Social Media Crisis Communication Planning
This excerpt is from my COM 566 final on effective crisis communication planning completed Fall 2020.
Social Media During a Crisis:
Social media allows users to create and exchange content and ideas, providing the perfect platform for interaction between organizations and their stakeholders (Ki & Ye, 2017). Social media has transformed how crisis information is generated and shared. In the digital age, crisis news is no longer monopolized by dominating mass media outlets; instead they can spread among social networks and reach large audiences almost instantaneously (Stephens & Malone, 2009).
It is important for organizations to include social media strategies in their overall Crisis Management Plan (CMP) as social media enables an organization to deliver messages rapidly, directly communicate with stakeholders, and analyze the response to the organizations crisis management (Ki & Ye, 2017). Experts suggest that organizations should prioritize social media use in crisis management and pay close attention to virtual communities emerging via social media, but anticipate complications to arise from social media as well, because they add unpredictability and complexity to the issues at hand (Jin, Liu, & Austin, 2014).
Crises can also stem from social media. Social media crises essentially are risks that an organization is managing in public view. These risks look like crises and often demand a communicative response. These are called "paracrises." These paracrises can come from:
Misuse of social
Customer Service
Venting
Challenge
Building your Crisis Management Team
Building a strong crisis management team (CMT) is crucial to the success of your crisis management. This team is “a cross-functional group of people within the organization who have been designated to handle any crises and is a core element of crisis preparation” (Coombs, 2016). This team will be responsible for end-to-end management of crises, including creating the crisis management plan (CMP), enacting it, and dealing with any problems not covered in it. Core team members of a CMT would include operations/manufacturing, legal, PR, social media, security, and members of the C-suite. Depending on the company, a full-time dedicated crisis manager or a third party will be involved in any decision-making and recommendations (Coombs, 2016).
Developing a Crisis Management Plan
As Coombs mentions, “the goal of crisis communication is to reduce the damage a crisis inflicts on an organization and its stakeholders” (2016, p. 126). Planning helps the CMT think more strategically and also helps ensure the right people are involved in the CMT. Even though it is important to plan and be prepared for a crisis, a crisis management plan (CMP) will not tell crisis managers exactly what to do to handle a crisis (Coombs, 2016). Coombs presents common elements in a CMP as:
Confidentiality Statement
Rehearsal Dates
Introduction
Acknowledgement
CMT Contact List
Incident Report Form
CMT Communication Strategy Worksheet
Stakeholder Contact Worksheet
Secondary Contact List
Centralize External Communication
Proprietary Information
Technical Jargon Warning
Crisis Control Center Designation
Time is of the essence during a crisis. Recommendations on managing crises are to be quick, consistent, and open. Speedy responses have continued to escalate as technology accelerates the spread of information (Coombs, 2016). The primary risk associated with speed is the potential for inaccuracies. Many experts have reported that “stealing thunder” is crucial when managing and maintaining a crisis. Organizations are viewed as more credible if the news breaks from them versus another outlet (Coombs, 2016).
It is also important for the CMT to review potential crisis response strategies. Coombs highlights “the dangers of denial” throughout his journal articles (Coombs 2014; Coombs 2016). Coombs’ (2016) table for crisis response strategies is below:
Community Management on Social Media
In the world of Web 2.0 and beyond, everyone is a publisher. Users can self-publish articles, commentary, ideas, beliefs, fact, fiction, etc. Ideas about an organization can come from any person from any direction (Hayes et al, 2013) so it is important to set up appropriate Listening and Responding protocols for your company's Social Media presence. As a social media manager, it is critical that you listen to identify threats and opportunities emerging in social media (Kruse, 2013). You serve as a monitor that provides “early warnings of a social media-based threat” (Coombs, 2016, pg. 70). Experts have stated that “early detection is key to fast resolution” (Coombs, 2016, pg. 70).
Developing a comprehensive response protocol for the brand will limit risk when engaging with individuals on social media. The document should include protocols on vetting individuals before replying, retweeting, liking, or sharing their posts. Response protocols are effective in mitigating crisis issues and are critical when enduring a crisis.
Once the responding protocol is planned, your next step is to set up a defined earned media listening and responding cadence for each of your channels. Global consulting firm, Ketchum, has noted that “social media cannot be treated within isolation in a crisis and an integrated response is required across all forms of media. An issue that breaks on a social form of media such as a blog or Twitter can quickly shift and be amplified by more traditional forms of media. Oversight of the entire media landscape is critical for listening, planning and response” (Coombs, 2016, p. 95).
Setting up a Social Media Policy
An organization's CMP should also coordinate with other policies within the company, such as a Business Continuity (BC) plan and a Social Media Policy (SMP). Coombs mentions that organizations should have social media policies in order to reduce risks associated with employees using social media (Coombs, 2015).
