Ever have something go viral on you? It’s exciting. But what if that viral post slammed your brand, or destroyed your brand’s reputation?
Delta has had a rough go of it lately.
A well-prepared social media crisis management plan will help mitigate any potential harm and ensure a fast(er) recovery.
Here, we’ll explore the nature of a social media crisis, common triggers, essential considerations for a crisis plan, and a step-by-step guide to creating a social media crisis management plan, and even give you a template you can use to get started.
Let’s define a “social media crisis.”
Pro tip – a social media crisis is not when a customer leaves a bad review. If you get a negative review, respond kindly, professionally, and look to solve the problem as quick as possible. Other potential customers will pay attention to how you react, and if you react positively, they’ll be more likely to trust you.
So now that that’s out of the way, a crisis is when that negativity quickly gains momentum and escalates, drawing negative attention from a broad audience – usually including the public (Google search results or online communities), the media, and even your stakeholders.
Examples of How a Social Media Crisis Starts
- Customer Complaint Going Viral: A dissatisfied customer posts a complaint on Twitter, which gets retweeted and gains attention, causing more people to voice their frustrations.
- Insensitive Content: A brand posts content that’s offensive or out of touch, leading to widespread backlash and calls for boycotts or cancelling the brand.
- Security Breach: A data breach affecting customer information is revealed, leading to public panic, negative media coverage, and trust issues. This is probably the biggest risk for fintech companies.
- Employee Misconduct: A post from a current or former employee accusing the brand of unethical behavior sparks outrage, with customers, media, and stakeholders demanding answers.
How to Create a Social Media Crisis Management Plan
Three Key Considerations
- Response Time: The speed at which you acknowledge and respond to a crisis is critical. Delays can make the situation much worse.
- Tone of Communication: The way you address a crisis needs to be appropriate. Might we suggest a calm, empathetic, and professional tone? For all that is good in this world, do not be defensive or use dismissive language.
- Internal Roles and Responsibilities: Everyone on the team should know their role during a crisis, from monitoring conversations to crafting responses and communicating with stakeholders.
Step 1: Identify Potential Risks
Understand the potential risks your brand may face on social media. Create a list of scenarios based on your industry, previous crises, and customer feedback.
Common risks might include customer dissatisfaction, product recalls, service outages, getting hacked, or sharing something incredibly offensive.
Step 2: Assign a Crisis Management Team
Assign key personnel to handle various aspects of a social media crisis. This could include:
- Spokesperson: The face of the company who will handle official communications.
- Social Media Manager: The person responsible for monitoring and responding on social platforms.
- Legal/Compliance Team: For advice on responses that could have legal ramifications.
- Customer Support: To handle customer complaints and escalate critical issues.
Step 3: Establish Crisis Monitoring Tools
Set up social media listening tools–some good ones: Hootsuite, Mention, and Sprout Social –to monitor for potential crises. Early detection is crucial. We suggest tracking keywords related to your brand, products, or services, and be alerted to sudden spikes in negative sentiment.
Step 4: Develop Pre-Approved Responses
Create a library of pre-approved responses for common crisis situations. These should include statements for initial acknowledgment of the issue, holding messages while more information is gathered, and apologies if needed.
Step 5: Define Escalation Procedures
Determine when a situation requires escalation beyond the social media team. You’ll want to clarify which thresholds qualify for leadership, legal, or PR teams to get involved. Having clear guidelines ensures that issues are dealt with by the right people at the right time.
Step 6: Train Employees
Ensure that everyone in your organization knows how to handle a crisis. Train your team in communication strategies, customer interaction, and proper social media use. Employees should also understand how to escalate any issue they notice on social media.
Step 7: Implement Regular Testing and Updates
Test your crisis management plan every so often with mock scenarios. Make sure to update the plan periodically to account for new risks, social media trends, or team changes.
Example of a Social Media Crisis Management Plan
Crisis Type: (e.g., customer complaint, data breach, service outage)
Monitoring Tools: [List of tools used to monitor social media platforms]
Key Contacts:
- Spokesperson: [Name, Role, Contact Info]
- Social Media Manager: [Name, Role, Contact Info]
- Legal/Compliance Team: [Name, Role, Contact Info]
- Lead Customer Support: [Name, Role, Contact Info]
Pre-Approved Responses:
- Acknowledgment Statement: [Your response template]
- Update Statement: [Your response template]
- Apology Statement: [Your response template]
Escalation Procedure:
- [Define when and how issues should be escalated to the leadership team]
Post-Crisis Review:
- [Set a time for a debrief session to evaluate the handling of the crisis and what improvements can be made]
Final Thoughts for Social Media Crisis Management
A well-structured social media crisis management plan is a great tool that can prevent a misstep (or even accident) from turning into a brand catastrophe. By being proactive and prepared, brands can navigate crises while minimizing damage and maintaining customer trust.
