If Chad Shanks Worked for Me...
Brian Block
18+ Years of Digital Marketing | Healthcare, Telecom, Legal, Government, Restaurant, Architecture, Energy, B2C, B2B
Recap: Chad Shanks, Social Media Manager for the Houston Rockets, was fired after tweeting a pretty aggressive tweet during the Rockets/Mavs game.
Unknown Factor: Was Chad on thin ice already? Had he been warned before? Was this the straw that broke the camel's back?
If it was, then I can understand the firing and that's that.
If it wasn't, I'd say that firing him was an overreaction.
Considerations:
The tweet wasn't in the spirit of sportsmanship, but there are plenty of actual sports figures who do worse and don't lose their jobs.
The tweet didn't account for people who didn't see the emoji icons. The text, all on its own, appears "rapey" or "creepy" as described by others in my feeds. They had not seen the emojis at first.
In social media, there's often an escalation of shock in trying to gain attention of your audience. As Chad describes it, he was always working to push the envelope. If it had involved something racial or implied REAL violence against animals, well, that would be my personal threshold. Someone who lives in that world would be fired. This was in reference to the mascot.
Plenty of people who are completely separated from sports didn't know about the Mav's mascot. It's a horse. This is like the time some people complained that the Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers movie, which came out the year following 9/11, was cashing in on references to the World Trade Center. They had not realized the title is from a book from 1954. Out of context, plenty in this world seems off.
If Chad Worked for Me:
I'd have sat him down, given him a talking to and moved forward. He would be asked to make an apology and retract the tweet. I would not have fired him.
It would be a learning moment for all involved. I'd want to see him improve and grow. And I would hope he'd be more thoughtful about how to be edgy while knowing when to hold some things back in the future.
I double check messaging with those around me all the time. Over the years, I'm very happy to have done that as it saved me from embarrassment a time or two. He even did check with a colleague of his at the moment who saw no offense. Had someone said something, I imagine he'd have refrained.
Overall, social media practioners are all clamoring for a moment in the sun. We want to say the right thing, at the right time in front of millions of people. We want our Oreos Super Bowl stadium black out. We want our witty Oscars commentary. We want our Arby's / Pharrell moment.
If you employ someone who manages your social media, take them to lunch and have a frank discussion about pushing the envelope and boundaries. Discuss what's appropriate for your audience, for your industry and for the company. Make a plan on how you can stay flexible and open for growth, not a plan on how to stay under the radar.
Check him out in this audio interview on Chron.com.
Communications professional. Passionate brand storyteller. Data-driven & always curious.
9 年To me, this isn't about being "edgy" it's about understanding two things: 1.) the tone and voice of your brand; and 2.) what response might be. Number one is simple enough but often takes some time with a company . You KNOW what is acceptable or not for your brand. There is no one-size fits all acceptability. An NBA team is different than Virgin is different from GoDaddy. Two is harder, but as an earlier commenter said - that comes from professionalism and maturity. He should have been focused on what was right for the moment for his brand... Not what would make his social media buddies lol. That being said, I feel for the guy and agree that unless there were previous issues, he shouldn't have been fired for this.
Writer, editor, and content strategist | Builder of brand voices, buyer personas, messaging, and style guides | In a long-term relationship with grammar ????
9 年I think social managers need to stop using emojis.
Experienced Content Marketer Specializing in Content Strategy, Copywriting, and SEO
9 年Cosign. Sure, an envelope was pushed, but the punishment was harsher than the crime. This should have been a "teachable" moment, and the Rockets responded out of fear - thus causing even more undue attention to the tweet.
Communications Leader | Expert in Internal Comms, External Comms, Social Media, Website Management, Brand Visibility, Storytelling & Integrated Marketing Strategies #OpenToWork
9 年I agree, but if he worked for me I would be a little concerned about his judgment at that level and add a workflow to the process. I think although social media isn't rocket science, it does require a certain level of professional maturity and someone who can instantly assess the risks and outcomes as they are pushing boundaries.
Social Media Manager | 15+ Years of Experience in Social Media & Content Strategy | 25x Certified | I help brands drive a 150% increase in engagement through strategic social media campaigns and compelling content.
9 年Totally agree - social's about pushing boundaries, or else it'd just be posting sentences from whitepapers. Sometimes, people's boundaries aren't ready to be pushed. Thanks for sharing, Brian Block.