Crisis Management & Social Media

Social media have brought about some positive changes to the PR industry. They provide the PR practitioner with new and better communication channels as they allow interaction and real- time communication with the audience. PR at present has the opportunity to engage with the audience as communication has shifted, from being one-way to a community network.

On the other hand, there are some challenges for the PR practitioner. The widespread use of social media means that any messages can travel fast and far to reach anybody throughout the world; nothing can be kept secret and this is particularly important in crisis management, which has become more complex and challenging.

The emergence of the ‘Citizen Journalist’

Social media have empowered individuals by giving them voice and the ability to reach a widespread audience. They now have the power to effect change. So social media can easily generate a crisis or, build one up. Bad news or even incorrect information about an organisation can spread rapidly, especially as the online world never sleeps. Also, the emergence of smartphones and tablets means that people are able to access social media anytime and anywhere.

Another popular trend is the growth of NGO’S and anti-business activists which put a lot of pressure on organisations. People on social media can be easily mobilised to sabotage a company. Organisations need to be able to react immediately and effectively. Therefore, is it essential that every organisation is prepared to handle a crisis, by having a crisis plan in place (and a social media crisis plan).

A recent example of how social media can trigger a crisis is the Domino’s pizza case in 2009 where two of its employees posted a distasteful video on YouTube in which they were engaging in food violation activities. The videos went viral online and were viewed by millions of people until they were blocked. Also, a huge buzz was created through Twitter.

What is interesting about this case is the way management handled the crisis; it also illustrates how organisations need to adapt their crisis management plans in a way that is consistent with the social media era.

What Domino’s did:

1. Management chose to communicate with its audience only through social media

2. The company didn’t issue a press release but instead posted a statement on its corporate website

3. The company shared an apologetic email it had received from the offenders

4. The president of Domino’s pizza USA apologised for the incident and gave further information in a YouTube video

5. Domino’s started twittering

The crisis communication plan was very successful and the buzz died out very quickly.

Reference: http://www.trendsspotting.com/blog/?p=1061