Shots Fired!

                       Shots Fired!

#BlacLivesMatter

While I was freezing my butt off here in Mzansi, it was summer in the USA, some innocent young black male was shot by a law enforcement officer and Alicia Garza popularized the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter. This later turned into a national campaign aimed at highlighting the injustices offered to black people.
An array of celebrities have supported the campaign and have been openly active in helping propagate the campaign. How to tackle a sensitive issue like #BlackLivesMatter as a brand without offending and hurting a congregation of people? It’s obviously not easy, but it is possible. Here is how:

Too soon maybe (timing is everything):

  we live a new world where one tweet can change everything 

                
A sensitive issue like race needs to be dealt with very cautiously. Part of that is knowing the right time to use the hashtag, too soon and you might deepen wounds and lose an audience. Too late and people might be over it.  In this instance environmental scanning would do you a great deal of good and maybe a bit more research into the hashtag. You can use hashtagify.com for that.  It also helps you track trending hashtags as well as the best hashtags to reach your preferred audience.

Consider the penalties and relations to a hashtag:

A hashtag is there to enhance your searchability, a way of keeping conversations going, group particular posts and distribute popular news to people who were otherwise not aware. Hashtags are great! However, when you use a hashtag you are identifying yourself with its views. If I use a hashtag like #NutellaIsADemon, why on earth would I want to associate myself with such blatant hatred of yumminess, I don’t need that type of negativity and neither does your brand. Brands need to think about the consequences of associations to a hashtag. Which is why it is important to have a social media strategy to help weigh the pros and cons and hopefully maximize your searchability.

Maintaining a social media account:

                                          

Managing a social media account is very time consuming. Not only do you have to reply to people’s comments. You need to also post relevant information regularly. Moreover, it literally only takes one negative word about your brand and that’s it! You’re done! Still, Public Relations Practitioners need to keep a close watch on what is being said about their brand online. We’re like social media ninjas!

KAPOW!!

Alicia Garza, one of the women behind the movement #BlackLivesMatter

The text is mightier than the sword - sometimes - if you have enough data

The text is mightier than the sword - sometimes - if you have enough data.

Remember when there was news on every news channel, newspaper and social media network about the #FeesMustFall campaign? I’m sure everyone who doesn’t live under a rock would agree they had, to a certain extent, an opinion about the movement. The outcry caused a whirlwind of social media opinions, discussions and debates. As a result #FeesMustFall came in at number on the list of the top five news-related hashtags of 2015 in South Africa.

As a public relations practitioner it is important to consider how such a big campaign affects corporate social media. Similarly, public relations practitioners have the challenge of establishing a bridge between the brand and the people. So, here are a few things to consider and maybe implement in your efforts.

Have a plan

You cannot approach a girl without a plan, ask any guy who has ever tried. You will receive a blank stare aimed straight at your defenseless soul. The principle is the same with social media, particularly when dealing with a nationwide campaign. You need to ensure that there is a plan set in place to deal with any setbacks. You don’t want to be caught with your pants down, also that junk is embarrassing. Questions to ask would be:

How do you plan to go about your interaction on social media?

Who do you plan to attract (your audience)?

Which social media platforms will you make use of?

What are your primary market segments?

Don’t overplay the hashtag game

Resist the urge to use more than three hashtags, seriously it’s not okay. You don’t want to be that guy who populates their post with a myriad of hashtags. DON’T DO IT! Why is it not okay? Probably because you would be bombarding us with random information. People don’t like excess on social media because it means valuable time wasted.

Make it significant to your brand

Lastly, make the hashtag relevant to your brand. Using a hashtag in your favour would suggest you would have to make it your own. Attempt to work around the hype of the hashtag to find common ground. People can get caught up with the buildup of the hashtag that they forget what the initial motivation was centered around.

Mama Winnie Madikizela-Mandela was also in on the hype