For BP, Crisis Management in Social Media is as Slippery as Oil

May 25, 2010 | Written by Sang Jung

We are roughly a month into the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, better known as—much to the chagrin of BP stockholders—the BP spill. Since the first news story broke on the explosion of the oil rig wellhead, there have been 17 people injured and 11 missing (presumed dead), 7,000,000+ barrels of crude oil saturating the waters of the Gulf of Mexico and Louisiana, polluted fisheries and marine ecosystems along the southern east coast, and countless hours of vilification from news pundits and politicians.

Ok. Suffice it to say, BP is faced with a brand perception problem of epic proportions.

So like most companies that have had a crisis in the Social Media Age, BP has used their Facebook and Twitter profiles to reassure the public with canned messages about “solutions” and “responsibilities.”

However, BP is facing a large online community that is united in their frustration over the company and the damages the oil spill has caused. Facebook fan pages and fake BP Twitter profiles have sprung up to humiliate and direct anger towards BP.

Ultimately, as people become more social media savvy, companies, like BP, will have a harder time monitoring and responding to a crisis online.

BP will have a better chance of capping the oil leak than capping the overflowing hate in the online space.

More from RFI Studios

• Digital and Social Media Predictions for 2010 (Part II) – Left Brain
• Digital and Social Media Predictions for 2010 (Part I) – Left Brain
• Another Social Media First For Pharma – Left Brain
• Greenpeace drops into Nestle shareholder meeting, Facebook comments not enough – Left Brain
• Can Corporate Blogs Fill the Demand for News? – Left Brain

Ask RFI Studios To Recommend Your Posts

Tags: BP oil spill, crisis management, social media