What Companies Can Learn from Logan Paul's Suicide Forest Video

Almost everyone on YouTube has made a reaction video to Logan Paul's Suicide Forest video. The original video received millions of views before Logan took it down after about a day, and it has been re-uploaded numerous times. His apology video is now trending as well.

For those of you who haven't heard about this first major scandal of 2018, Logan Paul, successful YouTuber with over 15 million subscribers, recently had the opportunity to travel to Japan to film videos for his YouTube channel, "Logan Paul Vlogs." He and his team decided filming a vlog (video blog) walking through the infamous Aokigahara forest, at the foot of Mount Fuji. This forest has been dubbed the "Suicide Forest" because of the amount of suicides that occur there each year.

While filming, Logan happened upon a body hanging from a tree. Instead of turning off his camera and calling the proper authorities, he and his friends proceeded to film the body while laughing about the situation! He then edited the video and uploaded it to YouTube. While he didn't monetize the video on his channel, he still posted it for views. Nothing about this situation was okay, and none of it was an accident or a mistake.

YouTube left the video up for a whole day before having Logan and other YouTubers take down the original video and its copies, all of which were trending on YouTube for a while and were seen by millions of people. Logan has since received a lot of backlash for the video and his lack of respect for the dead body and lack of empathy for the issues suicide and mental illness, but many of his fans have also been defending him. An important point to note is that Logan's target audience consists of young teenagers. These impressionable children look up to him and were exposed to highly inappropriate content. They don't understand the severity of the situation, but parents and other adults do and are outraged.

Logan quickly uploaded an apology video and has announced that he is taking time off from YouTube to reflect. The apology video (shown below), however, does not appear to be sincere. The entire apology is very scripted and defensive. His face lacks emotion and remorse. He seems to be sorry that so many people are angry with him, not sorry for what he did.

About a year ago, Forbes published Seven TIps to Improve Apologies During a PR Crisis, and Logan's apology follows none of these tips (except the last one, which is to apologize on video):

1) He does not understand the public's sentiment and still doesn't even seem to understand why what he did was wrong.

2) He's not being humble, sincere, or empathetic.

3) He did not swiftly address the issue (he took days to apologize to a huge crisis).

4) He doesn't authentically address the people affected by what he did.

5) His apology is devoid of common, sincere, plain language that appeals to emotion and connects with his audience.

6) He doesn't address the broader public and, instead, focuses on his brand.

So, what can companies learn from the notorious Logan Paul and his recent scandal?

1) Don't disrespect another country, especially when you have the opportunity to visit, whether for business or on personal time.

2) Take the time to really plan out each action and think about how it will affect the public and your public image.

3) Don't make stupid mistakes for money or business, because in this day and age of social media and social justice, you're not immune to public outcry and you will suffer.

4) Understand and respect your target audience.

5) Stay up-to-date on current issues, especially those that might affect your company.

6) Learn to apologize and to manage crises. Have a plan set before something happens.

7) Always keep and eye on your brand and constantly manage your reputation. Don't let success make you lose sight of your principles.