This past weekend we saw more apologies than performances.
Yesterday both Netflix and Youtube had some massive performances slated for live streams, leaving fans refreshing screens by the second while scrolling through Twitter for a hopeful update - or at least to express their concerns. One thing is for certain, Twitter has proven itself to be the destination people turn to first for current breaking news and updates.
Love is Blind: The Live Reunion was supposed to be on at 7pm CST, with many tweets and Instagram posts leading up to the event….
Despite some technical difficulties, their social media and PR team were quick to react.
7:08p After posting a funny “there will be a delay” message featuring one of (arguably) the most hated characters from this season’s cast…
7:30p …hosts Nick and Vanessa Lachey took to IG LIVE to try to spark some excitement by showing the live studio audience patiently, and after being prompted by the crew to show excitement, do exactly that, reassuring viewers that no questions will be asked until they get these technical difficulties under control!
By roughly 8:30p they called it, saying the following:
But, the best part about this entire mess was all of the brands that took to Twitter and the live stream to use this as an opportunity to connect with their audience on such a massive stage.
Now, fans were obviously upset, but Netflix handled it with grace by doing these few things right.
They made it clear that they were trying to solve the issue.
They took to Twitter to engage with their viewers, and actually ended up inadvertently creating a new form of entertainment for those who were patiently waiting for the live stream to begin by posting memes which sparked conversations and banter.
When they realized they couldn’t correct the problem, they acknowledged that they know people have scheduled their busy lives around this event and apologized for wasting peoples time.
Let’s see how not to handle a live stream fumble.
Youtube announced that Frank Ocean’s first live performance since 2017, where he would be closing out Coachella’s final night of weekend one, would be streamed live on their platform. Spoiler: Youtube didn’t stream this live at all, and tried to sweep it under the rug as if one of the most followed artist’s fans wouldn’t notice - or react.
After scrolling through the comments, I can tell you that they are dramatic to say the least, filled with disappointment and dark memes.
Both platforms had promised fans something that they weren’t able to fulfill, but how they went about staying loyal to their fans is what will stick with the viewers, not only their mistakes.
This is a key takeaway. In a world where social media is the first place we turn for answers, it is your responsibility as a business owner to not only own up to your mistakes but to speak to your fanbase/viewers/audience otherwise they will take it upon themselves to bring the conversation to Twitter, Instagram, and any other platform to gossip and share their thoughts. You can control the narrative if you lead with honesty and humility, but if you hide behind bland tweets without empathy for your loyal audience, the narrative will be written for you.
