It can be tricky for public agencies to use humor on social media, especially when trying to find the balance between being playful and remaining “official.” This time we’ll dive deeper into when humor does and doesn’t work for government agencies.
Let’s start with a government social media classic.
We can neither confirm nor deny that this is our first tweet. — CIA (@CIA) June 6, 2014
If you have to blow into a Tostitos bag to know if you're intoxicated, for the love of all that is holy, DO NOT DRIVE https://t.co/gnTcIIL7Oj — Lawrence Police (@LawrenceKS_PD) January 26, 2017
When you hit “Submit” on your FAFSA. #DropTheMic #ladygaga pic.twitter.com/ocLikeQHya — Federal Student Aid (@FAFSA) February 6, 2017
- Is there room for misinterpretation? Nope.
- Will the audience get it? Yes, especially if you watched the Super Bowl.
- Does it relay a core agency message? It sure does.
- Could it offend anybody? Can’t imagine how. Although one potential concern with this post is around the rights to the image since it is from an NFL game and involves a celebrity.
The Atlanta Police Department recently made a strange tweet about Beyonce’s pregnancy announcement. While it attempted to connect the timely news story to its core message, it’s quite a stretch to make gunfire relevant to a pregnancy. This lack of clarity left the door open for interpretation, with many critics thinking there was some type of racial undertone to the post.
The department deleted the tweet (for which we hope they kept an official record!) and then apologized. The department surely had the right intentions, and was trying to tie its message with current events. However, as a golden rule, any room for interpretation in an official government post — intended to be humorous or not — is probably bad news.
If you’re looking for another example of bad humor, check out our video this month ;)