Another example of a social media crisis that should have been avoided
Social media chats have backfired for large corporations like JPMorgan and McDonalds for fairly predictable reasons, yet their peers seem to be learning nothing as they voluntarily dive headfirst into troubled waters.
For those still doubting the need to consider the crisis management implications of any social media campaign, how about another example of an easily preventable incident.
Last October, British Gas posted the following tweet:
We are here with our Customer Service Director, Bert Pijls, answering your questions until 2pm #AskBG pic.twitter.com/csbaqTfWwu
— British Gas (@BritishGas) October 17, 2013
Seems innocuous enough, right? Well, what we haven’t yet mentioned is that British Gas decided to hold this little chat the same day they hiked residential energy prices by almost 10%. Still sound like a good day to ask stakeholders to share their opinions? The organization was bombarded with a combination of rage-filled and devastatingly sarcastic tweets, including these gems:
.@BritishGas have you found a way to channel angry customer feedback into electricity? #askBG
— Felicity Morse (@FelicityMorse) October 17, 2013
24,000 pensioners died from cold last year, @BritishGas. Are you trying to round it up? #AskBG
— fleetstreetfox (@fleetstreetfox) October 17, 2013
#AskBG My office has a window where the sun comes in and makes the side of my head really hot. How much do I owe you?
— Dean Burnett (@garwboy) October 17, 2013
Hi Bert, which items of furniture do you, in your humble opinion, think people should burn first this winter? #AskBG
— Lee Vincent (@LeeJamesVincent) October 17, 2013
“Will you pass on the cost savings from firing your social media team to customers?” #askBG
— James Ball (@jamesrbuk) October 17, 2013
Astonishingly, British Gas didn’t back off, instead posting several tweets like the one below in an attempt to explain the price hike:
@TrickyTredder Our costs are increasing far above inflation. Wholesale by 7%, pipes & wires by 7%, enviro & social progs by 38% #AskBG
— British Gas (@BritishGas) October 17, 2013
The entire situation was an embarrassment for British Gas, and Twitter users gleefully pointed out that the company was advertising for a new senior social media manager after the event.
Yes, communicating via social media is a vital part of crisis management, and PR in general, these days, but a few seconds of actual thought would have told the company exactly what to expect when holding a public forum the same day it made an extremely unpopular change. Talk about an easily preventable crisis!
The BCM Blogging Team
https://www.bernsteincrisismanagement.com