A crisis arrives at any moment without warning. That is why many companies prepare a Crisis Management Manual to deal with any contingency that could negatively affect their image. These manuals, which originally focused only on offline crisis situations, now have an important aspect to implement: social media crises.
According to iRedes, an annual international congress on the world of social media, at the beginning of 2013 social media users worldwide reached 3 billion, with Facebook the favorite with more than a billion followers, YouTube (800 million) and Twitter (500 million).
The importance of social media within corporate communication has taken on special relevance and has established itself as a valuable tool for positioning a brand or seriously harming its reputation.
In order to reduce the impact of an online attack, we share six basic tips for facing this situation simply and effectively.
- Permanent monitoring. Constantly review the comments your brand’s followers make on social media. That way you can quickly analyze the situation and start defining actions.
- Understand the problem and face it. Investigate why and where the situation originated. See whether it is a well-founded event and rule out rumors; once the event is confirmed, accept the error or situation. Many times an upset customer who receives timely attention can become an ally. Plan your strategy.
- Define the spokespeople. Every company has managers or leaders who are experts in their areas or departments. It is important that these executives are trained to join a crisis committee, where the roles and responsibilities of the spokespeople are defined, who will be in contact with the public to give answers and resolve doubts.
- Constant communication. The company’s website, Facebook and Twitter are the best sources for spreading releases or press notes. It is essential to give a clear, timely position according to how the situation unfolds. Don’t overload with too much information. Remember that communication must be based on true and transparent facts.
- Solve the problem. Provide coherent, tangible solutions that repair the damage in a short time. Keep the commitments you made; remember that you are being permanently watched by your followers.
- Learning. A crisis situation is also an opportunity to learn. When the problem is over, write a report on the actions taken, those that worked, those that were not as useful, and establish your best practices for the future.
In a crisis, remember these simple tips: act quickly, make sure the problem is real, face the situation with solutions and always evaluate the facts and actions taken.
