Social Media Crisis Management Plan

An online presence for your business is crucial. On social media, posts can be shared multiple times just seconds after something goes live. Therefore, a PR nightmare can come out of nowhere. Do you have a crisis management plan if something goes wrong? 

CREATE A SOCIAL MEDIA POLICY

One of the best ways to prevent a crisis on social media is to create a policy for your business and whoever posts to your page. The details of this policy will vary based on your company, the industry, and even the size of your business. Some of these policies should include guidelines on copyright, privacy, and your brand voice. 

SECURE YOUR ACCOUNTS

When it comes to security, weak passwords or giving your passwords to too many people can cause issues very quickly. Frequently changing your passwords and limiting who has access is an easy way to avoid this risk. 

MONITOR BRAND MENTIONS 

Another easy way to target potential issues is to keep an eye on the posts that mention your brand. If someone is upset with your brand, the likelihood of them leaving a negative review or posting about your brand on their private page is high. There are software options that can monitor these mentions, as well as hiring a digital marketing agency, or monitoring them yourself. 

DEFINE A CRISIS AND CREATE A PLAN

People say rude things on social media, but these comments don’t necessarily count as a crisis. But when there are multiple people saying these things at the same time, it might be an issue to look into. If you fear these comments are showing major negative conversations about your brand, you may need to take action. 

A company-wide social media crisis plan allows you to respond quickly with a previously crafted response. Timing is everything and research shows that more than a quarter of crises spread internationally within just one hour. Your crisis plan should include guidelines for identifying the type and severity of the crisis, roles, and responsibilities for each department, an internal communication plan, and a link to your social media policy. 

PAUSE ALL SCHEDULED POSTS 

Scheduled posts during a social media crisis can wrongly portray that you aren’t taking the crisis seriously. So while the crisis is in progress, it’s best to pause all other posts besides the ones directly related to the crisis. 

We hope this list gives you more insight into what a social media crisis plan is, and how to create one for your business. Taking the time to create a plan is something that will save you and your business later. Do you have a plan created?

by Heidi Pruitt