Responding to a Social Media Crisis: What You Need to Know

Today, most consumers expect businesses to be active on social media. Be it a large corporation or a small mom-and-pop shop, chances are, they have at least one social media profile and their brand names can be found on consumer review sites, like Yelp for instance.

And while this additional online presence may serve as a good way to attract new customers, it can also act as a superfast highway for spreading negative information about your business. Dealing with this kind of PR crises requires a different approach and an understanding of how different types of social media disseminate information.

Let’s say someone posted a very negative comment about your company on Twitter or Facebook. It may be your first instinct to confront the aggressor immediately. This, however, would not be a wise strategy. A direct response in this case is likely to attract even more attention to the negative post, and it would definitely not change the opinion of the critic. What it will do is keep the online argument going, making the negative thread appear higher in search results for everyone to see. This is not what you want to do if your goal is to deescalate the situation.

On the other hand, certain social media crises will require you to react immediately. This is why it is important that everyone in your organization is on the same page when it comes to social media crises policies and procedures. Educating and aligning members of your team on how to handle such situations can save your company from having to make hasty decisions in the future, which can potentially make the problem much bigger than it needs to be.

Does your company have a social media crisis plan in place? Does everyone in your organization know what to do, should a rouge message or a viral hashtag put your brand in hot water? If not, it may be time to start planning and building a crisis management plan that could one day save your company’s reputation.

Don’t know where to start? Ask the professionals — visit our website and feel free to drop us a line for a free and confidential consultation at 954–379–2115.