Labor Relation’s professionals in Philadelphia have had a front row seat to multi-front social media campaigns being waged across multiple industries including, construction, manufacturing, entertainment, healthcare, education and more. In the past year we have witnessed social media campaigns successfully waged across multiple industries in the region and many with documentable success. I recently engaged in a conversation with other national labor relations professionals at Cornell University’s Industry & Labor Relations School on the growing popularity of the social media campaign. When discussing the tactics, methods and effectiveness with other industry professionals, Philadelphia, was far ahead of the curve in terms of deployment, industries impacted and documented success achieved.
The effort depicted in the “Deconstructing Post Brothers” video below rises to a new and heightened level in the Philadelphia region. Yet still, many within management in Philadelphia often fail to recognize the effectiveness of these electronic and social media campaigns. In the past, some in management have even joked about their effectiveness by saying, “what are they going to do, kill me with a Tweet?” While they may not kill you, they can irreparably harm you and your businesses reputation.
Despite the jovial and dismissive attitude by many in management as it relates to social media, the development team for the project noted in the “Deconstructing Post Brothers” video at least took the time initially to develop their own strategy and plan, which included their own web page as it related to this project and the events surrounding it. Unfortunately, management failed to monitor and maintain this potentially valuable resource throughout the project; the information contained within the electronic media source is simply not current and the page lacks relevance. The last update was 8/12/12 according to the title page which can be found here. While this team initially took the process seriously and responded with their own electronic media campaign, they failed to adequately and continually develop, monitor and maintain the resource. Like many within management in the construction and other industries, they did not take this threat seriously and failed to allocate the necessary resources to the process for an effective defense.
Given the current state of labor relations in Philadelphia and the indifference and apathy displayed by many in the city as it relates to labor & industry relations and this specific case, we should anticipate that labor will continue to hone and focus their campaigns to selectively achieve results as needed. In the past, I have witnessed such tactics as anonymous letters sent to elected officials and newspapers defining the “fat cats” at the table as vacationing in their Italian villas in lieu of negotiating fair contracts; to be fair, this was met with limited success and was simply not true, but it did have an impact. Without an effective plan and strategy in place, what happens when the letter writing campaign is converted to social media and other forms of electronic media? What happens when the level and pace of a campaign is heightened and updated continually? A management team that has failed to plan and adapt to this new tactic will quickly become overwhelmed and forced to continually respond to allegations in lieu of focusing on priorities. A well-planned social media strategy enables your organization to deal with negative issues as they develop. A well-executed social media strategy enables an organization to craft the conversation continually as it evolves. If executed properly, it incorporates a continual monitoring process enabling organizations to address issues as the topics are developing and evolving in a constant and continual conversation.
Take one moment and consider the reach of these popular, media outlets:
· Facebook
· LinkedIn
· Twitter
· YouTube
· Tumblr
· MySpace
· Reddit
Every day there are:
· More than 45 million status updates on Facebook
· More than 23 million “tweets”
· More than 1 billion views on YouTube
· More than 900,000 new blog posts
Consider the effectiveness of one well placed piece of electronic media. Albeit, a piece of media that was posted from a witness to the event and not a part of any campaign. Just last week we saw the effects of a viral video on Tesla’s stock price, a 6% drop in a day according to one source, when a video of a car fire involving one of their automobiles made YouTube. Didn’t see it? Go here… The social and electronic media campaign threat is real, its tangible and it’s here and now.
The professionally produced video, “Deconstructing Post Brothers”, could potentially be viewed by thousands or more in the region and has a high probability of impacting the decision making process of end users as it relates to this specific building and others built or managed by this development team. Think about how it could potentially impact the decisions of legislators and local elected officials as it relates to future development projects, economic assistance subsidies and project approvals. Like most things that hit the Internet, once it’s out there, it’s hard to contain it.
While I cannot attest to the validity of the allegations made or many of the images contained within the “Deconstructing Post Brothers” video, it certainly creates chaos and confusion in management’s camp as they are now forced to respond to each and every allegation. Had management deployed and maintained their social and electronic media strategy and platform early on, a viable, accessible and recognized electronic resource would be standing at the ready, crafting the conversation and responding to allegations continually as they presented themselves.
I present this video for your review, not to support this campaign, but for you to consider the impacts of a social media campaign on your association or organization.
DECONSTRUCTING POST BROTHERS on Vimeo. See the video here….
Are you interested in learning more about Social Media Campaigns and how they can impact your association or organization? Are you interested in learning more about how Social Media Campaigns can be used to your association’s or organization’s benefit? Contact Wayne Gregory at Gregory Management & Consulting Services, wegregory@gregorymcs.com to hear more about our in house presentations and or social media campaign management options?
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