Carnival Cruise Lines commits big social media mistake
The cruise company’s social media profiles went dark after its sister company, Costa Concordia, crashed off the coast of Italy. This PR pro explains why that was a bad move.
Beyond the human tragedy, the company now finds itself in a social media crisis brought on by—you guessed it—itself.
On Jan. 19, just six days after the accident, the company’s Facebook update read:
“Out of respect for all those affected by the recent events surrounding our sister line, Costa cruises, we are going to take a bit of a break from posting on our social channels.”
And Micky Arison, CEO of the company and owner of the Miami Heat, tweeted:
“I won’t be as active on Twitter for the next while. Helping our @costacruises team manage this crisis is my priority right now. Thnx – @MickyArison”
The comments and tweets were met with mixed emotions, but seemed to generate some sympathy. After all, it wasn’t Carnival Cruise Lines that watched the captain and crew abandon passengers as the boat tipped.
But, on Jan. 24, Carnival posted that the crisis was over and it was ready to engage on social networks again.
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