Top 3 PR Articles of the Week: Friday, April 25, 2014

Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock this week, I think it’s safe to assume that most PR professionals somehow heard about the New York Police Department’s hashtag promotion that didn’t go as planned.

While it was a good idea in theory, the plan to have people post photos of themselves with New York police officers with the hashtag #myNYPD quickly turned into a rash of photos that did not depict the department in a positive light.

As PR professionals, this incident should remind us all to think about every aspect of what we want to accomplish but also what can go completely wrong with a social media promotion.

The Wall Street Journal
NYPD Push for Tweets to Continue
Thousands of Posted Photos Show Police in Bad Light
http://on.wsj.com/1k1m3OV

The New York Times
Lesson for the Police: Be Careful What You Tweet For
New York Police Reach Out on Twitter but Receive a Slap in the Face
http://nyti.ms/1iIuctw

Ragan
NYPD’s hashtag promotion goes awry
http://bit.ly/1mLHt7Q

What would you do if this hashtag mishap happened to your organization?

Have a great weekend!

Kristin Rabas (@krabas)
Sr. Public Relations Advisor
Aurora Health Care