How do you evaluate and learn from a social media crisis?

Take your time, in a moment like this, we may want to provide a knee-jerk reaction just so we can be seen to say something. I'd encourage us not to, take our time and think over the best response we can provide.

Google yourself and your business name every couple of months. Assess the search results that include reviews, images, articles, videos, and social media posts that are attributed to you and/ or your business on the first page of your search. This is often the first thing potential customers see. Are these results inline with your brand? Is there a potential social media crisis that needs attention and has been missed?

Each situation is different but the process should be the same: Beforehand - set your decision committee and stakeholders and levels of crisis who will be involved and SLAs During - consider whether it’s no reply/ holding response / full response - how you decide depends on many factors and how the community is spreading the news and whether you want to communicate 1:1 or to masses - time is not your friend, it’s not a case of being too fast or too slow but each case requires a different response. In all cases you should be working quickly to get to decision on how to respond and when to respond. - don’t discount a holding response for audiences who are frustrated by a lack of acknowledgement

It’s crucial not to hastily react just for the sake of appearing responsive.. instead, I urge us to take the necessary time to carefully consider the most appropriate and thoughtful response we can offer.. during a social media crisis.

Keep in mind that it is equally important to know when not to respond and engage in a brewing crisis. Is this an issue that will resolve itself? Something that is timely and will blow over? Something you can’t authentically (or legally) address publicly? Actively listening but staying quiet or taking discussions offline has to be a strategic decision.

The most important thing to consider when making an apology is sincerity. “I’m sorry if you’re offended.” “We all make mistakes.” “I was young and dumb.” These are not effective ways to apologize. Instead, take accountability, acknowledge harm, apologize sincerely, and state that you will make the effort to learn from your misjudgment. “I’m so sorry that my actions hurt so many of you. I understand how deeply you’ve been impacted and I take full responsibility for what I did. I’m grateful to you for holding me accountable and I’m taking all of your feedback into consideration. I will continue doing my due diligence to learn how to better behave in the future and promise to never do this again.” Then offer a tangible solution.

A little big of face-time and vulnerability can go a long way. Opt for a short, front-facing video that's a little less polished to deliver your apology - it'll help rebuild trust among your audience.

You've got to own your mistakes. There's no point hiding and hoping it all just goes away. People understand that things can go wrong and they can forgive you for it. What they can't forgive you for is burying your head in the sand and pretending it's not happening. People will respect you and your brand more for stepping up and acknowledging what's gone wrong.

Implementing and monitoring solutions doesn’t necessarily have to be this involved. It really just depends on the severity of the crisis and the magnitude of the solution. Generally, when we make a big mistake publicly, all we want to do is forget about it and have everyone else forget about it too. It shows bravery and accountability when we provide updates regarding our progress to be better. This will only allow the public to respect you more and to consider you to be a person of integrity.

Getting caught up in a social media crisis can feel like the end of the world, but it’s important to remember that social media outrage is often fleeting and concentrated among a vocal minority. Hold on to the lessons learned, but also give yourself and your team grace to let it go and move on after it’s been properly acknowledged. Keeping your tail between your legs too long, apologizing too much, or letting it derail your long-term social strategy can become a hindrance to future creativity.