The Art of Dealing with a Crisis
You’ll never know how badly you need a crisis management plan until you’re in the middle of a crisis — I can say that from experience. Whether you’ve had a social media blunder or you’re dealing with a national level crisis, everything can be handled in a much smoother way by having a crisis management plan. Having a plan allows you and your team to be on the same page and lays out expectations for your boss during the crazy times.
When dealing with social media management, whether or not the crisis occurs online, you can expect there to be a social response. Forrester Studies show that 80% of customers will use social media to engage with a brand. It’s becoming the preferred method of communication because it gives people the ability to post a review of your brand for all of your followers to see.
In hindsight, social media can be a powerful tool for managing a business crisis. You have the ability to speak directly with customers via private chats or public comments. You can respond to public posts on your page and address any concerns that may exist.
Mention lays out how to Build Your Social Media Crisis Management Plan in 10 Steps . The first step is getting your team together and deciding who will take ownership, who is responsible for identifying and monitoring crises, who will inform management/stakeholders, and who will act as a spokesperson for the media.
During a crisis, you’ve got to get it under control. Make sure you pause your scheduled posts, publicly acknowledge what’s going on as soon as possible in a caring and understanding tone, inform everyone on your team, and post a long-form response on your website. Once everything has settled down, you’ll need to get to the bottom of why the crisis happened.
We’ve seen quite a few brand crises over the last several years but two that stick out are Uber and Cracker Barrel.
In 2017, Uber lost over 200,000 users during the #DeleteUber fiasco after CEO Travis Kalanick was reported to be serving on an advisory council to President Trump. The hashtag made a comeback the following year when an ex-employee reported sexual harassment claims and when they continued to operate at JFK International Airport during a taxi strike. The company continued to receive negative attention and would release statements concerning each incident, but the lack of transparency has continued to be Uber’s biggest shortfall. A heartfelt letter from the CEO won’t do much in the time of crisis if the company’s actions don’t back it.
Another crisis was in February of 2017 when Bradley Reid posted on Cracker Barrel’s corporate website asking why his wife had been fired after 11 years. There was a change.org petition that garnered over 17,000 signatures, but Cracker Barrel didn’t treat it like a crisis. They kept quiet and the storm passed. This was a great example of how sometimes silence works in a crisis situation.