Social Media Crisis

In the contemporary world of business, it is common for business organizations to strategize how to deal with a social media crisis. Some of the social media crises that the companies prepare for includes public relations predicament such as negative reviews by clients, breach of data, and scandals involving managers. Some of these crises are unavoidable, and thus, the companies need to be fast to respond to them to protect the brand reputation carefully. Besides, a company needs to establish ways to deal with a social media crisis.

Below, I will present an example of a fashion Fiasco that happened in April 2020, where a worker won a package in a competition and did not receive the package. This happened during the period of coronavirus pandemic, where Oh Polly fashion company decided to show appreciation for its workers. Workers were supposed to participate in social media to earn a chance to win a care package, which was accompanied by a virtual party. One of the nurses from Glasgow won the race; however, she could not do a virtual party because she was at work. On the other hand, the company failed to give her a package claiming that she did not attend the virtual party. The nurse went on twitter and wrote:

‘Imagine entering an Oh Polly competition for NHS workers and winning, but can’t participate due to working a 12hr shift on Friday on the frontline. And then being told you can’t claim the care package and outfit because you’re unable to be on the video call.’

Unexpectedly, the tweet went viral on social media, attracting over fourteen thousand likes and responses, stressing dissatisfaction in the company. Additionally, the tweet was picked up by the rival company that wrote to the winner and congratulated her for her excellent work. In due course, Oh Polly fashion brand went to social media, apologized, and promised to reward the winner even if she did not attend the virtual party.

In my opinion, even if the frontline worker’s competition did not mean much to workers and the customers for Oh Polly fashion, any stakeholder in an organization is always right. Yes, the nurse did not meet the criteria, but denying her the package threw a grenade into the brand’s side. However, this could be avoided if the company had initially done the right thing to the winner.