Script Response for Social Media

Update:Check out our part 2 post for more than neat examples of crisis management (or lack thereof) right here.

In recent years the game has changed for crisis management. The public has certain expectations for a company'southward response to a PR disaster or potential crisis. Those expectations include things like swift response, open up and honest communication, and open dialogue through social media. Never before have people been able to reach out directly to a brand and so easily as they now can through platforms like Twitter and Facebook.

Over the years we've seen the expert, the bad, and the ugly of crisis management through social media. Hither I wanted to highlight three examples of big brands who successfully handled true disasters and potential crises through deft use of social media.

SOUTHWEST

The Southwest Flight 345 that landed olfactory organ kickoff at LaGuardia is an example of a big brand who knew exactly how to handle a crisis through social media. Quick response fourth dimension and open, honest communication on Facebook and Twitter were key in helping the brand command the story and maintain adept faith with its customers.

Here are a few other examples of their Facebook and Twitter posts but minutes after the accident, promising updates (which they followed up immediately with statements and information):

Virtually of the comments from fans included notes of support and appreciation for Southwest'southward open communication and quick response.

Southwest has a long history of responding accordingly to crises through social media, and the crisis planning of their advice and PR team is axiomatic.

Lesson learned:Have a PR program in place, including social media response, with clear roles and scripts for those who need to respond immediately to a crisis.

Blood-red Cantankerous

Sometimes social media can be thecause of a PR crisis. Just take this Twitter snafu that the American Red Cross quickly handled dorsum in 2011. This is every marketer and social media monkey's worst nightmare: accidentally firing off a personal tweet on the company's Twitter account. This kind of matter can happen easily when one is using Hootsuite on a mobile phone, for instance (which is exactly what happened here). Red Cross responded brilliantly. The rogue tweet from @RedCross went like this:

"Ryan found two more than 4 canteen packs of Dogfish Head'southward Midas Touch beer… when we drink we exercise it correct #gettngslizzerd"

You lot tin can imagine how a tweet of this nature would make an honorable humanitarian organization look bad. How did Red Cross respond? With transparency, sense of humour and practiced grace.

Now, deleting a tweet isn't always the best idea since a) if you lot accept a big audience who notices these things, information technology can look shady when y'all delete things and b) annihilation "deleted" can surface to haunt you lot later on, especially on social media. But, Red Cross did the right affair past acknowledging that the tweet went out, they deleted it, and explaining with sense of humor that it was all a mistake. Information technology never turned into a major crunch.

They didn't stop there, though. Red Cross went beyond that response and turned a potentially harmful tweet into an opportunity for engagement. They took to their corporate blog to explain the situation, show their humanity, and engage with fans and followers. The employee who made the fault 'fessed upwards to it on her personal Twitter account in the same manner, with humility and humor.

Lesson learned:Be careful using Hootsuite! And, be honest with your fans/followers when you flub-up. Social media folks are very forgiving, as long every bit you lot don't use quack tactics to hibernate your mistakes. That is the ultimate no-no when handling crises through social media (or offline besides, for that matter!)

JC PENNEY

Sometimes a modest outcome can come up out of nowhere, and initially seem harmless and unworthy of response. Thus is the example with the JC Penney Teapot that looked like Hitler. Did you hear well-nigh this i?

A user on the social bookmarking site Reddit posted a remark about JC Penney's new teapot baring a slight resemblance to Adolf Hitler. The remark didn't remain isolated to Reddit for long, and JC Penney was forced to response after The Telegraph ran with the non-story:

Although this wasn't a crunch, JC Penney wisely chose to respond while not taking itself too seriously. They realized that a small-scale issue like this could apace plough into a social media PR crisis if handled improperly.

@jcpenney responded to hundreds of tweets about the evil teapot with a standard, light-hearted bulletin:

The whole debacle turned out to exist a pretty good thing for JC Penney. The teapot sold like gangbusters.

Lesson learned:Be sensitive to the ability of social media. Even a small issue like a giddy comment or an unintentional coincidence that gets picked up by others on social media tin can quickly snowball into a PR crunch. Accost even small complaints from your fans or others with grace and good sense.

What crisis direction moments have your company responded to through social media date? How did it turn out? Share your thoughts and stories in the comments below!

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