… and online comments, Facebook critics, and more. Yes, there’s actually a fairly simple solution that, in most cases, not only defuses the angriest ranters, but also adds humor to the process. We like anything that adds fun to PR, so without further ado, here’s the million dollar strategy:
Post videos of your organization’s spokesperson reading the comments out loud.
It’s really that easy. To see how effective this is, just look at clips from comedian Jimmy Kimmel’s late night TV show where he has celebrities read negative tweets directed at them. The reason this works so effectively is it shows the common absurdity of angry comments and social media messages, akin to spontaneous, irrational outbursts that somehow take on heavier meaning just because they appear online. And, when it comes to appealing for sympathy, you can never go wrong with a little self-deprecation.
Such a tactic, of course, is derivative of crisis PR in its call to embrace the negative attention instead of letting it corner you. Handled effectively, this shuts down critics – and in some cases, quite effectively too.
