MJ’s Social Media Legacy

When Michael Jackson died suddenly a couple weeks ago, not only did his music and memorabilia fly off the shelves, but the news spread like wild fire through Tweets.

In a recent article on the new “news” source, fans of MJ heard about his sad fate through Twitter, mere minutes after it happened, and were among the first to arrive at the hospital where he was admitted. Is this just a gossip trail between extreme fans or something much, much bigger?

I think if Twitter is put to good use, it can be a powerful communication tool for any organization. One way Tweeting can be beneficial is in the form of crisis communication. 

With CIG’s concentration in transportation, local government and education, there are numerous potential crises that can (and often do) arise for our clients. While we hope nothing ever happens, it is essential to be ready for any circumstance.

For example, let’s say a construction crew accidentally drills through a water line in a neighborhood. With all the chaos going on at a time of crisis, it would be beneficial to put the information in a Tweet and instantly distribute it to all the organization’s followers, sparking instant e-communication that can grow and thrive on it’s own, keeping people informed and safe with a personal alert. While this can’t be the only communication tool used, it should be a key plan component to save critical time.  The toughest part is limiting the information to 140 characters, which is nothing a little word-smithing can’t resolve!

So what’s the catch?  You have to establish your organization’s Twitter account early to gather followers and become a credible source before any crisis happens. This information would have been beneficial for a recent incident involving a plane crash.

U.S. Airways did not have its account in line before Flight 1549 crashed into the Hudson River, but Twitter had a prevalent role in spreading the news. Before U.S. Airways could even send out a news release, there were stories all over national television, complete with photos, sent from a bystander with a camera and a Twitter account. An hour and a half after the crash, U.S. Airways had set up their @usairways account.

So once again, MJ leaves a legacy for us to carry on. But this time, it’s in the form of a Twitter account and a crisis communication plan. You don’t even need the sequined glove’ unless you want it.

Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 07/08 at 01:26 PM

Enjoy this post? Share it with others.

I would love to see more of my local organizations and government using Twitter. The way we live today we want our information quick and to the point and Twitter is one way of doing this.

Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)  on  09/12  at  05:27 PM

If twitter, and texting for that matter, wasn’t such an important communication tool, we wouldn’t see all these iPhone and android application development in this area. But it is an accepted and developing communication tool that should be embraced and used by PR and Marketing departments. You will miss the boat if you don’t come up with a good text strategy.

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