Social Media: The Crisis Communication Life Preserver

Makenzie Hammond (@kenziehammond)

Over the course of the term, we have learned that there are inherent risks when using social media on behalf of an organization. One rogue tweet can send your organization into a viral tailspin of bad press and backlash. According to the 2014 

Crisis Communication Survey of 270 companies conducted by Continuity Insights, there has been a general increase of social media use among organizations. Over half of the respondents felt that the benefits of using social media tools during a crisis outweigh the risks. But, ironically, 60 percent of organizations do not have a strategy or plan in place for using social media during a crisis. Only 17 percent of the companies surveyed have a centralized team in place to analyze and disseminate relevant information.

The advantages of social media have become a life preserver for organizations when navigating through a crisis. Social media can act as a very fast and effective way to communicate with key stakeholders in the event of a crisis, according to the VP of corporate communications for CareCloud, John Hallock. Many individuals now turn to social media to find out information and a lot of people use it as their primary source of information. Journalists often turn to social accounts for information and quotes for writing stories, and it is in the best interest of organizations to have relevant and timely information ready, so there isn’t a missed opportunity for earned press. Social media has now become just as effective for disseminating information in terms of broad-based communications as opposed to issuing a press release.

Here are some quick tips to help implement social media into a crisis communication plan from CKSyme Media Group:

1- Implement a social media monitoring system- This will help you keep track of what is being said about your brand and can also help you predict a future crisis. You can gauge public sentiment faster and understand what your publics are talking about. Social media monitoring systems can be found at little to no cost to your organization and are worth the benefit of mitigating a crisis before it starts.

2- Develop a social media guide- During a crisis it is extremely useful for a social media manager to be able to refer to a social media policy. This allows for less time to be wasted trying to figure out how to handle a situation. The guide should exemplify your organizations brand and should include all aspects of social media, not just crisis communication.

3- Establish a single social media manager/department- In a time of a crisis, it is crucial to keep your messaging consistent. There should be one person or department in charge of this process and knows how to handle social media in the time need. This allows the branding to be consistent and effective.