The Colab Brief - 103: Comms in the Time of TikTok

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Ash + Lizzy
January 27, 2024

Another day, another TikTok crisis comms story. 

Yes, we are, of course, talking about the Kyte Baby implosion. But, if we’re being honest, TikTok’s infiltration as a pillar of corporate branding has led to several yikes 🙀 moments in the last few months. 

It’s fascinating the way that social media (especially video platforms) like TikTok have turned crisis comms on its head. Instead of well-curated, polished company messages, we’re getting selfie videos from CEOs and wild behind-the-scenes looks at corporate culture. 

As a brand, participation on social media (especially in the consumer space) is nearly a requirement. People want to know (or at least feel like they know) who they’re doing business with, and a good engagement strategy can make a big difference when it comes to driving brand loyalty. 

On the flip side, it creates this ownership model where people feel a certain sense of entitlement toward the company, its actions, and the employees. We suddenly feel like we deserve an explanation from these organizations when something goes awry. 

Let’s explore.

Read Time: 3 minutes 

For Moms, But Not OUR Moms 👩‍🍼

The story has been everywhere, but this Axios piece is a great primer if you don’t know the background. 

Cliff notes version: Kyte Baby, a manufacturer of children’s items, came under scrutiny for firing an employee when she wouldn’t return to work after adopting a premature baby. The company was widely criticized for not supporting mothers and refusing to be flexible with the employee, who wanted to stay with the baby during the duration of its NICU stay. 

There is nothing the internet loves more than a hypocrite. The juxtaposition of a company that produces products FOR mothers not supporting a mother in their own ranks is just prime viral content. When you double down with an insincere CEO response and then a frantic, unfiltered follow-up video - well, that’s that’s the stuff of PR nightmares. 

The Kyte saga is a classic case of a video response being the WRONG move. We’d argue there are very few cases when a video response on social media is the right move. There are too many opportunities for the message to be twisted, and with the power of editing and reposting, the risks far outweigh the rewards. 

A video message is also extremely telling. As viewers, we can ascertain so much from body language, the setting, and the delivery. Being a flawless spokesperson on camera is hard, even in the best of settings. In a crisis, it’s nearly impossible. Take the Kyte apology example. The first video was extremely scripted and pretty much negated any sincere follow-up. The second made a bad situation even worse by going completely rogue (it was the stressed out, heavy breathing for us). 

The other major issue is that these videos now live in infamy, forever, on the company page. You cannot delete them because you’ll get roasted online for not taking responsibility. You also can’t just continue posting per usual. So you’re stuck. Any next move will likely be wrong, and you’ve opened the personal CEO connection, so everyone is invested. 

The only winner in this whole situation? Kate Quinn. The Kyte Baby competitor swooped in with a cool $2,000 donation to the fired employee and earned itself praise from the baby mama community. 

TikTok is infiltrating comms in interesting ways, whether companies are leveraging it to communicate hard news (do not recommend) or they’re being thrust in unknowingly (see the Brittany Pietsch v. CloudFlare saga). Either way, not having a social strategy is no strategy at all. It’s imperative that communications teams are looped in early and often when things start to go sideways. Social media crises no longer stay on social media. They become full-fledged media emergencies if left unattended.

Staying ahead of the game (and listening to your very smart comms team) is the only way to deal with a viral situation in today’s instant environment. Good comms counsel is vital when handling any type of crisis. Lean on your experts - they know best!

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