"Going Viral": The Highs and Lows

 

48 hours. That is the amount of video content uploaded to YouTube every minute, according to Kevin Allocca, trends manager at YouTube. Out of those videos, “a tiny percentage goes viral and gets tons of views and becomes a cultural moment” (Allocca, 2011). Sometimes companies are the recipients of these cultural moments. Companies featured in a viral video can receive an exuberant amount of support or backlash. Just like agents have to look out for their celebrity clients, strategic professionals have to look out for their companies. Strategic communication professionals have to be careful of their company’s reputation being put at stake because of the public’s reaction towards a viral video.

United Airlines takes a hit

United Airlines, a company that received a fourth-quarter net income of $462 million in 2019, was once the target of a musician’s viral revenge video about his experience with the airline. In 2008, Dave Carroll, a Canadian musician, was on a flight from Halifax, Nova Scotia to Omaha, Nebraska to perform a show with his band “Sons of Maxwell.” When he landed in Nebraska, he went to pick up his guitar and found that it was badly damaged after opening the case. His Taylor guitar, which cost $3,500, had a large hole and the cedar top was broken. After nine months of trying to reach a representative of the airline, he was connected to a person named Ms. Irlweg, who told him that the airline was not responsible for his damaged property because he did not file a claim within the 24 hour time period. Rather than sue the airline, Carroll decided to write a song.

In 2009, Carroll wrote the song “United Breaks Guitars.” In the span of four days, the song hit a million views on YouTube. He even called Ms. Irlweg by name in the song. In response to the video, the airline offered Carroll $1,200 in flight vouchers and $1,200 in cash. This was seven months after his last email exchange with Ms. Irlweg. The video damaged the reputation of a company that was already hurting. The airline lost “almost 10 percent of its market value, costing shareholders roughly $180 million” (Andres, 2019). Carroll posted two more songs to complete the trilogy. Those two songs also reached one million views.

United Airlines tried to right a wrong when they felt pressured by social media. Is that all it takes for a customer to get what they want from a company? Not necessarily. Many companies are not going to respond to every customer’s complaint on social media. But if a customer wants to voice their grievances about a business in a social media video, they will most likely receive a response from their intended target, especially if the video goes viral. If Carroll had not put out that viral video, he would have lost out on the money from the airline, an endorsement for a guitar case and even two guitars he received as gifts from the Taylor Guitar Company in California. One viral video has the power to affect any company, big or small.

 

Goats take the Internet by storm

Viral videos can also help aid in the creation of a business. The media attention from viral videos allowed one Oregon woman to leave her marketing job and start a goat yoga business. Lainey Morse founded Goat Yoga in 2016 at her No Regrets Farm in Albany, Oregon. Before the videos, Morse was featured in a story from Modern Farmer about her and the 11 Nigerian dwarf goats on her farm. Morse began to receive more media attention when Heather Davis, a yoga instructor from Corvallis, Oregon, made the suggestion to host a yoga class at the No Regrets Farm. At the farm, Morse decided to post photos and videos of Davis doing yoga poses with some of the dwarf goats on her back. In less than 24 hours, Morse received hundreds of likes and shares on her social media posts. In her first year, Morse received six-figures from viral media attention.

So what would make something like goat yoga go viral? One factor that drives viral videos is unexpectedness. What can be more unexpected than a goat on a person’s back? Goats are not only cute, but unpredictable. Goats are curious animals that do what they want to do. Their unpredictability is what makes them fun to watch. After hearing about goat yoga from a friend on social media, I knew I had to try it. In 2019, I went to a farm in Palmetto, Georgia to try goat yoga for the first time. It was such a fun experience. I did not know how heavy the goats would be on my back. I was not prepared for a 40 pound goat to jump on my back. Thankfully, I did not receive a “blessing”, a term my yoga instructor used to say goat poop. 

           I am the one with the black and white goat on my back

With great power comes great responsibility

Strategic professionals have a responsibility to stay ahead of a potential crisis. Like a fire, a negative comment on social media can start a spark that ignites a crisis in a matter of minutes. “Social media is the most immediate threat to your company’s reputation,” says Pete Knott, digital consultant at reputation management consultancy Lansons” (Brown, 2019). Once a video is posted on social media, it remains on display for all to see. Videos, both viral and non-viral can affect the reputation of a company, for better or worse. It is important for strategic communication professionals to pay attention to how videos can either propel or hinder their brand’s image.

When confronted with a crisis, strategic communication professionals have to make sure to respond in a way that would work best in the given situation. Sometimes crises have to be dealt with in different ways.  Strategic communication professionals cannot just lash out at every negative comment aimed at their company. That is just adding fuel to the fire. Responding in a respectful manner does not hinder the company’s reputation any further and addresses the commenter’s concerns. In other instances, a strategic communication professional’s best course of action is to do nothing. There are some trolls on the Internet who like to cause a stir by posting negative feedback about a company for no reason. All the troll wants is notoriety. Strategic communication professionals can make the decision to block the Internet trolls who are overly aggressive for the sake of the company.

In conclusion, social media videos have the ability to build up or tear down a company’s image. United Airlines needs to work on better communication with its customers. They should have conversations about people’s concerns before they post them on social media. Some people just want to be heard. Rather than receive a generic response, some customers just want to feel like companies are actually listening to what they are saying. It is up to a company’s strategic communication professionals to craft responses that are authentic and meaningful to their audience.

References:

Allocca, K. (2011, November). Why videos go viral [Video]. TED Conferences. https://www.ted.com/talks/kevin_allocca_why_videos_go_viral/upnext.

Andres, T. (2019, July). A broken guitar, a YouTube video and a new era of customer service. Marketplace. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.marketplace.org/2019/07/05/a-broken-guitar-a-youtube-video-and-a-new-era-of-customer-service/amp.

Brown, J. (2019, July). How social media could ruin your business. BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/business-48871456.