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Social Media Backlash Against Komen

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Not only do companies have to worry about negative blogs and reviews to control during an organizational crisis, but now they have to be prepared to control all sorts of social media outlets as well. Susan G. Komen had trouble with just that as they released information to the public on January 31st saying they will no longer provide Planned Parenthood with funding for mammograms for low-income women for breast cancer screening. Immediately this became a very controversial topic on social media sites such as Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest. Many believe that this decision was made because of political pressure from anti-choice groups. This is exactly what Komen is denying and released a statement after many Komen supporters were posting very negative comments. This statement said that the decision to cut funding to Planned Parenthood was not a political move; instead it was because they now have new funding criteria.

Interestingly, Komen and Planned Parenthood had been in contact weeks before this came out to the public. So wouldn’t you think Komen had plenty of time to realize things could get touchy? To make matters worse, Komen started to delete the negative comments on their Facebook page. What Komen did not realize is the political power of social media and many need to learn from this. When the Associated Press reported the news that funding was going to be cut, Planned Parenthood blasted news releases on Twitter and Facebook. Once Komen realized they couldn’t change the public opinion around or even slow down the negativity on social media, they reversed their decision to cut funding.

At a time of crisis in an organization, your message and speed of that message is very important to insure the least amount of damage. Komen was not ready for this backlash of so many people on their social media sites and once they actually responded, it was brief and too defensive. On the other hand, Planned Parenthood prepared for this for weeks before it went to the public and immediately posted to get fans and supporters involved. Some ways they got supporters involved is by asking for donations, sign an online petition, to Tweet or post about it on Facebook, and since then has added over 32,000 fans. Clearly, Komen should have taken a different approach in handling their social media sites and the communication with their avid supporters.

By: Laura Simmons, Mollie Berthold, Christina Stevenson, Dorothy Conley

Comments

5 responses to “Social Media Backlash Against Komen”

  1. Jessica Sumney Avatar
    Jessica Sumney

    I think the impact to the Komen Foundation’s image after this is incredible. I’ve always had the impression that the foundation is a sort of community of women to deal with women’s issues. However, with the recent decision to cut funding for Planned Parenthood, I think this “community” image has taken a hit. In my opinion, the Komen Foundation now seems less like a support group for women of all walks of life and more artificial and constructed. They are willing to help women, as long as those women meet certain criteria regarding class and political status. The fact that Planned Parenthood helps women with lower incomes while Susan G. Komen is having issues with upper middle class white executives makes me question their ethics.

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  2. Alexandra Huss Avatar
    Alexandra Huss

    While Planned Parenthood did manage their social media outlets much more effectively than Komen, I am unsure if there is anyway this news could have come out without damaging Komen’s brand. By taking away their support for low-income women to get mammograms, they were sending a message without even tweeting a tweet or posting on Facebook. The supporters of Komen were not simply offended by the way the situation was handled but the severing of the two brands in it of itself. The reasoning behind Komen’s initial removal of the funds was insufficient for their supporters so I am doubtful that employing better social media tactics would have been useful. In the future, Komen should do more research into the repercussions any major changes to their brand could have and be aware of the messages they are sending.

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  3. Amber Christmas Avatar
    Amber Christmas

    I have always supported the Susan G. Komen Foundation but when I read and heard of this issue, I was completely shocked. It is extremely hard enough to get women to do self breast exams, find out their family history, etc but if the biggest Breast Cancer Foundation is now not willing to fund those same women a FREE mammograms to ensure their health, women will definitely not be aware. I am relieved that the foundation reconsidered their decision to stop the funding but honestly, having any type of screening, examination or tests for results of cancer-related issues should ALWAYS be free. The procedure or surgery may be expensive enough and it is NOT fair for women to fear that they will not remain healthy because they cannot afford to have a mammogram.

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  4. Danielle Salas Avatar
    Danielle Salas

    Isn’t it crazy to think of how much of an impact social media has on society today? It is a shame that it took that much for the Susan G. Komen Foundation to get back on the good side of the people, but they should have looked at the consequences first. In the world of social media, as soon as news breaks there is about ten seconds before it will arrive on either Facebook or Twitter. When the Komen Foundation realized how much this would hurt their image, obviously they needed to reconsider. Social media will always win.
    -Danielle Salas

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