AvantGuild: How To Fix Flubs, Tip #2: Return To The Scene of the Crime

If you're in PR, your job may require you to issue public apologies. But if you're in any kind of media, and therefore are managing your brand in the "me 2.0" way that media life requires these days, you're almost guaranteed to need to apologize for some personal mistake that went public (i.e. Twitter, Facebook, Google....). That's why mediabistro has asked us to tell you about the newest feature article to hit the site: it's all about apologizing in a way that's sincere and effective. Tip #2: return to the scene of the crime. Did the flub take place on social media or was it a viral phenomenon? Was it a comment on live TV or a casual statement gone way wrong? An apology, says [interviewing and crisis communications pro Mark] Bernheimer, is best administered in the same way the indiscretion took place and addressed in the space where it lives. "If it happens on Twitter and all of their followers saw something that was inappropriate, then that's the obvious place to issue the apology," he points out. "If they did it on a news broadcast, they might want to go back to that reporter or network and issue a retraction. Tailoring the medium to the audience is just as important as tailoring the words to the audience," though situations do vary on a case-by-case basis. .... "Because mistakes are now viral, you have to make your apologies viral too," explains Dr. Aram Sinnreich, media professor at Rutgers University. Four more tips at the original article. This article is one of several mediabistro.com features exclusively available to AvantGuild subscribers. If you’re not a member yet, you can register for as little as $55, and start reading those articles, receive discounts on mediabistro.com seminars and workshops, and receive all sorts of other bonuses.

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AvantGuild: How To Fix Flubs, Tip #2: Return To The Scene of the Crime

Rachel Kaufman

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Rachel Kaufman