Top tips for taking control of a social media crisis
Social media has meant that businesses can expose their brand and products to wider audiences in a more authentic and relatable way. Building awareness of an organization and its public perception has never been easier, but without a solid marketing strategy, it is now easier to become involved in a crisis that can destroy your reputation as quickly as it is built.
Top tips for taking control of a social media crisis
Social media has meant that businesses can expose their brand and products to wider audiences in a more authentic and relatable way. Building awareness of an organization and its public perception has never been easier, but without a solid marketing strategy, it is now easier to become involved in a crisis that can destroy your reputation as quickly as it built.
What is a crisis?
A crisis is a negative event outside your usual operations, with the potential for a long-lasting impact on your brand reputation. Crises often spread rapidly across social media, amplifying their effects and making them harder to control.
Social media has meant that stakeholders can now communicate with a brand or company. It has changed their expectations of how they expect a company to respond. Stakeholders can see each other’s ideas and experiences and social media allows them to share their feedback publicly.
Stakeholders are more aware and they have access to more information and they have higher expectations than ever before. Whether it is environmental, political or ethical, organizations are under more pressure to not make mistakes.
A crisis could start via any of these channels, and not necessarily on an owned social media platform, like Facebook or Twitter.
- A statement by a spokesperson.
- An article in the media.
- Social media influencers.
- Online trolls.
- Industry competitors.
- How you manage customer service enquiries.
Examples of Social Media Crises
Social media crises can arise from various sources, including customer complaints, employee misconduct, or even a simple mistake. Here are some examples of social media crises that have affected businesses:
- Reclamaciones de los clientes: A customer posts a negative review on social media, which quickly goes viral and damages the company’s reputation. This can lead to a significant loss of trust among social media users and potential customers.
- Employee Misconduct: An employee posts a racist or sexist comment on social media, which is shared widely and sparks outrage. Such incidents can severely tarnish a brand’s image and lead to calls for boycotts.
- Account Hacking: A company’s social media account is hacked, and the hacker posts malicious content that damages the company’s reputation. This can cause confusion and panic among followers, and the company must act swiftly to regain control.
- Misinterpreted Posts: A company’s social media post is misinterpreted or taken out of context, leading to widespread criticism and backlash. This highlights the importance of clear and thoughtful communication in social media posts.
By understanding these examples, businesses can better prepare for potential social media crises and develop strategies to mitigate their impact.
Preparing for a social media crisis with social media monitoring tools
Preparing for a social media crisis is the best form of defense. And being aware of your digital footprint will help reduce the fallout from any social media disaster. Setting clear social media marketing goals can help guide your crisis preparation efforts and ensure that your response aligns with your overall marketing objectives. Here are our top tips for preparing for a crisis.
- Use social media monitoring tools. Social media analytics tools like BrandMention and Oracle will give you an insight into your brand perception. You can check spikes in negative sentiment in real-time that could indicate a problem and allow you to address any issues before it escalates.
- Put in place a staff social media policy. A comprehensive policy will set guidelines and expectations for your staff using social media platforms. This should cover all expectations and guidelines for members of staff that use social media channels in a personal or professional capacity.
- Have a crisis management plan and response strategy in place. You will need to act quickly in a crisis before you lose control of your social channels. Your plan will include guidelines on responses, staff responsibilities, and internal & external communications. More than a quarter of crises will go international within an hour due to the lack of a comprehensive social media crisis plan.
- Set community guidelines. Having set guidelines that visitors should accept. These will allow some control over the content they post, and the behaviors they exhibit. Managing users who breach community guidelines is easier as you have a clear policy.
- Have a shutdown process. On very rare occasions an organization will have to make the decision whether to leave their channels open or looking at the possibility of closing them temporarily. Shutting down one or more platforms is not a decision that should be undertaken lightly.
- Simulate your strategy. By testing your social media crisis plan against different scenarios it will prepare staff. Adjustments to your strategy should be undertaken if needed.
Social Media Listening and Monitoring
Social media listening and monitoring are crucial components of effective social media marketing. By listening to and monitoring social media conversations, businesses can:
- Identify Potential Crises Detect issues before they escalate into full-blown crises. Early detection allows for prompt action and resolution.
- Respond Quickly: Address customer complaints and concerns in real-time, demonstrating responsiveness and care.
- Gather Feedback: Collect valuable insights and feedback from customers, which can inform product development and marketing strategies.
- Track Brand Mentions: Monitor how often and in what context your brand is mentioned, helping you understand public perception.
- Monitor Competitors: Keep an eye on competitors and industry trends to stay ahead in the market.
Social media listening and monitoring can be done using various tools, including social media monitoring software, keyword tracking, and social media analytics. These tools provide businesses with the data needed to make informed decisions and improve their social media strategy.
How to manage a social media crisis management
How digital marketers and social media managers handle a crisis can be the difference between unrepairable damage to your reputation and your reputation remaining salvageable. A skilled social media manager can be instrumental in navigating a crisis, utilizing their expertise to manage communications and maintain brand reputation.
Use social media crisis management to determine if it is really a crisis – stakeholders can ask tough questions and sometimes these can escalate into a discussion. It is important to define what your organization deems to be a crisis to reduce the chances of an overreaction.
- Assess the situation. How many users have left comment? What is the sentiment like… is it negative? Are there key influencers involved? Is it in the media? Knowing your current situation will help you plan for a resolution.
- Communicate internally and externally. You should update all all external stakeholders regularly with transparent information containing factual information. Communicating with internal staff will ensure everyone is on the same page and reduces the opportunity for misinformation to spread.
- Deploy goodwill ambassadors. If you have brand advocates or influencers you can call upon to help manage a crisis. Users may trust them more and they are able to amplify your core statements further. You should brief brand advocates on the crisis and communications strategy before before any deployment. In some cases, social media advertising can be used to counteract negative publicity by promoting positive content and messages.
- Know when to pause a conversation. Conversations during a social media crisis and responses to any official statements can become heated and involve many emotions. Do not get involved with conversations or arguments that take you away from your crisis strategy, stick to the facts available.
- Leave comments alone. Removing negative comments is seen as a form of censorship and gives the impression you have something to hide. Only delete content that breaches your company and platform community guidelines.
- Silence. puede no ser la mejor política cuando se trata de una crisis en los medios sociales. Responda y actualice a tiempo. Sobre todo, sé honesto y sincero en tus respuestas, pero cíñete a los hechos y nunca respondas con emociones.
- Conozca a su portavoz. Los portavoces son mensajeros directos de su empresa. Asegúrese de que su portavoz público es capaz de atenerse a los hechos y no desprestigiar aún más a la empresa.
Measuring Success with Analytics
Measuring the success of social media marketing campaigns is crucial to understanding their effectiveness and making data-driven decisions. Here are some key metrics to track:
- Métricas de compromiso: Track likes, comments, shares, and other forms of engagement to gauge how well your content resonates with your audience.
- Reach Metrics: Measure impressions and views to understand the extent of your content’s visibility.
- Conversion Metrics: Monitor website traffic, sales, and other conversion-related metrics to assess the impact of your social media efforts on your business goals.
- Sentiment Metrics: Analyze the sentiment of social media posts to determine whether the feedback is positive, negative, or neutral.
- Follower Growth Metrics: Track new followers and follower loss to evaluate the growth of your social media presence.
By tracking these metrics, businesses can gain insights into their social media performance and make adjustments to their strategy to improve results. Social media analytics tools can help businesses track these metrics and provide detailed reports and insights, ensuring that their social media marketing campaigns are effective and aligned with their marketing goals.
When the dust has settled – what happens after the social media crisis on social media platforms
Now is a good time to review how your crisis management strategy and the performance of your crisis management team. Reviewing the effectiveness of your social media campaigns during the crisis can provide valuable insights for future improvements.
He aquí algunas preguntas que puede plantearse para asegurarse de que su estrategia de futuro es a prueba de balas:
- ¿Funcionó la estrategia?
- ¿Qué salió bien y qué salió mal?
- ¿Qué hemos aprendido?
- ¿Necesitamos pasos adicionales en el proceso?
- ¿Cuál ha sido la reacción de cada departamento? ¿Dicen lo mismo?
Understanding how your target audience responded to the crisis can help tailor your future strategies to better meet their expectations.
Aproveche este momento para hacer un debriefing y comentar la experiencia. Involucre a todas las partes interesadas y a su equipo de gestión de crisis. Considere los pasos adicionales que debería incluir en su estrategia y qué la mejoraría. Tómese este tiempo para asegurarse de que tiene una buena estrategia. estrategia de medios sociales en su sitio.
Examples of Social Media Crises
Social media crises can arise from various sources, including customer complaints, employee misconduct, or even a simple mistake. Here are some examples of social media crises that have affected businesses:
- Reclamaciones de los clientes: A customer posts a negative review on social media, which quickly goes viral and damages the company’s reputation. This can lead to a significant loss of trust among social media users and potential customers.
- Employee Misconduct: An employee posts a racist or sexist comment on social media, which is shared widely and sparks outrage. Such incidents can severely tarnish a brand’s image and lead to calls for boycotts.
- Account Hacking: A company’s social media account is hacked, and the hacker posts malicious content that damages the company’s reputation. This can cause confusion and panic among followers, and the company must act swiftly to regain control.
- Misinterpreted Posts: A company’s social media post is misinterpreted or taken out of context, leading to widespread criticism and backlash. This highlights the importance of clear and thoughtful communication in social media posts.
By understanding these examples, businesses can better prepare for potential social media crises and develop strategies to mitigate their impact.
Preparing for a social media crisis with social media monitoring tools
Preparing for a social media crisis is the best form of defense. And being aware of your digital footprint will help reduce the fallout from any social media disaster. Setting clear social media marketing goals can help guide your crisis preparation efforts and ensure that your response aligns with your overall marketing objectives. Here are our top tips for preparing for a crisis.
- Use social media monitoring tools. Social media analytics tools like BrandMention and Oracle will give you an insight into your brand perception. You can check spikes in negative sentiment in real-time that could indicate a problem and allow you to address any issues before it escalates.
- Put in place a staff social media policy. A comprehensive policy will set guidelines and expectations for your staff using social media platforms. This should cover all expectations and guidelines for members of staff that use social media channels in a personal or professional capacity.
- Have a crisis management plan and response strategy in place. You will need to act quickly in a crisis before you lose control of your social channels. Your plan will include guidelines on responses, staff responsibilities, and internal & external communications. More than a quarter of crises will go international within an hour due to the lack of a comprehensive social media crisis plan.
- Set community guidelines. Having set guidelines that visitors should accept. These will allow some control over the content they post, and the behaviors they exhibit. Managing users that breach community guidelines is easier as you have a clear policy.
- Have a shutdown process. On very rare occasions an organization will have to make the decision whether to leave their channels open or looking at the possibility of closing them temporarily. Shutting down one or more platforms is not a decision that should be undertaken lightly.
- Simulate your strategy. By testing your social media crisis plan against different scenarios it will prepare staff. Adjustments to your strategy should be undertaken if needed.
Social Media Listening and Monitoring
Social media listening and monitoring are crucial components of effective social media marketing. By listening to and monitoring social media conversations, businesses can:
- Identify Potential Crises: Detect issues before they escalate into full-blown crises. Early detection allows for prompt action and resolution.
- Respond Quickly: Address customer complaints and concerns in real-time, demonstrating responsiveness and care.
- Gather Feedback: Collect valuable insights and feedback from customers, which can inform product development and marketing strategies.
- Track Brand Mentions: Monitor how often and in what context your brand is mentioned, helping you understand public perception.
- Monitor Competitors: Keep an eye on competitors and industry trends to stay ahead in the market.
Social media listening and monitoring can be done using various tools, including social media monitoring software, keyword tracking, and social media analytics. These tools provide businesses with the data needed to make informed decisions and improve their social media strategy.
How to manage a social media crisis management
How digital marketers and social media managers handle a crisis can be the difference between unrepairable damage to your reputation, and your reputation remaining salvageable. A skilled social media manager can be instrumental in navigating a crisis, utilizing their expertise to manage communications and maintain brand reputation.
Use social media crisis management to determine if it is really a crisis – stakeholders can ask tough questions and sometimes these can escalate into a discussion. It is important to define what your organization deems to be a crisis to reduce the chances of an overreaction.
- Assess the situation. How many users have left comments? What is the sentiment like – is it negative? Are there key influencers involved? Is it in the media? Knowing your current situation will help plan for a resolution.
- Communicate internally and externally. You should update all all external stakeholders regularly with transparent information containing factual information. Communicating with internal staff will ensure everyone is on the same page and reduces the opportunity for misinformation to spread.
- Deploy goodwill ambassadors. If you have brand advocates or influencers you can call upon to help manage a crisis. Users may trust them more and they are able to amplify your core statements further. You should brief brand advocates on the crisis and communications strategy before before any deployment. In some cases, social media advertising can be used to counteract negative publicity by promoting positive content and messages.
- Know when to pause a conversation. Conversations during a social media crisis and responses to any official statements can become heated and involve many emotions. Do not get involved with conversations or arguments that take you away from your crisis strategy, stick to the facts available.
- Leave comments alone. Removing negative comments is seen as a form of censorship and gives the impression you have something to hide. Only delete content that breaches your company and platform community guidelines.
- Silence. puede no ser la mejor política cuando se trata de una crisis en los medios sociales. Responda y actualice a tiempo. Sobre todo, sé honesto y sincero en tus respuestas, pero cíñete a los hechos y nunca respondas con emociones.
- Conozca a su portavoz. Los portavoces son mensajeros directos de su empresa. Asegúrese de que su portavoz público es capaz de atenerse a los hechos y no desprestigiar aún más a la empresa.
Measuring Success with Analytics
Measuring the success of social media marketing campaigns is crucial to understanding their effectiveness and making data-driven decisions. Here are some key metrics to track:
- Métricas de compromiso: Track likes, comments, shares, and other forms of engagement to gauge how well your content resonates with your audience.
- Reach Metrics: Measure impressions and views to understand the extent of your content’s visibility.
- Conversion Metrics: Monitor website traffic, sales, and other conversion-related metrics to assess the impact of your social media efforts on your business goals.
- Sentiment Metrics: Analyze the sentiment of social media posts to determine whether the feedback is positive, negative, or neutral.
- Follower Growth Metrics: Track new followers and follower loss to evaluate the growth of your social media presence.
By tracking these metrics, businesses can gain insights into their social media performance and make adjustments to their strategy to improve results. Social media analytics tools can help businesses track these metrics and provide detailed reports and insights, ensuring that their social media marketing campaigns are effective and aligned with their marketing goals.
When the dust has settled – what happens after the social media crisis on social media platforms
Now is a good time to review how your crisis management strategy and the performance of your crisis management team. Reviewing the effectiveness of your social media campaigns during the crisis can provide valuable insights for future improvements.
He aquí algunas preguntas que puede plantearse para asegurarse de que su estrategia de futuro es a prueba de balas:
- ¿Funcionó la estrategia?
- ¿Qué salió bien y qué salió mal?
- ¿Qué hemos aprendido?
- ¿Necesitamos pasos adicionales en el proceso?
- ¿Cuál ha sido la reacción de cada departamento? ¿Dicen lo mismo?
Understanding how your target audience responded to the crisis can help tailor your future strategies to better meet their expectations.
Aproveche este momento para hacer un debriefing y comentar la experiencia. Involucre a todas las partes interesadas y a su equipo de gestión de crisis. Considere los pasos adicionales que debería incluir en su estrategia y qué la mejoraría. Tómese este tiempo para asegurarse de que tiene una buena estrategia. estrategia de medios sociales en su sitio.
Gestión de crisis de reputación online: Un estudio de caso
Claire es una experimentada estratega de relaciones públicas digitales, marketing y marketing en redes sociales que dirige la estrategia y la ejecución de las relaciones públicas de Igniyte en varios países y sectores.
Con 16 años de experiencia en marketing, comunicación y relaciones públicas, dirige a la perfección todos los elementos de las relaciones públicas online B2B y B2C para conseguir una cobertura positiva de alto nivel para nuestros clientes en medios online regionales, nacionales, internacionales y especializados, y ayuda a garantizar que se gestionan y mitigan todos los riesgos.