“ If you want peace, prepare for war .” You never know when a crisis will break out. By the time journalists or your own press department get in touch with you, it may be too late. So the best thing you can do is be prepared. I propose a strategy that everyone remembers when it is no longer necessary. It would be good if you spent some time studying it and planning it to implement in your company as soon as possible. You can also have your own plan; any plan is much better than none at all.
The proposed strategy is based on two essential premises Social Media Crisisthat you must have at your disposal: An Emergency Team and a Rescue Plan .
But long before you have to press the “red button,” a little prevention would be a good idea. Here are some first tips.
In the midst of a crisis you cannot change your previous reputation. Make sure it is a good one first.
Join the conversation before you have to react. You won't have a voice until you have your own space on social media. Also, quickly creating accounts and profiles to respond is, among other things, pretty useless because they won't have enough followers to be effective.
Have a social media policy for your own employees. Companies are made up of people, and your employees are your first customers and spokespersons.
Monitor . To prevent a crisis, you need to be able to see it coming. Monitoring allows you to know what is being said about you on your channels and on other channels. Pay attention to what is being said. The tools provide you with data, but you also need to know what that data is and why it appears. Investigate the rumors. Here are thirteen very useful tools for this.
Identify (monitor) influential users . Maintain an honest relationship with them when things are going well to prevent consequences when things are not going so well.
Stay calm. Don't start the fire yourself by responding prematurely, disproportionately, or in places where you're not being talked about.
Now, suppose the Crisis breaks out… what should we do?
Assemble your “War Cabinet”:
One of the first things we need to have ready in case of a Social Media Crisis is the team of people who will participate in resolving the conflict. As if it were a war, we need an operations center, which is more than a physical place, it is a state of mind. The different members of the team can be remote, but connected to each other. That is precisely what social networks are for.
Appoint the Chief Operating Officer: No matter how website development service many people make up this “Cabinet”, there must be one person ultimately in charge of managing the situation. Depending on the size of the company, this could be the marketing director, advertising director, or even the general manager. In any case, this person will be in charge of making the final decisions based on the reports and opinions provided. Communication may not be enough.
The Community Manager, by the way, I take this opportunity to propose the title of Community Administrator, which seems more appropriate to me, will act as coordinator and will work with all the departments and will define the style of communication, the channels to be used, etc. If necessary, he will be the executor of the plan, more than the director. Although he was probably the one who designed the work plan.
Our “ Special Operations Team ” will be made up of those responsible for the following departments:
PR and Press Agency : They will channel the information to traditional media.
Customer Service Department : They will provide feedback and channel information directly to the consumer.
Marketing Department : Will maintain the line of communication, pause, resume or start advertising campaigns.
Legal Department : Will oversee the entire process in terms of legal responsibility.
After-Sales Technical Service : Will handle complaints and seek solutions.
Market research : Identify user profiles, positioning, competition…
They will all provide the necessary information, which they should have, to help you make decisions. We assume that all of your team members are trustworthy and highly competent. But it is important that you also keep these tips in mind when selecting these “ Harrelson Men ”: