In the emotional environment around the Gulf Of Mexico spill, BP is under a hail of criticism unlike any other organization of any kind has ever faced. It magnifies everything the company does in a negative way, from sleep-deprived gaffes to its quite reasonable attempts to protect its reputation and legal standing. Yesterday’s ‘big social media story’ was that BP is buying keywords on Google and Bing to direct traffic to its site - and somehow this is a bad thing. (How could it be when the top returned search link on both is a venomous satire of your efforts?) In a social media world where companies have the ability to be their own media outlets, it would be reprehensible as both civic and marketing matters for BP not to get out there and tell the story.
I’m sure be in the minority on this, but I believe the company has done a really good job of staying out front of the story, particularly in the crisis’s early days, by being direct with its stakeholders and straightforward in its language. I was impressed by CEO Tony Hayward’s forthright appearances in the national media when the story first broke. In no uncertain terms, he promised that his company would clean up the mess and pay all reasonable costs above its regulatory responsibility. Good stuff - and refreshing after 16 years of Clinton and Bush.
There are still opportunities for a better, richer social media response. I have no doubts that the PR team is a bit busy these days (understatement!) and honestly its difficult to sympathize with the company at this stage. Nevertheless here are few things the company could be doing better to tell its story.
Get The Basics Right: This page is called Response In Video. Yet… no embedded videos. The second and third links are to a sound file and a PowerPoint. Many of the video are not even videos, but rather potted presentations that look like low-rent webinars. Aside from speed, what the public wants now most of all is competence. Here is a case of the medium sabotaging the message.
Do A Better Job Of Explaining The Science - and Its Limits: Pipelines conjure up visions of dumb tubes in basements and across land forms. But really the effort it takes to excavate the ocean floor must be akin to what it takes to get a man on the moon, albeit with better potential economic rewards. Yet I think I’m yet to see any interesting graphics about “how the heck do they do that” and “why this is so tough” and so forth. I’m surprised that the company didn’t have more of this kind of material in their PR satchel already. There’s a lot of ‘Gee Whiz’ science in the energy exploration industry that I for one would love to hear more about. Don’t be scared of the legal ramifications. Talk to us.
This is also an incredible opportunity to talk about and educate the world on oceanography, the opportunities in its natural resources and the dangers. I have a good friend who works in this field and its just incredible how little is known, even to the experts. It’s like having an alien planet in our midst. Who will step up to lead the conversation? So far it’s BP - and it’s fair to say its credibility is a bit hobbled. We need more ‘star scientists’ from this field (as physics has Hawking and astronomy has Tyson) to step up their visibility. Tell me this talk by oceanographer Robert Ballard isn’t inspiring!
Keep It In Plain Language: Openness requires an honest effort at plain speaking. Whenever possible, don’t use acronyms that confuse laymen. They give off the air of complexity that perhaps legitimizes the “this is complicated” message that BP wants to send. It also by its nature obfuscates, the last thing the company or the public wants at this time.
Let It Go Viral: BP’s created some really interesting & engaging content, particularly on its YouTube page. I’d love to embed a video about bird rescue below, but I can’t. That’s one missed opportunity to spread the word. How many others. To its credit, BP’s Flickr account does allow photo use under Creative Commons license.
Show More Of The Front Lines: We want to know the CEO and executive management are engaged, even if not “in control” of the disaster. We want to know they’re sorry. Nearly two months in, we know this in spades. Over half the videos on the YouTube page today are of the CEO, while the Flickr page is dominated by the COO. Yawn. It’s time for them to stand out of the way and let the people doing the heavy lifting shine, as in the report below from CNN. (Not to mention that the longer you stay in the public eye, stressed and sleep-deprived, you’re bound to say some stupid things sooner or later.) There is a chance (however distant) that this could become a story about good-ol’ American know-how. Set up now for that distant, if possible eventuality, like this report from CNN:
No comments yet.