Crisis Public Relations:

April 17, 2018 was a normal day for those passengers boarding flight 1380 from New York to Dallas. Until the unthinkable happens when a blade in the rotor of the left engine breaks loose causing to engine to explode mid-flight and sending a plume of debris up the fuselage shattering windows and causing the cabin to depressurize. Lucky for those aboard their pilot Tammie Jo Shultz, was a navy veteran pilot who was able to safely and quickly land the plane before more damage could be done

With 1 dead, having been partially ejected from the plane in air, and 8 wounded this would have been very bad for any airline. Not Southwest. Upon the safe landing of the plane and evacuating of the passengers CEO Gary Kelly got straight to work. All passengers were given free accommodation and travel, trauma counseling, a heartfelt statement from Kelly himself to the passengers, notes under hotel room doors reminding them they had 24/7 counseling services whenever they needed. Not only that but Southwest immediately pulled all advertising from social media. All passenegers received personal phone calls and emails as well as $5,000 with no strings attached and $1,000 travel vouchers for Southwest. Their team also kept running tabs on social media and other channels to keep update on what people were saying and sharing. As PR Daily stated "When The New York Times follows a disaster with the headline “Southwest pilot of Flight 1380 is Navy veteran hailed for her ‘nerves of steel'", you know you got your messaging right.". This was a terrible situation but with PR like what Southwest exhibited as well as the personal care it had shown to each of those passengers we may not have continued to see Southwest Airlines for much longer.

wild card: Social Media Influencers Vs. Advocates

Lets start with some statistics 

70% of teenagers say they trust influencers more than traditional celebrities.

40% of people say they have purchased a product online as a result of seeing it being used by an influencer on social media.

49% of consumers rely on product recommendations shared by influencers for their purchases

72% of customers trust a business more after it is recommended by an influencer

Consumers Trust Influencers 94% More than Friends or Family When Making Shopping Decisions

92% of shoppers trust influencer reviews over classic ads and celebrity endorsements

33% of those participating in the survey admitted that social media influencers are their most trusted sources for shopping

43% of respondents said authenticity was the top reason to “trust” an influencer; 39% said the expertise of the influencer would make them trust the endorsement.

44% of all respondents said they have considered purchasing a product or service based on a social influencer post

24% said they have recommended a product or service based on an influencer post. -info here

So all this being said are social media influencers causing a decline in traditional PR or is this the future of it? lets take some examples such as Kendel Jenner. Most know her because of her sisters but some know her for her influence via social media. Two failed campaigns, two different campaigns she was hired for failed miserably first with Pepsi and her lopsided video fo her stopping a protest by giving a police officer a can of pepsi(which can be seen here) , as well as her endorsement of Fyre festival wich was a train wreck and a half. Do influencers truly care about the products, brands, companies they endorse or is it just a paycheck? Lets take Oprah...yes that Oprah, she was hired by microsoft to endorse their Surface tablet, sounds great, but the tweet she sent out about "buying 12 of them" cause she loved them so much was sent from her Ipad! Scott Disick was hired by BooTea, a company that makes powder for workout hsakes and such, to promte their protein powder and in a gesture of truly not caring posted a half-ass picture of himself with a bottle of the powder in a kitchen and instead of posting something he just copied and pasted their email instructions into his instagram post. This was almost exactly the same as when Addidas hire Naomi Campbell to endorse a pair of their shoes. She Much like Scott just copied the instructional email into an instagram post about the shoes, of which she wasnt weven wearing, she had them on her hands! These are big names, these are people who have worked in the limelight for years, so whats to say some influencer with a million followers who your company taps to endorse a product isnt just there for a paycheck and actualy enjoys your product. Is it more preferential for a company to grow and sustain its own advocates, a non-influencer whom actually enjoys thge product they post about, is it better for a company to breed its own community and get admittedly free advertisement rather than pay someone who uses social media a lot? if consumers like your product then they like it would it not be more beneficial and a safer bet to rely on regular PR and marketing  or try to rely on a social media post that can be turned against you or taken from you for a slightly better paycheck?