SOCIAL MEDIACrisis Management Plan

CAMPAIGN MANAGEMENT – GROUP D

September 2011

CAMPAIGN MANAGEMENT – GROUP D

July 2011

WHAT IS A CRISIS?

• Seeger, Sellnow and Ulmer say that crises have four defining characteristics that are "specific, unexpected, and non-routine events or series of events that create high levels of uncertainty and threat or perceived threat to an organization's high priority goals (Wikipedia). Thus the first three characteristics are that the event is:1. Unexpected2. Creates uncertainty3. Is seen as a threat to important goals

• According to this definition we can conclude that a Crisis Management Plan, will be all organization efforts in order to prevent, face and post manage the occurrence of an event of this type.

CAMPAIGN MANAGEMENT – GROUP D

July 2011

Design a protocol for crisis management: companies should develop a written plan for crisis according to the guidelines of this document to be ready before, when and after it occurs.

Hire both a Community Manager and a PR executive or consultant: o The Community Manager will monitor on an ongoing basis what

happens with the brand in social networks and identify in a timely manner the beginning of a crisis if crisis arises in social media.

o The PR manager would handle all integrated media presence have and actions the company undertakes, inclusive of crisis management guidance, but also ongoing monitoring of brand image as reflected in all media channels ( more integrated brand reputation approach)

I. TO PREVENT the Crisis

CAMPAIGN MANAGEMENT – GROUP D

July 2011

I. TO PREVENT the Crisis

Create Social Media Emergency Team: we recommend to establish a top level team in the organization who are trained and available to act at a time of crisis: o Ideally the team should be integrating the Community Manager,

Public Relationship Manager, Communications Manager, Marketing Manager and General Manager.

o Emergency team should be managed by Crisis Manager ideally who might be Marketing Manager or PR Manager and  supported 24/7 by all departments (if necessary and if that is at all possible)

Training should occur before a disaster strikes. Also part of this information, should be explained and included during staff orientation and periodically reviewed by the Emergency Team.

CAMPAIGN MANAGEMENT – GROUP 

I. TO PREVENT the Crisis

Maintain trust among all publics (stakeholders) and media (prepare media to be cooperative in advance).

Spot potential treats in advance, analyze and make a plan for solving them.

Have a designed speaker(s) depending on media channel

Have readily prepared messages and target audience & media

Be prepared to set up a media crisis center (location) as to avoid communication problems.

CAMPAIGN MANAGEMENT – GROUP D

July 2011

Act fast: If a community manager made an unfortunate statement, a unsatisfied customer post a very corrosive comment, or the brand made a controversial advertising, it is crucial to act fast! As the fires, a crisis is easier to handle in its early stages. Do not think that will happen eventually. Every second counts to prevent the situation from becoming a huge reputation problem.

II. DURING the Crisis

CAMPAIGN MANAGEMENT – GROUP D

July 2011

Do not minimize: One of the biggest errors made by Community managers is minimization of the relevance of complaints received by users of social networks.

o It is important to consider each client as the most important influencer and leader of other users on social networks.

o A client with a sufficiently large network of contacts or with a considerable convening power, can unleash a storm against the brand (remember Dell Hell)

II. DURING the Crisis

CAMPAIGN MANAGEMENT – GROUP D

July 2011

1. Identify the severity of the attack on the reputation of your brand: Is it a moderate sharp criticism or a crisis?2. Design a strategy for responding to the attack: when an attack that affects the reputation of the brand is identified, the Community Manager must call the crisis team, in order to build a response strategy according to the protocol.

o When we are facing a mild attack the response can be given by the Community Manager,

o when it is a strong attack the answer should be given by the Communications Manager or Marketing Manager

o when it is a deep crisis the answer should be given by the General Manager.

II. DURING the Crisis

CAMPAIGN MANAGEMENT – GROUP D

July 2011

Create the right message for social networks: Some guidelines for response could be:

Admit mistakes and apologize as soon as possible. However, we strongly recommend to do not admit the blame until having investigated all the facts.

Explain how the problem occurred and report what is going to be done in order to fix it.

Submit a plan that reduces the possibility that the situation is re-present.

Do professional photography coverage in the next 24-48 hours after the disaster: You could also hire a professional photographer to ensure the quality of the images and storytelling abilities. 

II. DURING the Crisis

CAMPAIGN MANAGEMENT – GROUP D

July 2011

Personalized attention: It is crucial to treat users as individuals. The CM must be helpful, friendly and willing to listen to criticism. If we are talking about a group, meeting them could be a good alternative. We must remember that customers are brand owners.Develop and distribute detailed messages with the status of the emergency: it is very important to designate the frequency of information distribution to general media, general public and Social Media Contribution Team.

II. DURING the Crisis

CAMPAIGN MANAGEMENT – GROUP D

July 2011

II. DURING the Crisis And also

Better be proactive speaker: speak to media right the way, do not wait for viral multiplication effect to put you in reactive position :

Better give truth and facts first, and do not be speculative, as even small mistakes can have unbearable results latter.

Keep "sang froid", do not show  uncertainty, lack of capability of solving the crisis, or other reactions that may be translated as you do not know what to do and how to do it.

Keep promises given during the crisis; be clear and consistent in your messages.

Be open, give updated responses, act honestly and be credible.

CAMPAIGN MANAGEMENT – GROUP D

July 2011

Monitoring after the crisis: the crisis team should not be dissolved until 30 days after the crisis has passed, this because in this time the attack can be reactivated.

Reputation monitoring tools: we recommend two tools to monitor online brand reputation: Social Mention and the Google Alerts service.

Evaluate effectiveness of action plan applied and reactions of all publics.

Correct all failures and problems and make sure measures are taken as not to allow those to happen again - learn from mistakes.

III. AFTER the Crisis

SOCIAL MEDIA Crisis Management Plan:• Respond early to all your publics through all media channels;•   Speak in one voice with your social audience;• Partner with communities: Delegate your followers tasks they

can handle on your behalf and let them influence multi media;which is possible ONCE YOU HAVE :

Built strong community based on Trust;Made them be your friends and messengers

as a SUCCESSFUL start to crisis management Listen and Respect COMMUNITY