While the National Rifle Association (NRA) has given professional pundits plenty to talk about, the organization remained silent in the immediate aftermath of the Newtown, CT, shooting tragedy. And that silence extended to its social media presence. PRWeek interviewed a number of social media specialists to get their take on the matter. An excerpt follows; subscription required to read the entire article.
Industry experts told PRWeek that the decision to go dark on social media is generally counterintuitive to how companies should respond to a crisis in a socially connected world. However, some contend that the tactic was smart in such a highly charged, emotional situation.
“As a PR professional, it goes against my instincts and the recommendations I make to clients who stop posting on social media channels in times of crisis,” says Stu Opperman, chief strategist at Impact Players. “[But] with the nation’s collective emotions as raw as they were, any immediate post the NRA made, short of a complete reversal of their long-held position opposing nearly any form of gun control, would be demonized and seen as callous and unfeeling toward the children and families directly impacted.”
He adds that even the statement the NRA eventually made, saying it is “prepared to offer meaningful contributions to help make sure this never happens again,” would have been re-tweeted and mocked as too little, too late, or worse.
“In this particular situation, with this specific organization, my sense is that they were better served not adding fuel to an already raging fire,” Opperman explains.
