How to Minimize an Epic Fail
Any brand utilizing social media should have a crisis management plan in place. But first, what is a crisis when it comes to social media?
A social media crisis is an event that can have a negative effect on a brand’s, company’s, or individual’s reputation. It can be something that occurs offline and is then brought to social media channels, or it can begin on social media channels, and then spread. Examples of social media crises can be embarrassing photos, inappropriate postings by employees or ex-employees, or voiced opinions that can reflect negatively on a company. It is inevitable that as a brand you will have an upset customer from time to time, or that you may even bring on a crisis yourself by missing the mark in a post. The key is to have a plan ready in order to handle it properly and minimize the damage as swiftly as possible.
According to SocialMediaToday.com, a good crisis plan should include the following:
· Triage protocol and guidelines for posting to channels during a crisis including who, what, when, where, and how. The crisis plan should include how to respond based on the level of the problem. For example, if it is an upset customer where you can apologize and ask them to direct message you for resolution, or did an employee post something meant for their personal account.
· You should have readily available all social media channels and admins associated with the organization. Outline plans for how each platform should be used during a crisis, and which channels will be the main sources of public information. Each channel has its own culture and should be used accordingly in crisis.
· Prepare message templates for holding messages, press releases, and social media posting. This will help you quickly respond during a crisis, instead of having to come up with verbiage in the moment. The brand should have well thought out statements prepared ahead of time for each potential situation, and various teams within the brand should assist with formulating these statements. For example, the brand’s legal team should have a say on what should or shouldn’t be posted as well as your marketing team can help with creativity of posts.
· Have a protocol for message development-who signs off before it gets published, and who on your team is handling various situations. All team members should be clear on your organization’s persona and social media guidelines, that way they know what tone to use. Ensuring the brand’s tone is used in all posts will help minimize problems you have to respond to.
· It is also a good idea to have a plan for social channel monitoring after business hours, and during holidays. What happens if your social media manager is on vacation? Issues won’t always happen Monday through Friday, 9–5. They will happen when it is least convenient, so prepare and plan ahead.
Companies are increasingly using social media to expand their Internet presence, promote their brand and engage with consumers. However, while social media is a powerful and effective tool, it can also generate a ton of negative publicity. Having a crisis plan in place is not going to help a brand avoid all problems, but it can help minimize the damage when something happens. Unless of course you handle the situations like these brands did…
DiGiorno: Using domestic violence to sell pizza.
In 2014, DiGiorno created a social media crisis for themselves. After NFL player Ray Rice was suspended for punching his wife, thousands of women took to Twitter to discuss #WhyIStayed and share their stories about abusive relationships. Capitalizing on a trending hashtag , DiGiorno used #WhyIStayed to sell pizza. The company of course received a lot of flack for this tone-deaf marketing ploy. DiGiorno apologized for its error and immediately deleted the tweet, claiming total ignorance of the hashtag’s meaning. They responded to upset customers for not researching what the hashtag meant before using it. But in my opinion, domestic violence is such a serious topic, DiGiorno should have done much more than apologize. They could have taken this mistake and turned it into a positive by campaigning for domestic violence survivors. They could have committed to donating to survivor shelters, shared stories of those who survived, etc. There were so many opportunities for DiGiorno to make this mistake right, but instead they just deleted and apologized. This crisis plan was a fail in my opinion.
In 2019, Chase bank made a pretty big crisis for themselves by essentially making fun of people who are financially struggling. Their tweet, as shown above, attempts to make light of someone having a low balance and insinuates that it is due to their spending habits. Yet again this is another company trying to use a trending hashtag but completely missing the mark. Many followers were offended by this tweet, especially since Chase had just recently received a giant bailout from the government. To address this blunder, Chase tweeted a new post stating that their new #MondayMotivation was to get better at their Monday posts, and thanked the followers for their feedback. This is probably the weakest apology I’ve ever seen! They didn’t even say sorry, and made light of the situation instead of taking accountability and acknowledging that someone who is financially struggling is not a joke and is not necessarily due to their spending habits. It seems Chase should have had a better crisis plan in place, to include how to respond to an offensive tweet to show they are taking the mistake seriously.
Both of these companies could have handled these situations so much better if they had a strong crisis plan in place. While it is never fun to deal with negativity and upset customers, creating a crisis plan with your team will help your brand come out of the mistake without much damage and will show your customers that your brand can take accountability and make things right when necessary.
Resources:
What the Heck Is a Social Media Crisis Anyway?
10 Must-Have Elements for a Social Media Crisis Plan
10 of the Dumbest Social Media Blunders Ever
DiGiorno Used a Hashtag About Domestic Violence to Sell Pizza
DiGiorno Interrupts Serious Conversation About Domestic Violence To Sell Pizza
