An event on social media that is destructive or responsible for defaming any organization’s, individual’s, or brand’s reputation is known as a social media crisis. The reason for such a crisis can vary from dissatisfied customers to adverse criticism or even cyberbullying. These crises spread over social media in a flash causing further problems for brands. Dealing with such crises requires a strong social media crisis response to tackle such issues with online reputation management.
What does and doesn’t qualify as a social media crisis?
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Qualifies as a social media crisis
Everything we see on the internet isn’t a potential threat or a crisis but certain things can trigger a negative shift in the online conversations about your brand that qualifies as a social media crisis. Apart from this, some other crises are as follows –
- A product defect, product recall, or safety issue affects a great number of users.
- A potentially embarrassing or politically incorrect post, message, or comment.
- Misconduct or other improper behavior by the employee.
- False and/or misleading information about a product, or a competitor.
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In general, a social media crisis is considered if an action that has caused anger, disappointment, or distrust was taken and the information was posted on social media, or the mediated information can become a social media crisis.
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Doesn’t Qualifies as a social media crisis
Posting everything bad or negative on social media is not always a threat or crisis. Minor errors, routine issues, negative feedback, rumors, and unrelated events don’t qualify as a crisis. Moreover, understand it from the given points –
- Negative mentions are normal: This means that not all post that contains a negative comment or a negative review is a sign of a crisis. To this, individuals will offer their comments on different matters and perhaps some may not be so favorable.
- You can’t please everyone: The plan cannot make every person happy about your company or the product you have to offer. It is however imperative to understand that at some point, there will always be some negative feedback.
- A crisis is a serious problem: Crisis in social media is not limited to ‘’negative posting.’’ This is a critical problem that may affect your business image, and financial or legal status in an organizational setting.
- Monitor your social media channels: Document your activity level on social networking sites to create a benchmark. To this, you will be in a position to determine any abnormality such as a spike in engagement rates or absolute negative sentiments.
- Watch for spikes in activity: An influx of negativity could mean something is wrong but it may not necessarily reflect a crisis.
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Best Practices for Social Media Crisis Plan –
In the world we live in today where everything is going digital, a social media crisis plan will here act as a backup. Here are some best practices to help you navigate a social media crisis effectively:
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Crisis Management Techniques
Develop a crisis management technique with the team and a framework with specific steps for all the members to follow which will outline potential scenarios, key contacts, and response protocols. Ensure that prerequisites of what qualifies as a crisis are well defined and possible responses put in place for each contingency.
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Social Media Monitoring Plan
By employing social media monitoring tools to look for mentions of your brand, industry keywords, and any emerging issues, etc. it becomes easy to know what people are saying about one’s brand. This makes it easy for you to note problems that may exist in different aspects, allowing you to correct them early.
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Social Media Crisis Response
Crisis management involves working under pressure for a given amount of time. It is a good idea to address the issue as soon as possible and the message should be straightforward, simple, and people-oriented.
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Crisis Communication Strategy
The communication and engagement with the followers must always be open. Listen to them, perhaps, take responsibility for any of their worries if this is applicable, and give them fresh information as the facts change. Assign a dedicated crisis team responsible for monitoring, decision-making, and communication.
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Crisis Management Plan
Once the crisis has been managed, it is necessary to critically analyze the crisis management carried out. You can evaluate the crisis by identifying effective and ineffective areas and then fine-tune your crisis management plan.
Conclusion
In the current world where more and more companies have their presence on social media sites, preparing for a social media crisis becomes rather crucial. Not all negative feedback can be considered as a crisis, however, it is necessary to have a defined response plan in case of a real one. Brands should be able to effectively quell such crises by engaging in clear communication on social channels and growing from such incidences thus turning it into an opportunity to not only control but also enhance the brand’s social representation. It is about being positive, active, and pro-social when acknowledging a mistake or when dealing with the repercussions caused by the mistake. But do not forget that a crisis is not only a threat but also a unique chance to prove your brand to be as ethical and customer-oriented as it is.