A One-Hundred Forty Character Discourse: The Twitter Apology As an Emerging Sub-Genre of Corporate Communication

Purpose: In the emerging world of social media, social media platforms have offered a number of marketing opportunities but also a number of potential problems. This has led to a number of social media foibles that can create a public relations nightmare for the affected companies. This article will explore the emerging phenomenon of the corporate Twitter apology and the rhetorical constructs that are required for an effective apology. Method: Using the strategies of Ruth Page and John Kador, I have analyzed successful and unsuccessful Twitter apologies. The success of these apologies is determined by the public response from the tertiary audiences comprised of Twitter followers. Results: This study determined that successful Twitter apologies use a combination of Kador\u27s strategies (Recognition, Responsibility, Remorse, Restitution, and Repetition), originally implemented for analog apologies, adapted for electronic communications to make a successful social media apology. Conclusion: Surviving any serious social media foible depends upon issuing a successful apology and doing so on the social media platform where the original offense took place. Social media mistakes, though unique in their scope and potential to reach an ever-expanding tertiary audience, can be managed using the same strategies that apply to analog apologies