VerveCast

Like many of you, I woke up this morning and turned on the TV to see what looked like a low-budget action movie being shown on my local news station. Swat teams everywhere, the focus was on a white home. Officers had guns aimed at the house and were shuffling residents down the stairs. A possible apprehension was taking place right before my eyes, and I was shockingly close to the action. I couldn’t believe it was happening in real life and in real time.

The shot switched from the live view to a photo that had been Tweeted by a resident (@samanthae0) in lockdown near the scene. (I still can’t get over the fact that she took the time to add a filter.)

The media coverage this morning of the ‘Boston Bombings Manhunt’ was unlike any I have ever seen. Between the proximity of the cameras to the scene and the images from social media sites, I felt as if I were there.

Over the past few years, we’ve been seeing news media using content from social media outlets more and more. Every other day I see a dancing dog from YouTube on my local station. But it’s being used for actual news, too. Earlier this week, we saw that Texas fertilizer plant explode before our eyes via a YouTube video.

While social media can serve as an amazing tool for providing instantaneous news and reports, it can also act as an impactful source to perpetuate false information, like we saw with some of the early reporting on the Boston suspects. Now, I’m not knocking social media. I just want to point out that because it is often used as a source for traditional media, we need to make sure the correct messages are going out.

Earlier this week, Cedar wrote a post that gave companies some social media tips to follow when a big national tragedy occurs. But what if a crisis arises—be it large or small—that directly relates to your company? How do you control the messages that might eventually end up in the news media via social media? Here are a few things to keep in mind.

1)      Everyone’s a reporter. Social media makes anyone on the street a source. Always watch who you and your employees are talking to and what you say.

2)     Monitor social media. Of course, as a brand you should always be monitoring social media to learn what the public is saying about you. But in a crisis situation, this is especially important. You need to be able to address inaccurate information in a timely manner to help set the record straight.

3)    Prepare statements. In any crisis, one of the first things you should do is prepare an official statement and get that out to all of your company’s representatives. Anyone who interacts with the public should know exactly what to say to keep your messaging accurate and consistent.

4)    Create a social media policy. It goes without saying that having a solid social media policy in place is one of the best ways to ensure others on social media are hearing your message. (Refer back to Cedar’s post for more on this.)

As the line between traditional media and social media continues to get thinner and thinner, be sure the right messages are getting out to everyone, be it news reporter or man on the street.

(See also, a previous blog post I wrote on crisis communications.)

Well, it happened again. We experienced another unfortunate national tragedy Monday that completely overtook Twitter and other social networks. And right on queue, there were brands that tried to capitalize on the trending topics. One in particular was Epicurious. The image posted below, which was posted Tuesday morning, shows a few tweets it used regarding Boston and the tragedy the city faced.

It’s pretty obvious this was probably not the right approach when offering condolences. The right move is to not “sell.” In fact, the right strategy might just be to say nothing at all.

Epicurious wasn’t the only one feeling pressure. Wendy’s was found atop the Twitter search feed for “Boston Marathon” as a Promoted Account and that didn’t make a lot of people very happy. Sometimes, things happens and brands are caught off guard on social media. It’s impossible to be prepared for everything, but there ARE ways to plan and react when moments like this happen. Here are a few tips:

1. Pause Posts – When a major tragedy or event happens that overtakes social media, you should immediately pause your scheduled posts. Stop everything. You never know if a post could offend someone and lead to a PR crisis of your own.

2. Suspend Ads – If you are running ads or a campaign of some kind on a social network, stop them immediately. We saw when Wendy’s paid to have their Twitter account promoted, it was bad timing and placement. I’m not sure if their “promoted account” was sitting atop all trending topic searches or specific topics, but it was there for “Boston Marathon” and that was just bad timing. It was likely set up long before the incident, which is why you must be prepared to suspend ads in an instant. When you’re reading about a tragedy, you don’t want to be fed ads from every direction.

3. Stay Silent – Sometimes it’s best to say nothing at all. There were many brands that posted condolences–and that’s just fine. But even that can still be a touchy subject. Tread carefully.

This is one of those times when selling and marketing need to come to a halt. Let people have this moment. The tough part is tragedies are impossible to predict. The people in charge of your social media need to be paying attention and be ready and able to make proper adjustments. Be sure to get a plan in place now, so you’re not paying for it after it’s too late.

Spotted on Boing Boing, this sign at a recent concert asked people to put their phones and cameras away and just watch the show.

This resonated with me, because many of us have been to events where someone feels compelled to shoot photos or video the entire time, or post their status, share an update, etc. on a social network.

Sometimes these things are fun, and sometimes they just get in the way of disconnecting from the network and being in the moment, enjoying the world around you.

(Obviously if your job involves taking photos or posting updates during an event, that’s different, but if you’re seeing 90% of the crowd holding up smart phones, chances are they’re not all on the clock.)

Here’s a wacky example of how one company has tailored its advertising to the upcoming Presidential election. Beef jerky maker, Jack Link’s, hired an artist, Jason Mecier, to create mosaics of the two Presidential candidates entirely out of pieces of jerky. Intriguing time lapse below.

While the jerky campaign has definitely caught my attention, I’m 100% certain it will lead me to not purchase Jack Link’s. In fact, for some reason, it makes me never to want to eat jerky again. It’ll be interesting to see how other unlikely companies will tailor their advertising around the campaign.

I’ve heard a lot of people refer to Pinterest with snide remarks about “imaginary brides planning imaginary weddings” and as it being “just another place to post photos of your dog.” Yes, there a lot of unengaged 20-somethings on the site pinning to their “When I Get Married/For My Wedding… Someday/Dream Wedding” boards, but there are also a lot real brides—and non-brides—using the site for real things.

I’m not one of the Pinterest-obsessed, pinning all day and night. Most of the time, I don’t actually pin anything online—I guess I consider myself to mentally pin ideas. I maybe visit the site a couple times a week. That’s enough for me to glean some inspiration and then do something with it. The way I see it, you can pin all you want, but if you don’t actually create something in the end, it’s all just a waste of time (or, I suppose, it could be considered a form of entertainment).

The reason I like Pinterest is because it has actually inspired me to be more creative. Most of the projects I’ve made since joining the site have not been exact ideas I copied from someone else. Instead, they have been a direct result of thinking about everyday things differently, and knowing that if all these other people in the world can create, so can I. Pre-Pinterest, I’m 99% sure I would have never picked up a bucket of old saw blades at a garage sale and made them into a coffee table art piece.

And yes, I have also gotten some wedding ideas from the site. But, there’s so much more to Pinterest than copying other people’s good ideas. It’s all about inspiration.

From a marketing perspective, the Pinterest possibilities are endless. As a Pinterest user, however, I fear us marketers. To be successful, companies will need to learn to use the system discreetly, as to not corrupt the beauty of the site.