{"id":8414,"date":"2016-09-01T17:30:09","date_gmt":"2016-09-01T15:30:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mention.com\/blog\/?p=8414"},"modified":"2024-10-10T09:55:31","modified_gmt":"2024-10-10T09:55:31","slug":"stress-free-social-media-crisis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mention.com\/en\/blog\/stress-free-social-media-crisis\/","title":{"rendered":"7 Tips for Taking the Stress Out of a Social Media Crisis"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It\u2019s always a little uncomfortable to talk about PR crises.
We all obviously want to bury our heads in the sand and say, \u201cThat would never happen to my<\/em> brand!\u201d
And if everything goes according to plan, it never will.
But how often do things go according to plan?
Crisis communications\u2014online or offline\u2014require hope for the best but preparation for the worst. Know how to handle a social media crisis, make sure your team is ready to respond at any moment, and hope you\u2019ll never be called to action.
And in case things go awry, follow these tips.
Want to build a tool kit to deal with any social media crisis? Download our free cheat sheet!<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to take the stress out of social media crises<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

1. Be prepared<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The first step is an obvious one. The first time your team talks about managing a crisis shouldn\u2019t be as soon as your first one happens!
Create a crisis communications plan that includes guidelines for any kind of crisis – online, offline, social, etc. Already having one ready when you need it will take care of one of the hardest parts of a crisis: figuring out what to do and what to tell the public.
By deciding what steps your brand will take in a crisis, how you\u2019ll communicate that to your audience, and delegating who\u2019s doing what\u2014all in advance\u2014you\u2019ll have fewer split-second decisions to make.
And in situations like these, that\u2019s a breath of fresh air.
[Tweet “Always have a crisis communications plan ready for any kind of PR disaster.”]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Remember you\u2019re humans appealing to humans<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Once a crisis has hit and people ask you questions, it can be tempting to fall back on \u201cbrand speak.\u201d Removing yourself from the situation and hiding behind a corporate identity makes facing the public a little less scary.
But it\u2019s the wrong move.
Your brand voice should always sound human on social media, but it\u2019s even more important in a crisis. Turn conversations about the crisis into a personal conversation, appeal to emotions, and generally be personable.
Your brand has just lost trust, and any empathy you can evoke can help manage crisis mode.
\u201cThe biggest misstep I see brands make during a social media crisis is switching to \u2018corporate speak\u2019 when responding to fans. Stay true to your voice, even in a time of crisis.\u201d – David Hernandez, lotus823<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Share frequent updates<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Another way to start re-establishing trust with your audience is to show your brand\u2019s dedication to managing the problem that started it all.
In the midst of a crisis, communicate frequently on all the channels your customers look for you on\u2014that means your social media channels and any owned properties.
Cross-post the most important information your audience wants or needs in any social media crisis. And, like all important content, you\u2019ll want to share it more than once. Use a scheduling tool in a crisis to pause your \u201cregularly scheduled programming\u201d and instead make sure everyone sees your more important updates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Monitor social media constantly and respond quickly<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In addition to sending out \u201cfull statements\u201d to your whole audience, you\u2019ll want to send individual replies to your audience as well.
During a crisis, many people will reach out directly on social media and even more will have conversations about you with other people.
You\u2019ll need to understand everything being said, intervene in conversations that go off-track, and answer questions from your audience.
Monitoring makes it way easier to find conversations on multiple channels, whether you\u2019re tagged or linked to or not. You can also engage and manage the crisis with some tools from your monitoring dashboard.
\u201cRegardless if it is Twitter or Facebook or another social network, some companies forget to monitor their social media channels right away, and that lack of communication can get worse the longer that people have no answer.\u201d – Nile Flores, Blondish.net<\/a><\/em>
[Tweet “In a social media crisis, it’s crucial to stay on top of your social media monitoring.”]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Create opportunities for wins<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

How you manage a social media crisis can also help rebuild trust with your audience.
The way you behave, the things you say, the values you prioritize – all of that can create opportunities to redeem yourself.
Things like being honest and transparent, putting your customers before your brand, owning up to a mistake, etc. can all do that.
\u201cTry and turn something negative into a positive – while your company might be getting all this bad press about their [mistake], it\u2019s still attention and a chance to get your brand recognized.So when managed effectively, you could actually use it as a way to show potential customers how great your customer service department is, and how much you actually do care about [the customers].\u201d – Anna, CardioTech<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Use employees as advocates<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t just rely on your main company accounts to post during a social media crisis. Use employee advocacy to help spread your message.
[Tweet “Companies dealing with a social crisis shouldn’t be afraid to use employees as advocates.”]
Empowering as many members of your team as possible will make a crisis that much easier to deal with, as long as you lay out ground rules.
Encourage employees to re-share messages from your brand’s main account. Give them guidelines for how to respond to anyone asking them questions. Give suggestions on how to communicate the brand voice and values.
This both makes crisis management<\/a> easier and shows your brand still has your employees’ support.
“Companies dealing with a social crisis shouldn’t be afraid to use their number one power online – their employees. In the event a company crisis breaks out, it’s important to have an employee communications plan for how to react online.On occasion, you might want employees to “do nothing” or “say nothing” on their personal platforms, [but that’s a mistake].” – Ashley E. Stein, Shred Nations<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reflect after the fact<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Once the madness is over, you don’t get to wash your hands of it and move on immediately.
First of all, you need to be on the lookout for any lasting effects the crisis has on your brand and constantly try to repair the damage.
And once enough time has passed, you need to conduct a postmortem analysis and reflect on the crisis.
Ask yourself things like:<\/p>\n\n\n\n