We all know by now the PR mess the NFL has mired itself in, whether it is Ray Rice or the latest with Adrian Peterson and several other players. Their acts of domestic violence were horrible. From a business perspective, its easy for anyone to say that with some audible calls from the NFL front office, the damage to the league reputation could have been minimized. If you step back and examine a big reason why this has been such a PR failure for the league, look no further than the impact of widespread protests on social media.
The Social Media reputation management lessons are pretty straightforward... Fans, even players, expressed their disagreement with the league’s handling of these domestic violence issues on Twitter and Facebook through thousands of tweets and posts, calling for the ouster of Commissioner Roger Goddell and tougher punishments for players. NFL corporate sponsors have felt the pressure on social media as well, pulling ads and support. Since the world is online for their news and communication, use online tools like Social Media channels to your advantage.
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Develop an Online Social Media Gameplan - Every good team has a Social Media gameplan that is clear in its goals but flexible enough to respond on the fly. Develop one decisive, unified voice so your execs, PR team, even your employees, know via Social Media what the next steps are going to be online - don’t be blindsided by not having a structured reaction to whatever PR blitz you face.
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Win the Game by Owning the Message - As soon as the flood of negative tweets begin, use Social Media to defend your team and respond. Twitter and Facebook don’t have to be the Linebackers that sack you, they can be the QB that delivers the winning pass.
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Listen to your Fans - The PR mess for the NFL was exacerbated for the league when players and corporate sponsors complained about the lack of action taken. Pay attention to internal and external voices in your Social Media channels and respond accordingly. Several customer service based companies like airlines and phone providers have dedicated staff that track tweets for tone and complaints in order to respond faster to their customer base, thus avoiding potential negative trends online.
Now, the NFL is heading down a dark road with a potential loss of more sponsors, a rightful distrust from their huge legion of 80 million female fans, and a general bad taste in the mouth of people who consider the NFL their favorite sport. If you or your organization faces a crisis, don’t let social media protests ruin your brand reputation and public perception, respond quickly, swiftly, and with a social media plan, score a touchdown for your company.
