Greyed out
Just Another Day in Social Media. 👩🏻🦳
If you're looking for a saucy new Twitter account to follow, you might want to check out @WhiteHouse. Yes, you read that correctly. The White House recently hired Megan Coyne, who was one of the SMMs behind the edgy Twitter account for New Jersey. And her style is already starting to come through. The account recently clapped backed at Republicans critical of student debt forgiveness by naming specifically how much debt certain representatives had been forgiven themselves. Oh! Rim shot.
Here are today's top stories:
Four social media takeaways from Bell Media's momentous fudge up
Twitter turns up the volume on podcasts
Shuffle by Pinterest is blowing up
And times up on distorted and edited social media posts
*The next TSP newsletter will drop into your inboxes on Tuesday, Sept. 6th. Hope you all have a great long weekend!
It's Black and White
In 2017, I was managing social media for Wilfrid Laurier University when a major public relations crisis hit. It lasted 1.5 years, made headlines internationally, and mostly played across the brand's social media accounts. Given that experience, I have some thoughts to share about the CTV/Bell Media firing of former Chief News Anchor Lisa LaFlamme. The short story: This decision will now be part of CTV and Bell Media's brand forever (just go to Laurier's Wikipedia page if you don't believe me). And if they think the controversy is over or wrapping up, it's probably just getting started.
The Latest
It's been two weeks since CTV's former Chief News Anchor Lisa LaFlamme released a video on social media — dropping the bombshell that she had been axed by the network as part of a "business decision" after a 35-year career. However, many believe it was based on sexism and ageism. And while Bell Media executives were probably hoping it would all have gone away by now, things have just ramped up.
In Saturday's Globe and Mail newspaper, a group of journalists and other prominent Canadians posted a signed letter in support of Lisa LaFlamme
Last week, in a rare example of brands taking a swipe at another brand, @DoveCanada and @WendysCanada showed their support for going grey and Lisa LaFlamme
And this doesn't include the tens of thousands of Canadians who have been publicly posting their disgust at the decision
The Response
In response to the increasing criticism, on Sunday, Mirko Bibic, president and CEO of Bell Inc. and Bell Media, said in a LinkedIn post that the decision had nothing to do with sexism, ageism or grey hair. "The days when viewers wait until 11 PM to get their news are gone." (If this is true, it's weird that they would just replace her and not cancel the 11 PM news, but ok 🤦♀️). He's obviously still not getting it. Meanwhile, Michael Melling, the VP of National News who is behind LaFlamme's firing, has gone on leave pending the outcome of a workplace review.
So what does this have to do with social media management? (other than the pain I feel for the person managing CTV's and Bell Media's accounts, of course). Here are some lessons to take away...
Lessons
Lesson 1: An old-school approach in a new world — CTV's decision to release a press release and few congratulatory tweets to the new anchor seems completely archaic to me. It's almost like they didn't realize social media means they don't control the narrative anymore. Executives seemed unprepared to answer any questions — online or from staff. And not only that, but the @BellMediaPR account didn't mention any of this. Ironically, on the day of the announcement it just had a July 4th tweet about an inclusivity, equity and diversity in advertising competition, which people used anyway to post their disgust. (Did you know you can turn off Twitter replies at any time..!!!).
Lesson 2: It's not going to blow over — It's not unusual for people who don't directly manage social media to not fully grasp the full breadth and extent of what can happen online in a crisis. For example, I'm sure the Bell Media executives didn't think major brands would be stepping into the fray. But when you aren't transparent, authentic, or deal with a situation, the crowd will keep going until you bend. This 2015 Ted Talk by Jon Ronson about shaming on social media is still very relevant today. It will only end if people are fired, the company sincerely apologizes, and it is transparent about specific actions it plans to take to help fix things.
Lesson 3: The crisis will ebb and flow — It's hard for anyone to maintain a high level of anger for weeks on end. But when people are reminded, they can get just as angry as they did on Day 1 — particularly if nothing has been done to fix things. And you can definitely expect tweets critical of CTV/Bell Media to increase on specific days — for example, when Omar Sachedina officially takes over the anchor desk on Sept. 5, when Lisa LaFlamme finds a new home, and on Bell Let's Talk Day. And god help them if a study about grey hair comes out and they have to cover it on the news! I hope they prepare for these days, and that the social media manager for these accounts gets time off for self-care!
Lesson 4: This will be a footnote forever — For CTV News and Bell Media, their brands are damaged. And they know it. Why else would they post a second response. And that damage is going to follow them everywhere — Wikipedia pages, on background in news stories, and even on unrelated tweets and social posts. I've often seen people post their anger about an issue (even years after the crisis) that has absolutely nothing to do with what was tweeted, simply because they didn't feel the brand was listening or responding to the crisis appropriately. How CTV and Bell manage this moving forward will determine how this footnote is written, and could impact their social media posts for years to come.
*Disclaimer: I worked at CTV News from 2000-2006. I was part of a team that helped launched CTV.ca, the company's first news website.
SOCIAL SNACKS
Twitter Raises the Volume With Podcasts
Twitter has been working hard since November 2020 to get its audio conversations feature, Spaces, up and running. And now the company seems to be taking the next step, announcing that it's going to be integrating a podcast tab within Spaces. "Now Twitter listeners will be able to easily access a more personalized selection of live and recorded Spaces discussing the topics that are most relevant to them," the company said in a blog post. However, Twitter has some stiff competition. Apparently, the No. 1 platform for podcasts is... YouTube. Apparently people also like to watch video podcasts.
Instagram Gives Us QR Codes for Posts
COVID finally made a good business case for QR codes — from restaurant menus, to proof of vaccination status. And now, Instagram has launched an option to create a QR code from a post (or a Reels, tags, locations, and more). According to Mashable, where I first read about this, "All you have to do is click the three-dot menu on any Reel, post, or location, click "QR code" on the top right, and save it to your camera roll."
Question: How would you use a QR code generated from an Instagram, post, Reels, etc.?
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ICYMI
🔴 Instagram testing a new feature that looks just like rival BeReal [CNN]
🔴 WhatsApp's Communities feature is live for beta users [Mashable]
🔴 LinkedIn introduces LinkedIn Collective — A Community for B2B Marketers [LinkedIn Blog]
🔴 YouTube explains how users engage with video playback speeds [YouTube Blog]
SHUFFLES BY PINTEREST
BeReal might be the most downloaded app on the App Store right now, but a new invite-only app by Pinterest, called Shuffles, is definitely growing in popularity. The app allows you to create video collages and "mood boards." The collages are set to music, and according to TechCrunch, are very popular on TikTok. The app only launched at the end of July, and last week it was the No. 1 most downloaded free Lifestyle app in Canada, according to App Annie. Learn more about how Shuffles works, and how to get an invite.
REAL BEAUTY
Social is Going Au Naturel
If you've noticed that many influencers (and others) have recently gone au natural in their posts, you might have Gen Z to thank. According to a recent article in The Globe and Mail, a growing number of Gen Zers (as well as influencers and companies) are no longer using PhotoShop. The article quotes content creator Spencer Barbosa, who shares many au natural videos, including this one at the beach, which focuses on all of her hair growth. As for companies, Dove is one of many that says it won't work with influencers who distort, edit or touch up their photos in their posts or ads. This is fantastic, given that research suggests Instagram (where the ideal life is, well, idealized) can fuel self-esteem and body issues. And not only are many rejecting heavily edited photos, some, like Miss England, are also rejecting makeup. Get ready for a more natural time in social media history...
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