The screenshot above showcases BP’s Twitter impostor; however, over the last week it has generated a following tripling the size of BP’s actual account. Consequently, a recent blog post on the Bernstein Crisis Management Blog discusses the next set of bad decisions made by BP in the aftermath of the Gulf oil spill.
So far, the company has not contacted Twitter or showed any signs of potentially putting an end to the impostor account. Therefore, many professionals in them realm of crisis management, including Bernstein, contend that BP is inviting further reputation damage by letting the account exist.
On the other hand, a recent post on Outspoken Media suggests that BP embrace the impostor account in order to fix the brand-damaging agenda. According to this post, they suggest BP partner with the impostor in order to mix in real information to a large audience that is clearly invested in the situation already. Thus, having BP face its most critical audience while working to save the remains of its reputation.
Sadly, this somewhat comical Twitter is better at keeping the public informed on recent developments (even if they are wrapped up in a harsh-toned rhetoric).In a recent nation-wide poll, 70 percent of Americans disapprove the way BP is handling the oil spill. Clearly, BP continues to dissatisfy the public with its crisis management actions, and maybe these tweets aren’t so far off.
In my mind it seems rather preposterous that a company this size lacks proper procedures for an oil spill. In addition, the lack of effective communication is beginning to bookmark their name and drag it into the history books as one of the worst companies of all time.
Posted on May 28, 2010
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