Social media has become a place where people go to find their news and information about the world, products, people, companies, and government. Things can go viral in an instant, and the world can know about anything, all through social media platforms. Because of the nature of social media, it is very easy for a crisis to occur. It is very important that brands know how to handle the type of crises that can occur on social media.
According to Karen Freburg, associate professor in strategic communication at the University of Louisville, crises can be defined as “significant, disruptive events that often feature a rapid onset.” Traditional crises are different from social media crises, however, typically:
- Happening on social media or on a particular platform
- Rapidly spread from person to person
- Spreading virally to become a traditional news story
Here are some situations that can cause social media crises:
- Underestimating the impact of crisis history and outrage on social media
- Once something has been put on the web, it lives there. It also stays with us. After one crisis has “passed,” it can still make a reappearance if a new one occurs.
- Not recognizing tone/concern expressed on social media
- This directly applies to when brands do not respond in a way that audiences want because they are not actually listening to what people are saying.
- Not doing your research on the content/situation/hashtag
- These two situations were seen during this year’s height of social unrest. There was a lot of talk around influencer and brand use of #blackouttuesday and support of #blacklivesmatter. One issue was on them hoping on social media to comment about social justice simply because it was trending. Several people who did this ended up being exposed for their own discrimination, insensitivity and ignorance of the cause. In addition, the #blackouttuesday trend resulted in some who posted their black boxes and ended up taking them down after, again exposing their clout chasing.
Some best practices for managing social media crises include:
- Creating a social media crisis management plan or adding a social media component to a traditional crisis management plan
- Setting up social media monitoring, listening, and response strategies
- Identifying where the crisis first started
- Writing relevant content that is easy to share and understand
- “Pausing” content during a crisis
- Making sure to correct false rumors, information, or news spreading online
- And #1: Tell the truth and respond quickly and appropriately!
Deborah Afolabi 