Managing a Social Media Crisis

Social Media Crisis Management

Social media has become an integral part of our lives, connecting brands with their audience and enabling people to share their experiences with one another. With billions of social media users worldwide, the potential reach of a single post is astounding. However, this also means that any crisis, no matter how small, can quickly escalate and spread before the management team has a chance to react. In this article, we will discuss strategies for handling social media backlash and provide tips for effective crisis management.

How to Prepare for a Crisis

It’s crucial to be prepared for any crisis that may come your way. A solid plan in place can help you quickly and effectively deal with the issue before it escalates and causes more damage. This includes having a dedicated social media management team that is well-versed in your brand’s tone and voice.

Brand alerts can be used to monitor your online mentions and identify potential issues before they become major problems. Social listening is also a valuable tool to understand your audience and their sentiment toward your brand. It’s not just the social media team that needs to be prepared for a crisis, however. All staff should be trained to recognise changes in attitude and trends online and in the venue. This ensures that everyone can respond appropriately and in a timely manner. Brainstorming potential scenarios and making plans for the ones that seem more likely to occur is also an essential part of crisis management. This allows you to be proactive rather than reactive when a crisis strikes.

Establishing a clear chain of command and assigning roles is important so that everyone knows who to speak with during a crisis.

Actions to take before a crisis occurs:

Develop Clear Social Media Strategies
Use Alerts to Monitor Your Brand
Utilise Social Listening to see what your audience is saying
Train Your Staff to recognise changes in attitude towards your venue
Brainstorm typical situations and make plans for the ones that seem more likely to occur
Establish a clear chain of command and assign roles so your staff knows who to speak with.

Identifying a Social Media Crisis

Unexpected crises can arise quickly and without warning in the hospitality industry. But a little preparation can go a long way in protecting your reputation.
Service reduction, product recalls, accessibility issues, use of controversial ingredients, and conflicts with event scheduling are all examples of crises that can be prepared for in advance.

However, there are also crises that happen quickly and without warning, such as health and hygiene issues, problems with the venue, and political or social activism. By anticipating potential crises and having a clear social media strategy in place, you can minimise the damage and turn a negative situation into a positive one.

Crises that you can prepare for may include

Service reduction
Product recalls
Accessibility issues — both to the venue and the menus
The use of controversial ingredients
Conflict with event scheduling

Crises that you may be prepared for but happen very quickly with the potential to escalate may include –

Health and Hygiene Issues
Problems with the Venue
Political or Social Activism

Then there are the unexpected events, which may include –

The failure of a product or marketing strategy
A change made by a rival
A negative campaign against your business

No matter what the crisis may be, having a plan in place could mean the difference between a minor setback and a major catastrophe.

Assessing and Responding to a Social Media Crisis

What is Being Said?

The first step in managing a social media crisis is to determine the severity of the situation. You need to assess what is being said, who is saying it, and how often it is being said. This will help you decide how to respond and what action is required.

Who Is Saying It?

Influencers can have a significant impact on your business, both positive and negative. Negative reviews or comments from an influencer can quickly escalate the situation, damaging your brand’s reputation further. Therefore, it’s important to consider the influence of the person or group behind the comments or reviews.

How Often Is It Being Said?

The frequency of the comments or posts can indicate the seriousness of the issue. Social media mentions and traffic can help in measuring how often the problem is being spoken about, giving you an idea of its impact, whether it’s a minor issue or a full-blown crisis.

Responding to a Crisis

Once you’ve identified that there is a crisis, it’s important to take the right action. A negative impression can be extremely damaging and long-lasting, so having a dedicated and devoted PR team, who are specialised in dealing with Social Media is essential.

Your team should assess the severity of the situation and gauge the mood of the public. They need to know what sort of response is required and how best to deliver it. Having a Social Listening strategy in place can help collect and monitor data and detect changes in consumer mood, allowing your team to diffuse a potential crisis before it even arises.

Actions to Take During a Crisis

Gauge the public mood and prepare an appropriate response
Be honest and transparent — let your customers hear from you and not a third-party
Give relevant updates regularly
Respond to questions and comments where possible
If not possible, post a list of frequently asked questions and direct your audience to those
If it has affected people directly — apologise and be humble.

Actions to Take After a Crisis

Continue monitoring the data analytics to be sure that the situation is resolved
Thank people for their patience and encourage their continued support
Avoid phrases such as ‘lessons learned’ — give concrete evidence of any changes being made
Don’t pretend it didn’t happen — learn from it and grow.

Take-Aways

By anticipating potential crises and having a clear social media strategy in place, you can minimise the damage and turn a negative situation into a positive one. Remember that a crisis can also be an opportunity to show your customers that you care and to strengthen your relationship with them.