Not The Response I Expected.
This article is part of Finding the Words, a newsletter that delivers practical insights on the day’s issues.
This week, in a new-kind-of-low-moment, Twitter revealed that its latest press strategy is to reply to all media requests with a single poop emoji.
Did I just write that? I did, and it’s true.
According to Gizmodo, Twitter CEO Elon Musk announced via a tweet over the weekend that messages to press@twitter.com, which have gone unanswered for months, will now receive a “💩” in an automatic reply.
Twitter’s press strategy, if one can call it that, is the most response reporters have received in months. Nearly all of Twitter’s communications team was laid off after Musk took over.
Well, that’s one way to do it.
Emojis aside, if you’re looking to build trust and credibility as a source, there is a much better way.
Delivering a message that matters—a message that your audience can hear, understand, and carry forward—always works best when delivered by one human to another. No robots, no AI, and no autoresponders. Words and emojis won’t matter if no one and nothing is behind them.
While responding in times of transition, uncertainty, change, or complexity can be difficult; it is also imperative. What we say in the challenging moments can do the most to earn trust, foster engagement, and build loyalty for the long-term benefit of your brand.
Trust, engagement, and loyalty just can’t happen if leadership is silent.
You may not be able to share every detail in a challenging situation. That’s understood and expected. Instead, provide as much relevant and accurate information as possible without sharing more than you can at that moment. Put your energy into responses that deliver more integrity and less disregard, more transparency and less caginess, more accountability and less blame, more commitment and less doubt.
While advantages to a cautious approach to communications under challenging situations exist, so does the great danger of not communicating transparently enough and being perceived as unresponsive or secretive. The more you can begin to communicate, the more likely you are to gain control of the communications and gain the trust of your community.
Bottom line: If you’re looking for an actual answer from Twitter about layoffs, declines in ad revenue, mounting lawsuits, or any other issue, you’ll need to keep waiting. As for your own press strategy, if you’re looking to build trust and credibility, set aside the emojis and autoresponders. Instead, focus on what you can say—and say it authentically.
This post is part of the Finding The Words column, a series published every Wednesday that delivers a dose of communication insights direct to your inbox. If you like what you read, we hope you’ll subscribe to ensure you receive this each week.
