A How-To Primer for Social Media PR Crisis Management

Many companies unexpectedly find themselves launched into the world of social media and its tremendous impact because of a crisis situation.  What's a company to do when this happens?  Especially one that has no previous experience in social media? Its a tough call as any response can shape public perception about the company or brand for years to come.

This post aims to be a how-to primer for managing a crisis situation whether or not you have the budget to hire a big firm to shuttle you through the crunch time.  It may require some work upfront, but it will be well worth it in the long run.

Step One: Have a good crisis management firm specializing in social media on retainer or ready to mobilize as soon as something breaks. Be sure that they truly specialize in Social Media and have a track record to prove it. Most PR firms say they do 'Social Media', some even say they specialize in it, but when push-comes-to-shove in a crisis situation, unless that company possesses the following traits you may find your company in not only an online crisis situation, but also involved in a traditional PR debacle as well - either way, you are now worse off than before because you didn't have the right council in the first place.

Any company you employ to assist should: 

1. Understand the nuances of social media crisis management versus traditional PR crisis management,
2. Have the online 'street cred' to back up that claim,
3. Have the built-in network of online influencers (bloggers, etc) that they have long-standing pre-existing relationships with, and
4. Have previous experience in successfully guiding major companies/brands through crisis situations online.

But, let's say you don't have the budget to hire a firm that specializes in online WOM and PR crisis managment. What do you do next?

 
Step Two: Assemble a team of trusted employees who are willing to work round the clock (it won't be for long - just a few days at most) and take the following actions:

 1. Assess the situation online by harnessing the tools that are publicly available, focusing on a few key areas:
Google Search - traditional SEO - how high is your issue ranking in Google when an average consumer enters your company name
The Blogosphere - leverage the blog search engines using a variety of terms to find out: what is being said, who is saying it and how influential they are

• Google Blogs
• Technorati
• Who's Talkin'

Traditional Media Coverage - use RSS feeds to the online publications of both mainstream and industry media - don't forget to monitor the blogs on these sites!
Twitter - use search.twitter.com for key search terms and hashtags related to both your company name and the issue at hand
RSS Feeds - can be vital in obtaining large amounts of crucial information; if you don't know how to use Google Reader or another feed reader - learn immediately. It will be too late to try to learn it once you are already involved in a crisis situation when every second counts.

• From the blogs of influencers
• From key Google serach terms
• From media outlets
• From Twitter influencers who are covering the topic or issue

2. Monitor these sources constantly to see what and how the situation is developing - don't forget to watch the 'attacker's' website or blog as well. They may change their tune or consumers may react negatively and post it on their site.

• Trend the volume of response and the type of consumer reaction over time - is it growing or waning, is it supportive or negative; how is this changing over time?
• Identify what your target audience's reaction is. This will determine your response. Remember: your response validates that there is an issue and may further perpetuate a negative situation.

Now that I have this info, what do I do with it? How to respond if at all:

• If consumers are silent on the situation, continue to monitor but don't respond publicly. Assess the need to respond on an ongoing basis - hourly, twice daily, daily, etc.
• If consumers are demanding a response, be sure that the initial upswell of outrage has passed and that the issue is, in fact, continuing. The online audience is fickle - if something more interesting breaks in the news (ie. a celebrity death; war breaking out, etc), they may abandon your issue to move on to something more 'important.'
• When responding, be sure to
• Really listen and determine what consumers want - do they just want an apology, and acknowldegment or do they demand change? Be sure to address these things in your response.
  
• DO NOT RESPOND too quickly, too thoroughly, in too much of a 'corporate' tone or via a press release posted on your website (as the sole response mechanism). These tactics are typically not well-received in the social media landscape.

Questions?  Please post 'em here and I'll answer them!

Note:  This piece was originally developed as a contribution to a Mashable article.  Read it here!