The day wouldn't be complete without a social media fail. Today it's 9/11.
When it comes to tying a promotion or post to a big, public event brands need to be particularly careful. When the event is a major tragedy that still has ripple effects 12 years later, the best route to take is silence. Take 9/11 for example.
Just a brief history of this event that captivated the headlines and the attention of the world for weeks. Early on the morning of September 11, 2001, 19 hijackers took control of four commercial airliners en route to California. Large planes with long flights were selected for hijacking because they would be heavily fueled.
Two of those planes flew into the North
and South Towers of the World Trade Center complex in New
York City. Within two hours, both towers collapsed, killing almost 3,000 people, including the 227
civilians and 19 hijackers aboard the four planes. It was the
deadliest incident for firefighters in the history of the United States. The destruction was so bad that Wall Street was closed until September 17 2001, significantly affecting global markets.
Media coverage was intense during the attacks and aftermath, beginning moments after the first crash into the World Trade Center.
While President Barack Obama laid a wreath and members of parliament and public observed a moment of silence this morning to remember the 12th anniversary of the tragedy, these idiots were using the event to gather Facebook likes.
The post has since been removed so we can't see what everyone else had to say and if they received more than 119 likes. Instead of apologising for the offensive post they follow it up with this cracker, which was just as bad:
For more:
Community Manager
Checklist:
What to do when
tragedy strikes
*
Pause scheduled posts
*
check your media plan: pause advertising
*
Ask: how will our fans be affected
*
Call decision-makers: can we help?
*
Don't jump in too quickly
*
Stay close to your feeds
This obviously wasn't a scheduled auto-post from hootsuite as it was sent via a mobile phone and the retaliation against their 'fans' is very human, so you have to wonder...what the hell were they thinking?
Our #1 piece of advice ~ we all use social media but don't be that person or company who has no social conscience.
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