Comments on: Planning for a Social Media Crisis

By: Best Virtual Advertising » Blog Archive » Planning for a Social Media Crisis | Constructing Social

Tue, 25 Nov 2008 06:26:26 +0000

[...] unknown wrote an interesting post today onPlanning for a Social Media Crisis | Constructing SocialHere’s a quick excerptYes, PR and Marketing teams – you need Twitter accounts! Be sincere and honest in your conversations. It is far more likely that you will be judged more by how you react to the crisis than by the marketing miss-step that is being … [...]

By: Ray Stankiewicz

Ray Stankiewicz — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 02:00:10 +0000

This is, again, a great overview and adapts some well established crisis PR practices. With all the things going on in social media, the timeline is so incredibly fast that it’s difficult for organization leaders to always see the value. PR and brand managers should recognize the value of quick response without wasting time perfecting messages. The point about moving is a very valid one. Much of the social media population is more likely to be outraged by a marketing misstep rather than taking any great pains to defend the offending brand.

By: Heather Rast

Heather Rast — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 01:55:17 +0000

I enjoyed your post, thank you for the synopsis. If you were looking to build on this line of discussion/thinking, you might consider how a company that has yet to reach social media acceptance–as I gather was the case with #motrinmoms–can suitably function and respond when faced with a social media crisis situation. Essentially, when there’s insufficient time for a well-crafted SM crisis strategy (preplanning), how can a brand jump in with both feet and work to mitigate a situation out of control?

Maybe that warrants 2 or 3 posts, actually Might give it a try myself.

By: Brent P. Newhall

Brent P. Newhall — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 23:02:30 +0000

An excellent issue, and a good overview.

I do think that things like assigning crisis level categories are just way too bureaucratic. While some manager spends time trying to categorize the crisis, the crisis deepens. And I don’t even know what you mean by “Establish Employee Awareness,” and how that relates to their intelligence.

By: Ruth Seeley

Ruth Seeley — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 22:37:46 +0000

Excellent overview. The key to success with #5 is to proffer the apology immediately. The mistake Motrin made was in being completely oblivious to the Twitterstorm that raged for 48 hours. Only when it started to filter out through the blogosphere and hit more traditional media outlets such as Forbes and the NY Times parenting blog did Motrin sit up and take notice. It’s interesting to me that so many of the social media faux pas are generated by advertising rather than public relations agencies. Perhaps it’s because public relations has continually broadened its scope while advertising hasn’t.

By: Suzi Craig-Edwards

Suzi Craig-Edwards — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 22:09:35 +0000

I agree with Doug — good overview.

But I disagree with #5. Motrin posted a very corporate apology and then “moved on.” It was like trying to feed a hamburger to a vegetarian. They’re just not gonna bite.

If your audience is engaging you by reaching out, interact with them in their playground. I’m not suggesting you drag it out, but by suggesting you drop an apology and go is a bit counter to the very good point brought up in #4 which is that folks are more likely to judge how you react vs. the issue at hand.

By: Doug Haslam

Doug Haslam — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 21:52:20 +0000

I love this as an overview– of course, I crave some more depth in some of these points– especially in #1, where you have to be prepared for blowback based on liability and executives who may have trust issues when it comes to realizing employees should be talking about brand- at some level- and do anyway