United Airlines Fail on Social

Just a couple weeks after the leggings attire controversy, United Airlines once again was caught in a scandal, that quickly escalated on social media. On April 9, a man was violently removed from a United Airlines' flight, shown virally on Facebook and Twitter. To make matters worse, United Airlines failed with their social media and public relations management, truly not grasping the severity of the situation. United responded to the incident on Twitter entirely too casual, causing an uproar of people online.



So, what should United have done? United was not transparent to the public, "[hiding] behind its own policies". First, the word policy has a negative connotation, and United's "policy" is too old-fashioned, which in turn angered customers even further. Also, United failed to offer an apology or show any empathy during this controversy. United failed to take responsibility for its actions, and highly underestimated the magnitude of this viral video. United should have communicated online with customers as if they were friends, as opposed to using industry jargon. In this situation, customers want to feel safe, and confident in brands that they follow. Due to United's lack of sympathy and responsibility, customers lost their respect for the brand. Brands should always remember the importance of social media today, and how one bad experience offline, can create a national if not global uproar if shared online. Although United did do well by responding, the airline failed to create a personal response, which negatively impacted the view of their brand.

A Cavs Upset on Social Media

On Sunday, April 9th, the Atlanta Hawks came back from a 26 point deficit in the fourth-quarter to win the game in overtime against the Cleveland Cavaliers. This is the largest comeback in history since 1955, with the Hawks scoring 44 points to Cleveland's 18 points. With this win, the Atlanta Hawks also secured a playoff spot for the NBA 2017 playoffs. With the undeniable presence of social media, an event like this created an uproar on social media, from both the players, organizations, and fans in general. Especially on Twitter, people have not held back and have used the best memes and gifs to mess with the Cleveland Cavaliers, due to their second terrible loss to the Atlanta Hawks.

 

In the world of sports, it is important to insert yourselves at the right time. When a big event occurs, like this upset or when a team wins the Super Bowl, the activity on social media peaks. Therefore, marketers should capitalize on this opportunity. The Hawks PR capitalized on this upset by using it as a way to thank the fans of Atlanta, by having the players post about the big win. Also, the Falcons and Dream used it to congratulate the Hawks on clinching a playoff spot. These organizations use an event like this to insert themselves in the right conversations, at the right time. If it makes sense, brands can do the same and will be able to benefit more than ever before.