A mistake on Social Media can result in a bad reputation for your company. Therefore, having an action plan for crises on Social Media is essential! Check the checklist:
As a brand or business, the followers you gain on Social Media such as Twitter, Instagram and Facebook are the ideal people to stay connected and communicate news. Unfortunately, Social Media can be fickle.
The smallest of slips can have a huge impact on your brand reputation and customer relationships. And with so many projects on hold, now is the ideal time for you to rethink your crisis response, especially for action plans aimed at Social Media.
For this, there are some strategies you can implement to manage the consequences of a crisis on this.
Write Policies For Your Social Networks
Many Media crises can be avoided if you have effective and thorough policies for them. List understandable guidelines and rules for your entire team to follow in your Social Media posts and responses. Having a well-defined “tone of voice” is also essential for maintaining consistency in media communications.
Build Your Dream Team
A crisis requires everyone to contribute. Still, if many try to solve the same problem in different ways, no one gets anywhere. Therefore, determine specific roles and responsibilities for each member. Make sure your team members are aware of expectations in advance to take action as soon as a Social Media crisis arises.
Define What A Social Media Crisis Means To You
Not every negative comment sets up a crisis on Media. Your business will always receive criticism, and more often than not, complaints can be resolved individually with direct communication (and perhaps a discount). These isolated events do not require the mobilization of your crisis team. To be considered a crisis, it is necessary to have a sufficient number of people with the same complaint to create a negative change in the perception of your brand. This is the moment your Media crisis team has to act!
Stop Scheduled Posts
When a crisis begins, the first step is to stop any scheduled posts on your Social Media pages that were about to be published. Continuing as usual shows negligence in the face of the situation and your client’s reactions to the crisis. A member of your crisis team should be responsible for immediately stopping future posts, ensuring that you can develop a suitable response for publication.
Identify Your Key Message
As a communicator on Social Media, you know how you want your brand to be perceived by the public. So craft a concise message that effectively communicates your response and demonstrates your company’s core values. Get it out there as soon as possible so the public and your customers can see that you’ve recognized the problem and are working to fix it.
Engage With Your Customers
The main objective of developing content for your Social Media accounts is to communicate directly with your customers on the channels where they spend their free time. Don’t ignore them when things aren’t going well. When people are angry, they want answers. Once you share your broader crisis response message, you are free to work on a deeper approach. This is the time to respond to direct messages and tweets, draft press releases, or even videotape a response.
Concluding
Crises on Media and other problems that affect how your company should position itself are often unpredictable. In this way, you and your team must be prepared to deal with adverse situations to avoid conflicts and negative results for your business.
Talk to your customers, but avoid arguing with them at all costs. Respond respectfully and constructively so that both your brand and your customers can begin moving forward as soon as possible.
In times of crisis, the most important thing to do is stay calm and make well-thought-out decisions. Remind your customers why they chose you in the first place. And be patient; with a strategic approach and a strong team, your next Social Media crisis will go unnoticed.
Also Read: What Should I Post On Social Media?