Social Media Crisis Response Plan Basics
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Social Media Crisis Response Plan Basics
Social media is the way of the world . Well over one billion people worldwide use at least one form of social media on a daily basis , and that number keeps increasing . Most businesses have followed suit , realizing that social media is a useful way to build a brand and reach customers where they are – online .
It ’ s easy to interact with customers via social media if your company has a positive image . But what if one of your employees posts a customer ’ s private information on Twitter or uploads a video to YouTube of another employee smoking marijuana in the break room ? You could be dealing with a social media nightmare . Without the proper crisis response plan in place , your countless hours spent increasing brand awareness and goodwill could evaporate . Use the following tips to help create a crisis response plan of your own .
A social media crisis response plan is essential for businesses of all sizes . Make sure you have one in place to minimize damage to your brand during a crisis .
Be prepared .
The key to stopping a crisis early is to be ready before it happens . Form a social media crisis response team comprised of employees from all departments . Discuss threats to your social media presence , such as a rogue employee posting negative content , a customer having a negative experience with one of your employees or with your product in general .
With potential threats identified , a crisis response flowchart can help everyone on the team stay on the same page when dealing with a specific type of crisis . The flowchart should let employees know if and how they can respond to themselves , what issues might need to be passed on to superiors for a more formal corporate response and what can be left for a non-employee to respond to .
The flowchart asks basic YES or NO questions to determine the proper action to take . Benefits of the flowchart include :
• Ease of implementation . The flowchart should indicate exactly who is in charge of what if a crisis arises in order to get a response out as soon as possible .
• Consistency . If all employees are following the same plan , your message will have a clear , unified voice . The restaurant chain Applebee ’ s faced much criticism after firing a server for uploading a picture of a customer ’ s dinner bill . While the company may have been justified for doing so , customers posted over 20,000 comments on Applebee ’ s Facebook page , disagreeing with the termination . The person in charge of the Facebook page started attacking specific users and comments , which created more negative publicity for the company and likely not responding in accordance with the response plan . Worst of all , Applebee ’ s had posted an image of a customer ’ s bill earlier that included praise for the company , breaking its own policy . With some consistency in the execution of its social media policy , Applebee ’ s could have avoided a public relations nightmare .
• Speed . Instead of losing time discussing how to respond , flowcharts offer a clear way to handle the issue quickly . In addition , set up a notification service , such as Google Alerts , to keep track of what people are saying about your brand in realtime . That way , you can be on top of a crisis before it turns unpleasant .
5 Adviser a publication of LeadingAge New York | Summer 2017
( See Social Media on page 6 )