Shiny Green Button

In those first few days of the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, many in the communications industry criticized BP for its lack of a cohesive crisis communications plan. First they said it wasn’t their fault. Then, they accepted responsibility. And how much oil is gushing out? The numbers have been fuzzy.

But lately, critics have eased up, thanks in part to what many are calling BP’s effective use of online tools and social media. The company is getting the word out about cleanup efforts via Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, YouTube and a dedicated website, www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com. It’s also front and center on the main BP website.

Of course, no matter how effective the company is with these venues, the pitfalls of social media still apply. Social media, by its nature, puts a brand in the people’s hands, and that includes disgruntled consumers and activists.

When I did a Google search for “BP Facebook,” the first item was a link to a “Boycott BP” Facebook page. A fake Twitter account mocking the company, @BPGlobalPR, launched May 19 and already has twice as many followers as BP’s official account. Despite some obviously snarky tweets, some readers have confused the fake account for BP’s official voice.

The actual crisis BP is communicating about is obviously much larger and graver than the recent palm-oil problem Nestle faced, or yesterday’s Intel Facebook snafu, both of which have been held up as examples of what not to do with social media. Rather than getting defensive or trying to stop the vitriol, BP seems to be moving forward with its own message while letting the critics move forward with theirs.

This seems like the right approach for now, but unfortunately, the environmental crisis and the communications crisis that goes with it are both far from over.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 25th, 2010 at 5:04 pm and is filed under Communications. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.