Crisis Management in the Digital World

Rene SmithSocial Engagement ManagerEngauge@reenazoid

@reenazoid #DigATL

A Little About Me

A Crisis Can Happen to Anyone.

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A Crisis Can Happen to Anyone

@reenazoid #DigATL

A Crisis Can Happen to Anyone

@reenazoid #DigATL

A Crisis Can Happen to Anyone

"With this many Flo's, you could be screwed out of your progressive policy payout TEN TIMES all at once!"

7

A Crisis Can Happen to Anyone

What Constitutes a Crisis?

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3 Key Elements of a Crisis

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3 Key Elements of a Crisis

1. An Unexpected Event

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3 Key Elements of a Crisis

2. Threat to organizations goals and image

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3 Key Elements of a Crisis

3. Short Decision Time

The Crisis Lifecycle

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Crisis Lifecycle

Crisis Preparation Catalyst Response Recovery

Volu

me

of C

hatte

r

Phase 1: Crisis Preparation

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5 Keys to Crisis Preparation

1. Develop an action plan

2. Build relationships

3. Response matrix

4. Escalation plan

5. Employee social media policy

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Develop an Action Plan

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Establish a Crisis Team

Community Manager Brand Manager Public Relations Corp. Communication

Customer Service Analyst Legal C-Suite Executives

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Identify Levels of Crisis

Code Yellow Code Orange Code Red Off the Charts

Consumer issue involving identified buzz words

Multiple complaints on the same issue

Extensive social chatterSome media coverage

Extensive social chatterExtensive media coverage

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Define Roles and ResponsibilitiesPa

rtie

s In

volv

edCr

isis P

lan

Act

ivat

ion

Sam

ple

Scen

ario

Identify issue with

moderation

Crisis Management on Standby

Crisis Escalation and Management Plan Activation Crisis Averted

Identify spike in negative activity or

articles being shared on

social

Posts on Facebook page

No more posts seen on page for

6 hours

Consumers continue to activate online. Major News outlet picks up the story, driving users to continue to post on Facebook.

Identify issue with moderation

Community Manager

Community manager alerts brand managers

Analyst activates listening

Social Influencer briefed

Community Manager, Brand

Manager, Analyst, Social

influencers

PR, Corp. Communication and legal alerted to the

issue.

Brand discontinues regularly scheduled

posts.

Social, PR, Legal and Corp. Comm team work to prepare a

response, acknowledging and

addressing the issue.

Brand responds to issue on appropriate

channel.

Social Influencers respond on page as

consumers, circulating correct

information.

Sentiment category stablished to

monitor specific escalation trend on daily, weekly and

monthly level.

Social Agency, Brand Manager

Community Manager, Brand

Manager, Analyst

Community Manager, Brand

Manager, PR, Corp. Comm, legal, C-Suite

Execs

Community Manager, Brand Manager Social

influencers

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Establish a Timeline

24-48 Hours4-24 Hours4-8 Hours1-4 Hours

Escalate issue to key stakeholders

Publicly acknowledge the situation

Analyze volume and sentiment

Provide recommended response

Craft response(s)

Obtain proper approvals

Post response

Continue to monitor

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Build Relationships with Influencers

It only takes 10% of a population to convince the majority to adopt a belief. (RPI, 7/11)

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Create a Response Matrix

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Develop an Escalation Plan

Code Yellow

Customer Service

Community Manager

Code Orange

Analyst Brand Manager

Code Red

Public Relations Corp. Communication

C-Suite Executives

Legal

Off the Charts

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Establish an Employee Social Media Policy

Phase 2: Crisis Catalyst

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An Unexpected Event

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Monitor the Situation

Social ListeningCommunity

Management

TrendsVolume

Sentiment

Influencers

Phase 3: Crisis Response

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“Responding to word of mouth in times of crisis is not enough.” – Brian Solis

Crisis Response

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Follow the Established Crisis Plan

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Acknowledge the Situation

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Be Clear in Responses

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Don’t be Afraid to Apologize

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Call on Brand Spokespeople

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Communicate Through Appropriate Channels

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Evaluate Response Tactics

Phase 4: Crisis Recovery

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Crisis Recovery

“Effective crisis management does not end when the social chatter subsides.” - Me

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Crisis Recovery

You need to continue to monitor ask yourself these questions:

1. Was it limited to social?

2. What is the volume?

3. What is the sentiment?

4. How has it impacted your search results?

5. When should you return to business as usual?

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Crisis Recovery

Dos & Don’ts of Crisis Management

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Do

1. Be proactive

2. Follow established crisis plan

3. Acknowledge the situation

4. Be clear in responses

5. Communicate using appropriate channels

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Don’t

1. Operate business as usual

2. Ignore the situation and hope it will go away (it won’t)

3. Delete posts

4. Be afraid to apologize

5. Stop monitoring

Rene Smith#DigATL@reenazoid

Questions?