viral at the same time.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSJMoH7tnvw[/youtube]
- Chipolte’s Fake Twitter Hacking Incident: The popular food chain admitted earlier this year that their social media account was hacked, but it was later reported that they did it themselves and it was a fake. This incident was following the big crisis several brands like BK and Jeep faced when their accounts were hacked for real.
- Real-time insensitivities related to emotional situations: Today is a day of remembrance here in the US – 12 years ago 9/11 attacks happened and it forever transformed this country. However, several brands and professional felt that they wanted to take advantage of this opportunity and newsjack today with ads that were severely inappropriate that created huge uproar. One notable brand that was in the middle of this was AT&T with their failed 9/11 Anniversary ad. They deleted the ad after the uproar on Twitter, but the damage is already done for the brand in my opinion. Absolutely NOT acceptable, AT&T – huge fail. Here are some other examples of brands and how they reacted today for 9/11.
With these cases in mind, what are some of the implications and questions we need to consider here as PR professionals:
- Crying wolf?: What happens when there is a case where a company has been attacked and hacked for real? Will people really believe if Chipolte comes back again with this same tactic? Will this desensitize how we perceive these as a society? We really need to be careful of these as PR professionals to be tempted to follow this trend and how we react to them as well. This alone raises a lot of ethical issues for us as a profession.
- Realization of where the news is when it comes to reporting something viral: We saw this over the last couple of years when it comes to social media – reporters and others in the media want to be the first to report the news and if they were able to take the time to see whether or not this was true or accurate, they may have not reported it in the first place. This was the case related back to the fake videos – what happened to checking the sources?
- Inappropriate actions during situations: We see more and more companies try to newsjack and be relevant in real-time for audiences to capture attention – no matter what the situation is. However, what happened to common sense when it comes to looking at what people want to see certain times of the year? There are just certain times where brands, PR professionals, and those that manage social media for business need to really think before they post. Know the time and place for your messages – there are just some times where you don’t need to say anything, let alone try to market to people during an emotional time.
In summary, we are seeing some ethical issues emerging on social media that is going to raise challenges and concerns for those of us working in PR. We need to have these discussions in the classroom as well as discuss these trends in the field. I do think we need to have some industry and professionals standards (possibly by PRSA or other professional organizations) to this effect since it appears we are seeing this more and more, which is troubling.
In respect to 9/11, we need to never forget and remember those who lost their lives 12 years ago. We need to thank those who are bravely serving and protecting our daily freedoms for our country in the armed forces. We will never forget.
Hope you all are having a great day.
Best Wishes,
Karen
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