Communicating During COVID-19: Lessons from the Federal Ministry of Finance.
In light of the recent COVID-19 pandemic, our billionaires have sprung into action by helping out in various ways. We have recorded generous donations from captains of industry such as Aliko Dangote, Tony Elumelu, Abdulsamad Rabiu, Femi Otedola, Herbert Wigwe and many others who donated a billion naira each to the Federal Government as part of efforts to cushion the effect of the pandemic on the economy.
On the flip side, online giveaways have also increased on major social media platforms with several celebrities including Runtown. This is a laudable effort in spite of the backlash some of them have received.
On Monday, 31st March 2020, when billionaire founder and tech entrepreneur, Elon Musk announced he would be giving out FDA-approved ventilators to be shipped to hospitals worldwide, this was considered a very noble gesture.
However, things took an unexpected turn on Tuesday, 1st April 2020, when the official Twitter account of the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning responded to the tweet with a request soliciting for 100-500 ventilators.
Mixed reactions have since followed this with many Nigerians expressing their displeasure at how this was handled. Many have questioned this approach (akin to the local “Bambiala” concept of street begging with plates) and indicted the government for this “cap in hand” style of engagement.
The method of engagement was highly unusual for a Federal parastatal and highlights the awkwardness exhibited by Public agencies interacting with audiences on social media.
Should the Ministry of Finance have publicly solicited funds from Elon Musk?
Definitely not!
Rather, the Ministry should have responded with an “off-the-books” request not privy to public glare or at least responded with a private message to @Tesla as instructed by Elon Musk. In simple millennial terms, the Ministry should have just ‘slid into Tesla’s’ DM’.
Could this have been handled better?
An even better response would have been to contact Elon Musk or Tesla via official channels, to make the request more credible and unretractable.
What could possibly go wrong?
The fallout from this would include a perception of the Ministry of Finance and by extension the current administration as unprofessional and unserious. The possible risk that would have been averted through a more formal engagement was not as an official statement was released shortly to withdraw the request which communicates that the government cowered to pressure from the backlash that followed. Another fall out in this faux pas is the panic and fear it communicated due to the unknown number of tests conducted so far in Nigeria in comparison to the population and the corresponding official number of COVID-19 infections recorded.
However noble your gestures are, perception plays an important role in corporate communications. This is why professionals must always review content before publishing no matter how urgent the circumstance may be. Beyond Public Relations, Crisis Communications has become an important aspect of public sector leadership that can no longer be ignored. Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, the failings of many public leaders and officials of government have been exposed.
How else do you think the Federal Government could have managed this?
If you need help or support on using PR and Communications strategies to create and disseminate, clear, efficient and impactful messaging that positions your business to survive and dominate communications throughout and beyond this outbreak, please email us at contact@alime.media.