What about businesses? How should they respond to a tragedy? The Chicago Tribune recently posted an article that recommends businesses step away from the keyboard following a tragedy. Canon USA did this on 9/11. They simply tweeted, "In remembrance, we will be silent on all Canon USA social media properties." They provided a link to their contact page in case a customer needed help.
You may wonder why a company chooses to go silent. By going silent, there is no risk of posting something that can be considered offensive or insensitive. A post may sound normal, but after an unfortunate event, it may sound inappropriate. It could negatively affect the company, as they could lose customers if they go ahead and post something that could sound bad at that time. An example of this is Gap's tweet following Hurricane Sandy, which they took down later:
Photo found on Social Media Influence
To me, this tweet showed little support for the victims of Hurricane Sandy and focused more on visiting Gap's website to shop. Not surprisingly, some customers were not happy with the tweet. Later, Gap went to Twitter and apologized for this tweet. They explained that the tweet was meant to remind everyone to stay safe and inside.
I think a company that goes silent on social media after a tragedy shows respect for those who were affected by the tragedy. I also think it shows the victims that the company cares about what happened. I wish more companies would follow Canon's example. They weren't talking up their products and getting people to buy their items. While they were not active on social media, they still provided a means for customers to get help.
Going silent during a tragedy does show respect, but for some they want to capitalize on the moment and they just don't think. If Gap had chosen to try and help in the tragedy in any way, their sales would have sky rocketed. They can still capitalize on the moment without being insensitive. This tweet just shows they were not thinking through this all the way.
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