Today, the ubiquity of social media ensures that a business needs to have a presence on big platforms like Facebook, Tiktok, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram. But with the good – bettering brand reputation, building relationships, bringing in leads, and strategizing influencer marketing – comes the bad – crises. When a crisis gets into the social media orbits, the impact can be much more far-reaching than even the most prepared professional might expect. That’s why it’s so important to have a strategy in place for dealing with social media crisis management.
Situations That Might Warrant a Social Media Crisis
There are a number of different situations where companies might find themselves embroiled in a social media crisis. These can span from news of a data breach, customers’ criticisms, claims of corporate malfeasance, negative press about a senior staffers’ poor behaviours, forged statements, and much more. These types of scenarios, when played out in the social media realm, can quickly become high-pressure situations that need dealing with effectively.
The Impact of a Social Media Crisis on a Business
Social media crises can carry a hefty price tag when they erupt. A business might see a loss in market value, or find its reputation severely damaged. A company’s sales could take a significant hit as customers are turned off from patronizing it. And the cost in key publics’ trust can be next to impossible to regain.
What to Do When Faced with a Social Media Crisis
A business needs to be ready to take immediate action when faced with a social media crisis. The first step should be to acknowledge that the crisis is happening and to assemble a team of professionals who can take swift action. Prepare yourself to be inundated with new information.
Once that team has been assembled, its first task should be conducting a social media audit. This involves reviewing the crisis situation as it has unfolded on the respective platforms in order to get a better understanding of where you stand at the moment.
From there, it’s time to come up with a plan and a consistent message that your business will communicate across its social media. This message should be unified among all the business’s social media profiles and employees in order to ensure a consistent approach. It needs to be clear, concise, and reassuring to your customers. If necessary, you’ll also need to let your customer service teams know what is being said in order to ensure that they can field queries about the crisis.
It might also be necessary to deflect certain negative attention and bury unhelpful stories.
Finally, ensure that there is a consistent flow of information coming out of your business’s social media channels. Customers (and the public) will be desperate for as much information as they can get their hands on in the wake of a crisis and it’s your job to provide them with accurate updates.
How to Avoid a Social Media Crisis In The First Place
Despite all the above, a company is always better off anticipating and preventing a social media crisis. This means establishing a social media policy as well as investing time and resources into social media monitoring. It also doesn’t hurt to develop relationships with the members of the press and blogger communities in order to create an environment where the potential for a social media crisis can be mitigated.
Utilize Analytics To Learn From A Crisis
Finally, learn from the crisis. After everything has been resolved, it’s important to get as many analytics as possible in order to figure out what went wrong and why. This will allow the business to ensure that the same types of problems do not reoccur in the future.
Crisis management is important to every company – but it’s even more so in the social media age. By learning from potential crises, planning in advance, and taking swift, effective action, a business will be best prepared to weather a storm with minimum impact.