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Ithaca Public Relations
| The Insider - Social Media Sabotage |
The images are striking. So are the news reports.
A YouTube video of a Domino’s Pizza employee doing very unhygienic
things to food he was preparing. Employees of Burger King and KFC
taking baths in the prep room sinks of their restaurants. The Burger King
video was posted on YouTube. The KFC employees posted their pictures
on Myspace.
Most likely, the employees who posted them simply thought it would be
harmless fun to do so.
But, the O’Reilly Factor and the Late Show with David Letterman both
showed the videos and pics on national television.
You can imagine the commentary afterward.
SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS NEVER GO COMPLETELY AWAY
These videos are still online.
So are many TV news reports of the Domino’s employees being fired and
charged. There’s also a TV news report of the manager of the KFC being
taken by surprise, when the reporter showed her still-images of the video
of the KFC employees. The reporter also showed them to people waiting
in the drive-thru, and got their thoughts and comments. Then she got
video of them leaving the drive-thru without their food
If you really want to see them, here are a few links.
Raw Domino’s footage: Domino's Video
ABC News Domino’s Story: ABC.com News Story
KFC Local TV News Report: KFC Local TV News
More recently, an NFL player posted some unkind tweets about his team
that were picked up by ESPN, MSG, etc. Sports fans everywhere found
out about them. The player is no longer with the team, which had to do
some major P.R. damage control.
THE BOTTOM LINE
Social media is here to stay. Your business or organization may not be
using it, but chances are some or all of your employees use it. What are
they saying about you?
Your employees are your 24/7 brand ambassadors. Ideally, they’re
happy, committed to their jobs, and positively promote your corporate
image.
If you don’t have a corporate social media policy in place, now is the time
to do so. The P.R. community is still buzzing about how the Domino’s
video took a solid, stable 50-year-old American icon, and shook it to its
foundation. Not to mention the financial impact from the loss of business
and time spent repairing a corporate image.
Proceed carefully, but definitely proceed. You can’t stop your employees
from participating in social media, and as a quality organization, you don’t
want to. But, guidelines and a code of ethics can go a long way toward
preventing a P.R. crisis, and damage to your image, brand and bottom
line.
You may also want to consider consulting with your H.R. specialist and
your corporate counsel. Have your employees help you develop the
policy, so they buy into it right from the beginning. Be clear that you
consider them your brand ambassadors. A good policy will clearly define
what you’ll tolerate, while still allowing them to be themselves online.
Posted on 5/5/10
A YouTube video of a Domino’s Pizza employee doing very unhygienic
things to food he was preparing. Employees of Burger King and KFC
taking baths in the prep room sinks of their restaurants. The Burger King
video was posted on YouTube. The KFC employees posted their pictures
on Myspace.
Most likely, the employees who posted them simply thought it would be
harmless fun to do so.
But, the O’Reilly Factor and the Late Show with David Letterman both
showed the videos and pics on national television.
You can imagine the commentary afterward.
SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS NEVER GO COMPLETELY AWAY
These videos are still online.
So are many TV news reports of the Domino’s employees being fired and
charged. There’s also a TV news report of the manager of the KFC being
taken by surprise, when the reporter showed her still-images of the video
of the KFC employees. The reporter also showed them to people waiting
in the drive-thru, and got their thoughts and comments. Then she got
video of them leaving the drive-thru without their food
If you really want to see them, here are a few links.
Raw Domino’s footage: Domino's Video
ABC News Domino’s Story: ABC.com News Story
KFC Local TV News Report: KFC Local TV News
More recently, an NFL player posted some unkind tweets about his team
that were picked up by ESPN, MSG, etc. Sports fans everywhere found
out about them. The player is no longer with the team, which had to do
some major P.R. damage control.
THE BOTTOM LINE
Social media is here to stay. Your business or organization may not be
using it, but chances are some or all of your employees use it. What are
they saying about you?
Your employees are your 24/7 brand ambassadors. Ideally, they’re
happy, committed to their jobs, and positively promote your corporate
image.
If you don’t have a corporate social media policy in place, now is the time
to do so. The P.R. community is still buzzing about how the Domino’s
video took a solid, stable 50-year-old American icon, and shook it to its
foundation. Not to mention the financial impact from the loss of business
and time spent repairing a corporate image.
Proceed carefully, but definitely proceed. You can’t stop your employees
from participating in social media, and as a quality organization, you don’t
want to. But, guidelines and a code of ethics can go a long way toward
preventing a P.R. crisis, and damage to your image, brand and bottom
line.
You may also want to consider consulting with your H.R. specialist and
your corporate counsel. Have your employees help you develop the
policy, so they buy into it right from the beginning. Be clear that you
consider them your brand ambassadors. A good policy will clearly define
what you’ll tolerate, while still allowing them to be themselves online.
Posted on 5/5/10
SOCIAL MEDIA SABOTAGE
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Ithaca, NY 607-280-3840 info@ithacapr.com
When you’re looking to influence or
persuade opinions, behaviors and
actions, you need to look beyond
just sending out a press release.
How to Change Opinions
persuade opinions, behaviors and
actions, you need to look beyond
just sending out a press release.
How to Change Opinions
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