Speed Kills - Tips for Managing Crisis in the Era of Social Media

speed kills
Tips for managing crisis in the era of social media
Social media has changed the velocity of crises and how companies must manage them. It's time to speed up to keep pace.
Previously issued by dna13 www.mediavantage.comBe prepared Crises don't just happen to other companies; an incident can happen to your organization and you must be ready if and when it does. A product malfunction or online rumour about a senior executive can, within hours, become the subject of thousands of blog entries and tweets. The truth can quickly be distorted, leaving your company with a serious problem.
Public relations experts have long said it's crucial for any organization to have a crisis management plan. While that's still true today, two things have changed.
Your organization needs to keep track of what's being said about your products, brand and people in the media and online. This can help you identify a crisis in the making before it gets out of control. Surveillance requires an investment in the right tools, including social media.
Secondly, your crisis management plan needs to include social media as a communications tool. You need to know where your customers and stakeholders are online and what they communicate there. When a crisis hits, that's where you need to go to speak to stakeholders and let them know what's going on - in real time.
Be prepared for crisisDo you know what to do if a crisis strikes your company? Make a plan and rehearse it. Make sure the plan includes the following: A crisis team. Choose people who know how to manage crises and have a good understanding of social media and how to talk to your stakeholders online. Clear messaging. Draft messages in advance that communicate your commitment to customers, employees and stakeholders using simple, clear and straightforward language. A strong human network. Know who and where the key members of your audience are so you can find them quickly - as soon as a crisis hits. Crisis information tools. In advance, secure a toll-free phone number and build a crisis website (also known as a dark site). Test to see if they work before you need them. Bench strength. Make sure your organization's servers and phone lines can handle a surge in traffic in the event of a crisis.
What's going on?The speed and sophistication of the web has changed crisis management. Not only does social media help information - both true and false - spread more rapidly, but bad news also never goes away. Web archives can store negative news stories and blog posts for years.
Fortunately, the same advanced technology that has allowed Web 2.0 to grow can be used by you. Modern search engines can assemble information on a much more sophisticated level than ever before. Using this technology can help you track conversations about your company and your brand and ideally stop rumours before they go viral.
www.mediavantage.com 2Crisis case study Centers for Disease Control
When the H1N1 flu virus became a serious public health concern in 2009, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in Atlanta was able to react quickly, use social media to its advantage, and ended up changing the way many people in the US receive their health information.
Long before H1N1, the CDC had an active social media group. It worked with other departments within the organization to share information with the public on issues such as disease prevention, diabetes care, hurricane evacuations and food recalls.
So when the flu surfaced in spring 2009, the social media group simply mobilized to reach and grow its already substantial social network-based following.
"At CDC we try to provide credible, accurate health information when, where and how users want it," explains Ann Aiken, Health Communications, Centers for Disease Control/National Center for Health Marketing/Division of eHealth Marketing. "In the 2009 H1N1 response, we quickly developed a social media strategy as part of a coordinated communications plan to send out timely messages that foster engagement, encourage participation and further open government goals and public engagement activities."
CDC's tactics included: A Twitter profile originally designed for Hurricane Ike in 2008 that was repurposed. Before H1N1, it had about 2,500 followers. It has since ballooned to a following of more than 1.2 million. The development of ten widgets for people to... [download for more]