Social media has become an integral part of our everyday lives.
It has shrunk the world and given pretty much everyone with a smartphone and social media account the opportunity to report on what they see as they go about their daily routines.
What once may have only been discussed among friends face-to-face or over the telephone can now be instantly posted on platforms for the world to view and share. And if it is something that captures the imagination or causes outrage, then it can be shared at phenomenal speed, crossing social media channels.
Stories that gain momentum on social media are likely to be picked up by traditional or mainstream media giving it further exposure to another audience.
For organisations and their comms teams this can cause massive headaches and can result in crisis media management plans being evoked.
But it can also be enormously positive and generate massive coverage with very little effort needed from the comms teams.
Take a look at the recent story of Iceland truck driver Vince Brown who was stuck in traffic on the M62 and noticed a man in a car next to him was struggling in the heat.
That man, Tom Lofus, has diabetes and had left home without his medication. He was becoming increasingly ill when Mr Brown came over and offered him food and drink from his cab.
This act of potentially lifesaving kindness may have gone largely unnoticed by those not directly involved a few years ago, but not now with social media. A friend of Mr Lofus posted a message and photo thanking Mr Brown on the Iceland Facebook page and inadvertently turned him into an overnight internet sensation.
At the last count the post had generated more than 150,000 likes and had been shared more than 90,000 times. And from there the story has been picked up by the Daily Mail.
Mr Brown’s actions have rightly received the praise they deserved. But it has also generated fantastic publicity for his employer, highlighting, in their words, ‘exactly the kind of upstanding behaviour we encourage from any member of the Iceland family’.
This story shows how important it is for organisations to remind all of their employees about the power and importance of social media and to consider social media training courses.
It’s no longer sufficient just to issue guidelines on what they should and should not post on their accounts. Employees need to be aware that their actions, whether heart-warming or controversial, can be reported by the growing band of citizen journalists at any time. Whether it is a chief executive speaking at a private lunch or a driver delivering goods, they are never going to be far from someone with the ability to record what they say and do and put it in the public domain for the world to share.
Media First are media and communications training specialists with over 30 years of experience. We have a team of trainers, each with decades of experience working as journalists, presenters, communications coaches and media trainers. To find out more about our highly practical social media courses, contact us here.
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