Hello. This is Motion Visual Japan Inc. It's already the fourth week of November. Many of you are probably busy preparing for the end of the year. It's often around this time that unexpected troubles occur. The COVID situation has calmed down considerably, and we hope to see the year out peacefully and without incident.
Now, whereas last time was about cause analysis, this time we will discuss the theme of "How to prevent viral outbreaks." Please be sure to read this along with the previous blog post. In the previous blog post, we analyzed the causes of viral outbreaks based on specific examples.
This time, we would like to explain how to specifically deal with those causes.
First, what exactly is a viral outbreak in this context?
"Information that is sent out angers a large number of recipients, leading to a large number of comments being sent to the sender's blog or social media accounts."
More recently, there was the incident of the Mayor of Nagoya biting a medal, and the backlash against the mentalist Daigo for hate speech against welfare recipients. Looking further back, such incidents have occurred involving both individuals and corporations. In particular, with the internet allowing anyone to send and receive information, viral outbreak incidents are no longer literally "a fire on the other shore."
As we mentioned in the previous blog post, there are cases where content that would have been fine if it were only for the intended target, developed into a major problem the moment it was widely disseminated. And what's more, the terrifying thing is that "once it's published on the media, it cannot be deleted." We often see celebrity private photos uploaded and become a topic of discussion, but in such cases, they are sometimes published or spread at various times... Once it's out in the world, even if you delete it, someone somewhere has saved it. We must keep in mind that it can become a scar that will never disappear.
Don't think alone
So, what should you do to prevent a backlash? The conclusion is, first and foremost, don't think alone. Many things can be improved by discussing them with several people or seeking opinions from external parties. Yakuza, gambling, taboos, discrimination, violence, sexual content, the underworld, politics, religion... all of these require caution. Generally, it's best to avoid topics that are considered sensitive, and if you choose to tackle them deliberately, you must be prepared for backlash.
While it's unlikely that a company's promotional video would discuss antisocial themes like the yakuza, particular care should be taken with political content, sexual expressions, and moral issues. What might seem like inside humor within the company can cause a major backlash the moment it's released externally, so this is something to be mindful of.
However, on the other hand, there's a downside: by trying to be inoffensive to everyone, you lose the ability to express yourself in a sharp or distinctive way. I believe the standard approach is to start with "things that seem unlikely to cause problems" and gradually become more daring.
Nevertheless, as mentioned in the disadvantages, the dilemma is that by gradually pushing the boundaries, you won't be able to create messages that truly resonate with someone or videos that grab attention. This is where the concept of shoring up your defenses becomes necessary.
[Reference]
https://prtimes.jp/magazine/sns-rules-guidelines/
Establish guidelines, etc.
To prevent backlash, major companies establish internal "Social Media Guidelines." These are documents that explain the guidelines and rules for using social media, both as a company and as individual employees.
Externally, there are "Social Media Policies." These are documents that explain the company's stance, attitude, and mindset regarding social media use to the outside world.
Furthermore, there are also "Community Guidelines" for external audiences. These are documents that explain the terms of social media operation (disclaimers, prohibited actions, deletion policies, dispute resolution, etc.).
Companies have responsibilities to their stakeholders, so it is essential to minimize trouble as much as possible. If someone were to say something like, "This is △△ from Corporation XX. Today, I have something to say about this!", even if it doesn't represent the company's actual view, depending on the opinion, it could lead to an unforeseen incident. Recently, there was a case where a famous businessman posted abusive language on Twitter, resulting in the dismissal of an executive officer.
To prevent such situations, it is necessary to establish company guidelines.
However, simply setting guidelines is not enough. What's more important is to foster a corporate culture that properly maintains and adheres to those guidelines. In particular, ideas related to gender and values change with the times, so a climate is needed where internal discussions can be held sufficiently, even with superiors. Furthermore, it is necessary to incorporate external opinions as needed, not just within the company, to ensure that the maintenance of guidelines does not become a mere formality.
Today, we have discussed what is necessary to prevent online backlash. Depending on the case, online backlash can truly lead to the downfall of a company's reputation. If you are involved in something and think, "Hmm? Is something wrong here?", it is important to trust that feeling and, at times, seek help from external organizations.
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