I think this statement is mostly true and can certainly be applied to good news and bad news. The unfortunate fact is: bad news can also travel faster.
If you look at social media and what gets the most reposts and retweets, sure, there are some amazing quotes, pictures and videos that get great feedback. But cases like the latest social media nightmare for Progressive Insurance can easily get way more air time.
According to CNN Money: "The company's crisis began [in August] when a customer's sibling published a Tumblr post with the kind of headline public-relations people have nightmares about: "My Sister Paid Progressive Insurance to Defend Her Killer In Court.
...Fisher's blog post went viral overnight and was re-shared on Tumblr more than 10,000 times. The Internet hive turned savagely on Progressive and its iconic spokeswoman."
To compound the issue, Progressive apparently responded with a series of RoboTweets, when a genuine, heartfelt statement was probably more appropriate.
The moral of the story isn't not to use social media or to be fearful of what people may say about you. But if you're confronted with bad news, remain genuine and heartfelt. Make sure that your message remains consistent and that you report on your own good news, even if no one else does.
Bridgette Outten is a journalist and media relations consultant with The Write Vision Group, Inc. With a background in print media, she has written thousands of articles for newspapers and online publications. At The Write Vision Group, Bridgette consults with nonprofits and small businesses about how to get their programs and efforts in the news. Meanwhile, she blogs on all things journalism.
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