W6.3 Crisis Management and Social Media

Crisis Management and Social Media

"You can't PR away what was essentially a human tragedy." - Neil Chapman, BP

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Dealing with a real corporate or organizational crisis is much harder now that social media is in the hands of all the victims and bystanders. Here's a video that is a bit corny, but clearly delineates the difference between pre-SoMe and post-SoMe crises.

Social Media & Crisis Comm: A Whole New Game Links to an external site.

 

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The BP Oil spill in 2010 provides a case study on how a modern corporation will have to manage social media during a crisis. One month into the oil spill crisis, a comedian named Josh Simpson started a Twitter account called @BPGlobalPR that quickly became a news story unto itself.

BP Oil Spill in the Gulf (in brief) Links to an external site.

 

Movements.org has a useful summary of how @BPGlobalPR came about Links to an external site..

 

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Description (from CIPRTV): Neil recently left BP after 14 years where his most recent role was in the unified command centre in the US, set up to respond to the Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. We asked Neil to share his insight on the communication response to Deepwater Horizon and the role of traditional and social media in a crisis communication effort.

Crisis communication and BP Deepwater Horizon Links to an external site.

 

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The First Interview: Meet Josh Simpson, the Man Behind Twitter's @BPGlobalPR Links to an external site.

 

Interview with Admiral Thad Allen, USCG (Ret.) about the BP Oil Spill and the role of Social Media: “You Have to Lead from Everywhere” Links to an external site. by Scott Berinato, Harvard Business Review, November 2010.