As a brand, you will naturally try to make maximum communication with your audience. They are present all over your social media existence and interacting with them is of course a basic exercise that we all have to follow. But what happens when we face a crisis? As the face of your brand, your Social media response during a crisis can make or break the brand image and a lot depends on what and how you post.
Pre-scheduled communication in times of crisis can backfire. For instance, there is an issue with your product quality and you are trying to fix it. But your pre-drafted content completely ignores the situation and sounds absolutely irrelevant.
Or imagine a social crisis when your happy promotional post would appear so improper. Postponing or rescheduling your post chain should be your first priority in such times.
Social media is your platform for communication. But too much venting out in a time of crisis will only end up making you the joke. The trick is to give a balanced view of the situation, without letting your frustration or emotion get in the way. If the crisis is caused by a social emergency involving others, think about how you can contribute to the solution. A post of that kind will do wonders for your image.
While saying too much can be suicidal, being silent would be a bigger blunder. Your audience would expect your reaction when crisis strikes and keeping quiet would allow conspiracies to breed. If you are not ready with a solution yet, at least drop in a few lines assuring that you are working on it.
Accept. When your brand faces a crisis, a great way to save your face is by taking the onus. Don’t try to enter the blame game or shake off responsibility for whatever happened. It’s important for your audience to know that you are aware, responsible, and proactive.
Rest assured that such situations will come with a bunch of bitter responses and a lot would depend on how you hold your calm. I know it’s a challenge not to backlash some remarks but stay away from any negative replies. A professional social media response in such times is just what your brand needs.
What according to you is a crisis? If you are ruffled by every single negative review there will be a chance of blowing up a tiny dissatisfaction into a bigger mess. Detect the difference between a brand crisis and a general criticism.
While I ask you to take criticism lightly, I don’t mean that you can ignore your customers’ concerns. It is natural for customers to try to reach you through social media. Try to respond to every single comment or tweet. Your presence in spite of a crisis would actually boost their confidence in you.
When there is a crisis, it’s better if they hear it from you. Whatever the picture is, you should be the one to communicate first. News from the press or some other source has more chances of painting a distorted picture.
Social listening tools like bossism, Keyhole, or HubSpot can keep an eye on any conversation going on about your brand and will raise an alarm if something sounds off. Thus you get the time to prevent the crisis altogether or to prepare yourself for the solution.
Every crisis would need its own kind of solution. But these protocols in your social media communication should help in minimizing the damage.
