Lessons in bad Social Media Disaster Management from Chris Brown.

The comment below under Chris Brown’s new YouTube video says it all. Whilst Chris attempts to use social media channels to apologise for his recent crimes the comment picks up and alerts others to the fact that Chris is clearly reading from a script. Best use of social media, especially in times where an audience needs to trust what you’re saying requires a level authenticity. If you plan to use social media for disaster management your audience will generally respond better if the presentation is spontaneous, unedited, unscripted, warts n’all included. In this instance Chris Brown has committed several sins: The video is over produced, he’s wearing designer clothing (further distancing himself from real people), the clip has been edited, eye contact with the camera is poor. The result is that he fails to connect on a human level with his audience. His apology appears contrived and the mass volume of responses fails to respond as he probably would have liked, the majority rejecting what they see. 

Watch the Jet Blue clip at the bottom. It’s a good example of ‘how to’ handle a disaster using social media.

 
Above – users are quick to notice that Chris is reading from a script, and many comment that this likely to have been written by someone else.

The result

David Neeleman (ex CEO of Jet Blue) shows how to apologise in a more genuine manner. Unscripted, rough edges, word stumbles, continued eye contact, make this a more believable message for the audience.

Posted by @eunmac