The BP Oil Spill has become one of the most discussed, commented, and shared stories in both the traditional and social media outlets. An interesting study conducted by Brian Solis and PeopleBrowsr analyzed the sentiment of Twitter users for the BP Oil company and the Obama administration during this crisis. This piece was a very integrative view of what was going on in terms of what Twitter users were discussing online as well as how this affects the overall perception of both parties involved. The negative sentiment towards BP is not surprising, especially for the communication practices they have been implementing during this crisis. From not addressing possible issues arising from Fake BP Twitter accounts to having their CEO go off on a yacht tour to “take a break” from the crisis to the recent fake photo crisis.
It appears that BP digitally altered a press photo of their command station – and it was a blogger that voiced their concern regarding this photo due to the poor Photoshop work to the picture, which eventually made BP take responsibility. Seriously??!! This shows how social media and other online communities are becoming more active in sharing their ideas and opinions on issues that they are invested in, and bringing attention to key issues like this to others – and ultimately end up in the traditional media. Not only this, but what other things have been “doctored” and framed in a certain way that are fake? What happened to showing people truthfully what is really going on? How can we ever trust BP again? The answer is never – this goes to show that the problems are happening throughout the organization and is part of their overall internal culture, which is very difficult to change. In addition, one of the key lessons here that we can take away from this crisis is how important it is to be engaged and listen / monitor what others are saying online about you or your brand. Be proactive in addressing these concerns but ultimately – practice ethical behavior and do the right thing! Just looking at this case from a PR standpoint, I am amazed to see all of the best practices we learn in public relations thrown out of the window with this case involving BP.
We are certainly not out of the woods yet – this crisis may be contained by a new cap to prevent more leaking into the Gulf, but this is only the beginning. Lawsuits, negatively associated characteristics, health and safety claims, and many more legal and public relations issues are still in the horizon. What crisis communication and public relations professionals can take away from this case is to look at exactly what BP is doing, learn from their mistakes, and move forward. What makes the BP case so amazing is that you look at what they were doing in terms of their PR moves, and you are like – what were they thinking?! This will be indeed a case study for future crisis communication professionals and PR practitioners to study, and I can definitely see more research looking at this case study.
Hope you all are having a wonderful day.
Best Wishes,
Karen
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