Social media crises can do serious harm to any organization. Not only will it damage its reputation and undermine business operations, but it may also affect its bottom line.
One of the key elements to being proactive and anticipating problems before they arise is through using social listening tools.
Proactive Monitoring
Social media crises can range from customer complaints or misguided marketing stunts to significant business events affecting a company’s ability to operate — for instance due to product defects or major news stories. With an emergency plan established, marketers and community managers will have the necessary tools at hand in the event of any emergencies that arise online.
When an imminent crisis arises, teams need to immediately cease posting scheduled content and begin monitoring channels in real time. Being ready with information such as new facts or dispelling rumors can quickly help identify new information while disproving false rumors, and engaging opportunities. With the aid of an amplification tool such as Sprout Social’s analytics capabilities, they can monitor channels for unusually high volumes of negative or positive mentions in real-time – something an amplification tool cannot do alone.
Retraining employees on the fundamentals of social media management and what to do if something goes amiss can be an excellent opportunity to boost employee morale. If contracted freelancers manage your account, consider instilling rapid response times during crisis scenarios for optimal management.
At first, it’s important to step back and assess if a situation truly constitutes a crisis. For example, if your brand is being attacked over insensitive social posts or posts that violate any terms of service agreements or applicable regulations, apologizing and moving on rather than engaging critics online might be best. Engaging online in an argument may never be advised but in instances when people express anger against your brand outside your core audience or important markets, let them know you are working to resolve this matter and will soon.
A central location where people can go for more information is also essential, be it a blog post you update as new facts become available or just a static page listing the details in one convenient spot. Doing this makes it easier for people to locate and absorb this crucial data without getting bogged down with messages on Twitter or Facebook.
Swift Response
With social media’s rapid news cycle, crises can spread quickly across platforms. Therefore, it’s crucial that an official crisis management plan be created prior to issues occurring and ensure your team is ready when necessary.
One of the key steps in crafting an effective crisis response is recognizing its source. This doesn’t just refer to online posts but can also mean finding out where they originated – this helps determine both an appropriate message and channel through which it needs to be distributed.
Establishing a social media guide for your brand will ensure everyone involved understands the rules for posting to its accounts, such as violating copyright, oversharing sensitive data, or posting insensitive material. Establishing this document also serves to ensure all employees understand what constitutes acceptable conduct on social media and how best to handle a potential crisis on these channels.
Once your team has an in-depth knowledge of what’s transpiring, the next step should be communicating with your audience. If any pre-approved messaging exists for use now is also a great time. If this crisis affects customer service department operations directly then senior-level managers or even members of the C-Suite could assist in crafting statements and apologies if needed.
Many brands utilize social media management tools to schedule posts in advance; however, during a social media crisis it’s wise to suspend this approach as doing so could come across as inappropriate and tone-deaf. Promoting your company during an emergency only further alienates audiences.
Be sure to pause any other campaigns you might be running as well, since getting posts approved before publishing them is especially crucial during a crisis. Furthermore, consider creating a website dedicated to answering inquiries related to the crisis for easier tracking updates as well as embedding all your channels onto this one page to provide your customers with a full picture of what’s going on.
Transparent Communication
Remaining open with updates and addressing concerns during crisis situations is crucial to maintaining stakeholder trust; however, social media can quickly spread misinformation or rumors which could compromise this strategy.
As soon as information becomes available, accurate responses should be given quickly and addressed with empathy and promptitude. Transparent companies offer such opportunities by being open with both positive and negative news; sharing this vital data with all their stakeholders.
Social media provides businesses in difficult waters a lifeline to reconnect with their audience, manage narratives, and prevent rumors from spreading. Unfortunately, however, such connections come with risks: inadequate communication can cause confusion or lead to misinterpretations while insensitive posts could even come across as insensitive and offensive.
To ensure that your brand’s transparency efforts are successful, use these principles as guides for developing its strategy:
Transparency goes beyond simply being open; it requires being empathetic and understanding what people care about. To truly demonstrate empathy for your audience’s beliefs and values. Engaging regularly with your target group to find out what matters to them is essential in developing long-term relationships that remain resilient during crisis situations.
Pepsi’s Kendall Jenner ad caused widespread outrage over its suggestion that soda can ease political tensions; yet when the company acknowledged and apologized for this insensitivity, public response was overwhelmingly positive as they took full responsibility for its impact and demonstrated compassion.
If transparent communication is a priority for you, don’t just announce it to your audience; give them ways to participate and join in an open dialogue. For example, encouraging team members to communicate more openly between themselves by creating an “Ask Questions” channel in your team messaging app can ensure your message reaches as many people as possible while keeping everyone on the same page.
Stakeholder Engagement
Stakeholders are essential in any project’s success or failure; engagement with them throughout is therefore imperative in making sure they feel heard.
Being upfront and providing accurate information in regular updates, can help avoid miscommunication, build trust, and ease anxiety during an emergency situation. In addition to sharing updates regularly with accurate details and instructions for safe action when necessary.
At times of social media crises, it’s essential to be mindful that public sentiment can quickly shift. Being flexible with communication strategies may prove more effective; being defensive or taking an adversarial stance only escalates conflict further; so it would be best to adopt an open and accepting stance instead.
Different stakeholders require different communication approaches. For instance, stakeholders who are generally positive about the project might only require minimal engagement from your team while those who are highly critical may require greater attention in order to change their position.
Effective stakeholder engagement requires understanding each group’s motivations and using that insight when determining how and where to communicate with them during an emergency situation. Prioritizing certain groups may be important; however, keeping all stakeholders informed and providing a platform where they can voice their concerns are equally essential components of engagement success.
Preventative responses should always be prepared in advance, ready to deploy should a social media crisis arise. Draft responses that can quickly adapt based on public sentiment analysis are crucial during such crises; although their structure should remain rigid, details can be tailored in real time according to each stakeholder group’s requirements.
Amazon Studios created an innovative way for its audience to engage with them during the production of films and television shows, providing updates on the production process progress while encouraging viewers to ask questions – thus keeping their viewers interested throughout. Such open, transparent communication can help reduce crises while strengthening the brand’s reputation.
