Engaging in Real-Time Media

This week we discussed chapters 6 and 7 in Real-Time Marketing & PR by David Meerman Scott. Throughout these two chapters we discussed the importance of responding to the media in real-time. If you don't reply in real-time then it is possible you may miss an opportunity to be the face of a story because you had all the information, but the media went with someone else who could talk about the topic at that time.

When a major crisis occurs and there isn't a lot of information coming from the company, then journalists and major news stations are going to turn to social media and blogs to find out what is going on. When this happens, the individual whose blog or social media contains all the information will be contacted by the media to get a full story. Social media plays such a large part in major events now because the information is happening real-time. Social media has also become a very important part of national conferences, as people tweet with a specific hashtag, which allows individuals not at the conference to know what is being discussed.

The title of chapter 6 is Engage the Media at Their Convenience. This could not be more true because if you don't have the time to comment and discuss the story then someone else will. The news is constantly changing and we are all being updated in real-time. These updates can take place as notifications that pop up on your smart phone from varies news outlets or google alerts which will let you know when something major happens near your location. I currently receive notifications that will pop up on my phone when something major happens either nationally or internationally. I also receive an email every morning telling my the top 10 things that I need to know for that day.

Throughout chapter 7 we discussed crisis communication and the dos and don'ts. During a crisis it is important to first off tell the truth and second off reply to allegations as quickly as possible. The outcome will go in favor of your company, if the company finds out about the incident and goes straight to the source, so the problem can be solved quicker, The worst thing for a company to do is tell the media they have no comment.The company could be responding no comment because they actually don't know anything about the situation. Another reason that they may be saying no comment is because they were told by a higher up authority to keep this situation quiet and not give the media anything. The media is in turn going to go to the other individuals involved in the story and potentially get a juicy, false story out of those individuals. This would in turn make the company look worse because what comes out may not actually be the truth, but the company didn't want to give the media a comment, which just made it worse for them. When dealing with a crisis the best approach is to answer the questions you're being asked by the media and release a statement as soon as possible.

Throughout this chapter the main concept I learned is that it's important to answer the media's questions early on, especially so you don't look guilty, and never say no comment. These 2 main ideas where also reiterated last night during our weekly Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) meeting. Our speaker, Tim Glon is the Sports Information Director at Ohio Northern University. Throughout his presentation he discussed a variety of different examples he has worked on through his time spent at ONU and Marshall University. His presentation reiterated many points from this book, such as it is best to go to the media with information instead of waiting for them, always tell the truth and saying no comment will always make you look guilty of something. These points will all be useful in my future career because I will always want to make the company I work for stand out.

Kim K's Social Media Mess

Kim Kardashian is a very well known individual, whether it be from her television show, "Keeping Up With The Kardashian's" or her marriage to singer/songwriter, Kanye West. With Kim being a very famous figure, she has a large number of followers on both Twitter and Instagram. Kim Kardashian posted the following on Instagram:

“OMG. Have you heard about this? As you guys know my #morningsickness has been pretty bad. I tried changing things about my lifestyle, like my diet, but nothing helped, so I talked to my doctor. He prescribed me #Diclegis, I felt a lot better and most importantly, it’s been studied and there was no increased risk to the baby. I’m so excited and happy with my results that I’m partnering with Duchesnay USA to raise awareness about treating morning sickness. If you have morning sickness, be safe and sure to ask your doctor about the pill with the pregnant woman on it and find out more at www.healthnewsreview.org/2015/08/fda-calls-canadian-drug-manufacturer-carpet-partnership-kim-kardashian.”

This post was then removed on Tuesday, August 11. The problem with this post is that Kim never put any of the side effects in her post. Even though she isn't a spokesperson for the drug, she is a very recognized individual and many people do listen to her. "The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) contacted Duchesnay, Inc and told them that they needed to take correct action for Kim's misleading information. The FDA also stated that the action needed to be corrected using the same form of social media." (Stone, 2015)

She has in turn put up a lengthy, but correct post on Instagram that states all the possible side effects and that you should consult a doctor before use. Below is what she posted on Sunday, August 30th:

kimkardashian#CorrectiveAd I guess you saw the attention my last#morningsickness post received. The FDA has told Duchesnay, Inc., that my last post about Diclegis (doxylamine succinate and pyridoxine HCl) was incomplete because it did not include any risk information or important limitations of use for Diclegis. A link to this information accompanied the post, but this didn’t meet FDA requirements. So, I’m re-posting and sharing this important information about Diclegis. For US Residents Only. 

• Diclegis is a prescription medicine used to treat nausea and vomiting of pregnancy in women who have not improved with change in diet or other non-medicine treatments. 
  Limitation of Use: Diclegis has not been studied in women with hyperemesis gravidarum. 
  Important Safety Information 
  Do not take Diclegis if you are allergic to doxylamine succinate, other ethanolamine derivative antihistamines, pyridoxine hydrochloride or any of the ingredients in Diclegis. You should also not take Diclegis in combination with medicines called monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs), as these medicines can intensify and prolong the adverse CNS effects of Diclegis. 
  The most common side effect of Diclegis is drowsiness. Do not drive, operate heavy machinery, or other activities that need your full attention unless your healthcare provider says that you may do so. Do not drink alcohol, or take other central nervous system depressants such as cough and cold medicines, certain pain medicines, and medicines that help you sleep while you take Diclegis. Severe drowsiness can happen or become worse causing falls or accidents.
  Tell your healthcare provider about all of your medical conditions, including if you are breastfeeding or plan to breastfeed. Diclegis can pass into your breast milk and may harm your baby. You should not breastfeed while using Diclegis. 
  Additional safety information can be found at www.DiclegisImportantSafetyinfo.com or www.Diclegis.com. Duchesnay USA encourages you to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.fda.gov/medwatch or call 1-800-FDA-1088.

This is a great example on how a celebrity can influence things that we take or use with just a simple post. Celebrities need to be careful when posting these, so they can avoid false or misleading advertising. With social media continuing to grow, the FDA is going to need to monitor many celebrities and their social media posts. It is important that you know what you're posting before you hit the send button because once it is seen by one person, then it is out there for good.  

The main thing that we can learn from Kim and her error is that it is important to know what you are posting when you hit the send button. It is also important to know that not everything a celebrity posts on their social media may be the whole truth. With all this being said, make sure you understand what you are posting and if you are second guessing yourself before you hit send, then you probably shouldn't post it. 

Stone, K. (2015, August 13). In Health News Review. Retrieved August 31, 2015, from http://www.healthnewsreview.org/2015/08/fda-calls-canadian-drug-manufacturer-carpet-partnership-kim-kardashian/

Doing the Right Thing

In chapter one of Real-Time Marketing & PR written by David Meerman Scott we took a look at the United Airlines incident involving David Carroll and his Taylor guitar. David Carroll was able to take his devastating incident of his guitar being broken while traveling. In the end this incident would cost him $1,500 for his guitar to be fixed, but it would also turn into a major Public Relations benefit for himself, Taylor Guitars and Calton Cases, Inc. Now whenever anyone thinks about flying United Airlines with precious cargo, they immediately think of Dave Carroll's song, and they immediately choose a different airline.

Dave Carroll spent nine months arguing with a large amount of United Airlines employees, and all he was trying to do was receive compensation for his guitar that they had broke. After a long nine months of being sent in a variety of dead ends, Dave Carroll finally decided that he was just going to write a song about the whole incident, seeing how he was a musician after all.

The success of this video was unbelievable. Throughout my reading of this chapter, I really liked how they showed a variety of charts and graphs about how much attention the video got in such a short amount of time. In the end Dave Carroll came out with three new songs on Itunes, Taylor Guitars showed the proper packing procedure for guitars when flying and Calton Cases, Inc. made a special case designed specifically for musicians who are traveling.

This particular example gave a variety of this you should and shouldn't do in public relations. The main issue is that United Airlines never acknowledged Dave Carroll and his report and they really didn't think that he could do anything about it. Once the first video came out, United Airlines should have made a public statement about the situation, and even given a public apology, except they decided that it was in their best interest to dodge reporters and act as if they had done nothing wrong. United Airlines should have originally given Dave his compensation and an apology and they would have avoided this whole fiasco, but instead they went with ignoring the pres and not taking responsibility. On the other hand, companies like Taylor Guitars and Calton Cases, Inc. turned United Airlines disaster into big positives. Taylor Guitars profit increased significantly after the video was posted on YouTube, as did Calton Cases, Inc.

As a future public relations professional, one of the main things that I have learned from this chapter is to confront all problems when they occur, so that they don't become an even bigger issue. I also learned that you need to take opportunity when it is handed to you because you never want to miss a perfect opportunity for your company to become recognized.