This week, media is offering countless stories to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks. On Sunday, it’s safe to assume that will kick into high gear.
But, how does that translate to social media? If you manage social channels for a brand — your own or your clients’ — you may face a sticky situation … something that requires a thoughtful, well-intentioned approach.
How should brands acknowledge and/or commemorate 9/11 via social media? This topic was part of this week’s PR 2.0 Chat (#pr20chat on Twitter) discussion, sparking lots of debate. To continue that dialog, let’s think this through …
First, decide if it’s appropriate for your brand to tie itself to the anniversary. Then, ask yourself again if it makes sense. The 9/11 anniversary is a very sensitive subject, so if your brand appears in any way to be leveraging the situation for commercial gain, be prepared for potential backlash.
If you decide to somehow commemorate 9/11 this weekend via a brand’s social media assets, keep this bit of advice in mind, from the wise Justin Goldsborough:
The tough part is that you can’t just look at intentions. You have to judge how actions will be perceived, which really is PR’s job. [paraphrasing this tweet]
If your company has decided it wants to do something to commemorate this weekend’s anniversary, there are a number of options:
- Post a simple message to honor those who lost their lives.
- If someone in your company was directly tied to 9/11 (eg part of the rescue effort) — and if that person is comfortable talking publicly about the subject — share their story via blog or video post. But, be very careful and respectful. Fine to honor the police, firemen and volunteers who helped. Not so fine to shill your services.
- Share links to volunteer opportunities to encourage people to participate in the “National Day of Service” component.
Some other ideas and feedback from #pr20chat participants:
What’s your take? How will your company or clients acknowledge and commemorate 9/11? What do you think is appropriate? What’s not?
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Love being included in your post – and loved being part of this most relevant chat!
9/11 is an extremely touchy subject when it comes to brands. The potential for a crisis is huge based on feelings bubbling up in the stomachs of those who vividly remember the attack 10 years ago.
No matter what position a brand takes, whether they plan to do something in remembrance or not, they need to be bold in their actions. 9/11 was a very serious matter and not only will people remember those brands who just use the event as marketing promo, but they will also remember the brands who are only half-doing their part.
Basically, put up or shut up. Do something big to really make as much of a difference as possible or just let the day pass in silence and remembrance. Anything less will most likely garner you some harsh comments from your once loyal fans.
People can smell tactics. Get your heart in the right place and go from there.
Great post Heather! Glad you took this chat topic and expanded it and opened it up for more eyes. Obviously from our #pr20chat, the topic did need to be discussed in more detail. The events 10 years ago touched us in many ways with many ripple effects on the country in many areas. Remembering 9/11 is important to our psyche just as much at Dec 7, 1941.
As marketers we need to keep in mind why we would mention or make an active remembrance…what is the end result we are looking for? Does that support the memories of those who lost their lives? Sadly, commercialism will have some involvement as magazines, newspapers and TV shows come out with specials and sections memorializing this tragic event but we need that to always remember.
But we can use this for betterment of our society and nation. Maybe donate a portion of advertisements to organizations bridging cultures together, education funds for the children of those who lost their lives, funding of parks in the memory of these people or anything else that makes our community stronger.
I think the only respectful option is to acknowledge the date and make clients aware that you have made a donation and where they might do the same. Any profit from this life-altering horrifying event is tasteless and unnecessary.