Let’s talk about mistakes. The truth is, everyone makes them—all the time, but as a business owner, it’s important to correct a mistake by providing carefully thought-out solutions. Because there are so many social media platforms now a days, it’s easy for anyone to publicly report a brand for a defective item, poor customer service, or have someone (sometimes even an employee) bad-mouth a business. When these things happen, it can cause heavy brand distrust. It also creates negative publicity which can directly affect sales.
Being ready for a social media crisis is key to social media mitigation. It serves as a business’ lifeline during difficult times. Instead of planning for a crisis in the middle of an issue, start by creating a guidebook on the steps you need to take before one happens.
As much as a business can try to avoid receiving negative feedback, it can happen. Preparing for this event can reduce the chance of issues escalating. In this guide, we’ll share tips for creating a practical social media crisis handbook.
1. Create a Crisis Communications Plan and Don’t Argue With Users
Having a crisis communication plan allows you to respond to issues quickly. You need to act fast before it escalates and even though it may not immediately fix the issue, knowing that you actively responded to it can alleviate the initial stress of the situation.
When you do this, pause all posting and create a public statement. Make sure you don’t argue with the user. You can engage with negative posts but avoid getting into a long discussion. Message them privately and settle a meeting to discuss the issue.
2. Create Strong Passwords and Use Social Listening to Spot Issues
Business accounts are a big target for hackers. They love to get into the data of businesses by posting irrelevant content. Protect your accounts by creating strong passwords.
Use software or applications that can centralize all the passwords. LastPass is a good software to use since employees won’t see the password but can have access to the account. Make sure to share the passwords with key members only and revoke access once an employee leaves the company.
A social listening program can also help you monitor a potential issue before it escalates. It lets you check on user posts about your brand. When you see a spike in people mentioning your brand, look into it immediately.
3. Create an Easy and Effective Social Media Policy
Some of the worst social media crises do not come from the customers but the employees—former employees, especially. As a form of retaliation, they may reveal things or badmouth the company on social media.
Fortunately, these types of issues can easily be corrected. The best way to prevent this is to create a social media policy. The policy should explain the guidelines on what employees should post or not, talk about the business on their accounts, and list the expectations for each company’s social media accounts. Be prepared.
Final Thoughts
Handling a social media crisis is vital for every business. You need to effectively communicate your plans with the team so you are all on the same page. Also, avoid debating with the customer, engage with them politely and address their concerns privately. Having a handbook to guide you on how to handle these situations can allow you to mitigate issues when they arise.
Elly and Nora Creative is a marketing agency in Phoenix, Arizona that helps companies and entrepreneurs grow. We also help businesses and organizations deal with social media crises. Give us a call to learn more about how we can help your business.