Without any second thoughts, facing a social media crisis can prove to be frightening. We all are aware that the prime power of social media is amplification, which means that both good and bad pieces of news are more widely spread and shared than ever before. From images shared on Facebook and Instagram that never should have been created in the first place to tasteless tweets on Twitter, social media crisis management deserves a lot of importance today. However, many business companies and organizations across the globe even avoid thinking about it. They have only rough plans in place and mostly learn to deal with a social media crisis only when they encounter one. What comes as a relief is that every crisis, be it online or offline, can be managed well. With careful planning, some preparation beforehand, and a can-do team spirit, your business shall always be able to identify, manage, tackle, survive, escape, and learn from any social media crisis that it may have to face. So, let us now make ourselves familiar with a few tips and tactics that can help us prepare well for a situation arising out of the blue and manage it efficiently.
1. Have a Social Media Crisis Team
If a social media crisis happens, you ought to have a team of experts in place to manage it. You should look forward to deciding their roles well in advance, along with the authority that they will have in such a situation. Remember, it will become too late to decide such things in a social media crisis. Also, it is essential to ensure that the team has worked together in some instances before the crisis.
Nobody can deny that trust takes some time to build and get pretty strong. A team of experts that trusts one another shall perform way better in a heightened anxiety condition of a social media crisis, in contrast to a group of people who haven’t even met ever before.
It is imperative to note that having a small team with limited hierarchy levels usually works the best way around as decisions need to be made promptly with full authority.
2. Put Proper Processes in Place
It is imperative to map your crisis management plan. Also, make sure that it is crisp and to the point, like not more than a page long as nobody would have the time to read long instructions or strategies in a social media crisis.
3. Decide Upon One Channel for Internal Communication
For managing a social media crisis well, it makes sense to decide upon a single channel for internal communication. Ensure having a channel that offers full transparency, such as Slack or Microsoft Teams, to have complete visibility of the information across the entire team of members as the social media crisis develops further.
4. Get in Touch With Your Real Friends
Social media platforms are highly trusted by the general public at large. During a social media crisis, you can, therefore, undoubtedly seek help from your influencer and journalist buddies. What you can do is pen down your real friends well in advance and the way you will reach out to them in an emergency.
5. Choose the Prime Social Media Platforms that You Need to Manage
It is essential to post and spread your core messages convincingly and consistently on the social media platform where your crisis is mainly occurring; however, you should look forward to focusing on other platforms as well, such as:
- Instagram – It’s where celebrities and influencers have a massive following and participate actively;
- Facebook – It has an enormous reach and is often considered the go-to platform for news by many people; and
- Twitter – It’s where journalists are the most active.
6. Select Your Spokesperson
Without any doubt, there has to be one person taking responsibility in a social media crisis. The selected individual must be honest and publicly humble about the ongoing situation. Additionally, one should have the credibility and authority required to take full responsibility for the business organization or company.
7. Ensure Having Well Planned Content
You must ensure that your content repository is well planned and well documented. Doing the same shall make it convenient and simpler for you and your business to find relevant content or create something new in a social media crisis.
Bottom Line
Mistakes are bound to happen, and more brands and businesses will keep seeing a social media crisis occurring for them than those who don’t. The ultimate solution lies in responding promptly and being completely transparent, which shall show your potential and already existing customers that you care about them and are willing to go the extra mile to prove that you are trustworthy in all aspects.