IDAOS

As the crisis around the oil disaster seemed slowed down, and that BP was assiduously devoted to caring for her e-reputation, CEO Tony Hayward is now driven to abandon his post within a group in bad financial shape. The sidelining of Tony Hayward, to which was added on Tuesday a new field action by Greenpeace in London BP petrol stations, has again placed the oil group among subjects in focus on Twitter.

For a little over 3 months, the oil group BP is facing what promises to be one of the largest oil disasters in the history of the United States. Enormous pressure weighs on the shoulders of society: the citizens of the world, that of politicians including Barack Obama, and finally the Internet.

We understand through this crisis all the power of the Internet and social media as a sounding board event yet born outside of the Internet. It seemed therefore interesting to analyze the impact of the crisis communication society , particularly its use of the Internet and social media on its image and reputation-E: decryption.

Chronology of Events LP

BP's digital strategy on the Internet

To avoid being overtaken by events and to address the challenges, BP decided to implement a strategy for its digital crisis management. Websites, videos, use social networks: the strategy is comprehensive and displayed. David Nicholas, BP spokesman, explained in an email to the agency Reuters May 6, 2010 the value of social media for the oil group:

"We want to lifesaving We Can get out information about this incident, The Response to the spill and did Widely and Rapidly as possible (...) Clearly Twitter Is A popular medium supplement Cdn That Other, more traditional, communication efforts. "

BP on Facebook

BP had set up his page Facebook before the disaster. Little busy until then, BP is now using it fully for its crisis communication, first to provide last minute information and partly to defend himself against attacks from users. This fan page now has more than 37,000 users.

There is a symbolic example of the use of Facebook by BP June 2, 2010: After having uttered a sentence awkward few days earlier ("I want my life back"), CEO Tony Hayward took the floor on Facebook for s' apologies.

BP on Twitter

On behalf of Twitter , BP has also been very responsive since the disaster (12 tweets in a single day, May 2, cons only 3 tweets in April 2010). Today, BP has over 1500 tweets under his belt and share a little more than 18,000 followers photos, maps and last minute information, and sometimes responds directly to users.

BP on YouTube and Flickr

BP creates a chain YouTube May 18, 2010, on which she shares interviews with employees and responsible for BP, technical explanations, mini-reports on ongoing operations in the field.

Among the most viewed videos, one speaking of Tony Hayward June 3, 2010 raises over 600,000 views: comments are disabled initially mostly negative. In response, the BP reaction is to ask users to comment to respect "commenting policy" posted by BP.

The YouTube channel now accounts for BP 131 videos with a total of over 3 million views.

In addition to its presence on YouTube, BP has also created an account Flickr May 27, 2010, on which the largest photo album titled "Cleanup" includes 460 pictures.

Digital strategy and social media Deepwater Horizon Response

Very quickly after the disaster, a unified command was established, bringing together BP and U.S. government agencies. On 23 April, three days after the catastophe, was launched the site Deepwater Horizon Response , which provides a discounted stream of information and photo galleries and videos around the spill.

This site also has social ramifications, led by federal employees:

• A page Facebook , which gives regular updates on the disaster, which is also used to answer questions from users (over 39,000 followers).
• An account Twitter , with already more than 1200 tweets and more than 8,500 followers.
• An account YouTube , where there are reports, interviews, technical explanations, is now 121 videos for more than 2.5 million views.
• An account Flickr .

On May 10, 2010, this site was used for an original, a call to good ideas : anyone wishing to help BP may make technical suggestions, and BP ensures that all proposals will be studied. BP announced that it has already received over 20,000 suggestions.

The use of the corporate site of BP

The disaster is present on the homepage of the Web Site of BP , which we also find links to the page Facebook account and Twitter BP, and a link to Deepwater Horizon Response , the official site of the disaster .

BP has also dedicated a portion of its site to the disaster, where there are detailed articles on the operations of BP, BP's operations in the media, but also photos, videos, maps ... There is even a section " Blog From The Gulf " in which BP employees tell them every day with the disaster.

In addition, BP has also set up 4 sites of local information for states affected by the disaster (Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana and Florida), on which users can subscribe to a system of SMS alerts.

BP face protests

Social Media

On Facebook, groups and pages of boycott against BP in the hundreds, but the page Boycott BP , with over 840,000 members, out from the crowd. This page has been mysteriously removed during the day on June 28 before being brought back online quickly, without avoiding controversy and accusations of censorship.

Also on Facebook, the page Save the Gulf of Mexico , initiated by local newspapers in the southern United States, today unites 113 000 others.

Twitter, an initiative created a very important Buzz: May 19, a fake Twitter account idendity usurping the public relations department of BP has been created to disseminate messages cynical and sarcastic:

Very quickly, the number of followers of that account (now over 187,000) exceeded that of the official Twitter account for BP. On May 24, 2010, Toby Odone, a BP spokesman, spoke in the magazine Advertising Age on the identity theft:

"I'm not aware of whether BP has made calls to Have It" any taken down gold Addressed. People are Entitled to Their Views on What We're Doing And We Have to Live With Thos. We Are Doing the Best We Can To Deal With The current situation and to try to stop the oil from flowing to and Then clean it up. "

YouTube, BP has not been spared most: the query "BP Oil Spill" now gives more than 147,000 results.

Among the videos topping, there is a skit parodying seen by 9.9 million Internet users, showing the inability of BP employees to clean up a puddle of spilled coffee on a desk.

Other initiatives using the Internet

The Louisiana Bucket Brigade , an American environmental organization, launched its website on the Oil Spill Crisis map , an interactive map where area residents are invited to identify any effects of the spill which they are witnesses.

Another initiative combines mockery and mobilization of Internet users has been taken by Greenpeace UK: May 20, 2010, the organization conducts a shock action at the London headquarters of the oil group, and runs alongside the "Rebrand BP contest, a contest inviting users to submit their logos diverted from BP via a website and an account Flickr dedicated.

How BP treats its E-reputation

If the disaster is already having a significant impact on the financial results of BP, those on the group's image will certainly not negligible. An analysis of sentiment on the BP brand from June 16 to July 14, 2010 with Twitter Sentiment shows that 59% of tweets on BP over this period were negative.

To treat his e-reputation, while BP did not simply spread a lot of content "positive or neutral social media to counterbalance the weight of negative reactions from users. From the beginning of June, BP bought keywords related to the oil spill on the major search engines, as explained by Toby Odone, a spokesman for BP to ABC News June 5, 2010:

"We Have Bought search terms are search engines like Google to Make It Easier for People to find out more about Our Efforts In The Gulf and Make It Easier for People to find links to key information is filing claims, reporting oil on the beach and signing up to volunteer. "

According to expert estimates from Search Engine Watch , BP would spend $ 1 million per month for its search marketing campaigns with Google Adwords and YouTube.

Marks the heart of negative buzz