Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Position Paper Available - When Social Media Crises Hit

Over the past couple of years, social media has taken the world by storm.  We’ve all seen the excitement it can create in business and in our personal lives.  At the same time, a growing number of Facebook, Twitter and other social media gaffes have also revealed that this new media channel is also a source of a growing number of crises.

It’s a safe bet that nearly every organization at some point will face a social media crisis, whether it is relatively minor or major.  To date, these types of crises have been treated in various ways, from the assumption that these are isolated instances, to belief that these are matters best left to be handled by the organization’s social media teams.  For these reasons and more, the crises can be inconsistently handled and can get worse, not better.

That said, I just developed a comprehensive Position Paper entitled, “When Social Media Crises Hit: Tap the Power of Battle-tested Crisis Communications Principles.”

The piece includes a definition of a social media crisis as compared to a traditional crisis, the common types and some scenarios.  The paper also includes a list of the common challenges organizations face during social media crises, who should handle the crisis response, and some guidelines for that response.

It’s a great reference guide you may find helpful.  If you want a copy of the PDF, just let me know and I will email it to you.