Is the fear of a social media crisis keeping you up at night? The fear of an online crisis is one that most individuals and business owners have, and rightly so. Conflict on social media can garner negative attention if it isn’t dealt with appropriately. With the right social media crisis plan and prevention tactics in effect, you can sleep soundly knowing that you are prepared if a crisis were to happen.
In this article, we are going to walk you through prevention tactics for a social media crisis and how to act if one does happen.
Prevention is Key
Here are a few things that you can do to help prevent a social media crisis from happening in the first place.
- Have all posts and images reviewed by at least two to three sets of eyes and approved internally before being published online.
- Think about all social media interactions and business decisions from different perspectives. What may seem perfectly acceptable to you may not appear so to someone else. Always act with transparency, respect and empathy.
- Keep the number of people with access to social media accounts to an absolute minimum. This will help to reduce the risk of an accidental or inappropriate post from being published.
- Publish the majority of your posts from a desktop to ensure accuracy.
- Always use a secure connection when managing social media platforms.
Although not all issues on social media can be prevented, by taking the precautions above you can most definitely do your due diligence in reducing the risk.
Understand the Crisis
Once alerted that there is a social media crisis that involves your business, it is imperative that you fully understand the issue before acting. Discuss the issue with your team internally to ensure that all members have the same information and that everyone is caught up to speed.
Never act on impulse. It’s very important that you really know and understand what is happening, especially if you are going to craft an effective plan of action.
Act Fast, But Not Too Fast
We can’t stress it enough, never act on impulse. Take the time to think about the best, most-effective solution before springing into action. At the same time, act quick enough so that it doesn’t appear your business is ignoring the situation.
At the very least, address the situation by letting those involved know that your team is looking into the issue and will be in touch with a response and/or resolution shortly.
Find a Reasonable Solution
It’s important to note that not every social media crisis is going to be the same. Sometimes your business is in the right, and others it is in the wrong. This is why getting a clear understanding of the issue is so important. Since not every crisis will be the same, the way they are dealt with likely won’t be the same either.
First and foremost, always apologize. Even if it’s just saying sorry that a certain situation made an individual or group feel a certain way. You may even want to say that it was not your intention for that to happen. Next, find a resolution that is fair to all parties involved. Even if you feel that your business is not in the wrong, it’s important that you validate the feelings of those who have been affected and are attentive to their needs.
Never ignore a situation. No matter how small or irrelevant you may think it is, it’s important that you validate the feelings and take responsibility for actions that caused an individual or group to feel a certain way. Acknowledging the crisis can help to protect, if not build, your brand reputation.
We always encourage acting with transparency, respect, honesty, and empathy in mind. These traits will help others to recognize that you and your team are humans, making your business more relatable and personable, which in of itself can help when dealing with a crisis online.
Social Media Management at IMP Digital Marketing
The brand reputation of your business can most certainly be put at risk if a social media crisis is not handled properly and professionally. Having a social media crisis plan prepared and ready to be put in action is imperative to the success of your business.
For more information about social media management or to have your very own crisis plan created by a team of professionals, get in touch with our team at IMP Digital today. Our social media experts can work with you to learn more about your brand, devise a crisis plan of action, and even manage your channels – so that you don’t have to!
