How do you manage a social media crisis with your team and stakeholders?

To manage a social media crisis with your team and stakeholders, follow these steps: 1. Act quickly to address the issue and prevent further escalation. 2. Gather all relevant information and assess the situation objectively. 3. Develop a unified message and strategy to communicate effectively. 4. Engage with affected individuals and address their concerns empathetically. 5. Monitor and respond to social media conversations in a timely manner. 6. Keep stakeholders informed about the steps taken and progress made. 7. Learn from the experience and update crisis management plans. 8. Maintain transparency and accountability throughout the process.

It's best to have a team set up well in advance of any crisis so that there is a plan in place where everyone knows their roles and can communicate honest answers ASAP.

I'll evaluate the crisis to understand its nature and seriousness, then gather my team from PR, marketing, legal, and customer service. I'll inform key internal parties and stakeholders, and pause any scheduled social media content. I'll create a clear response, admitting any mistakes and outlining solutions. I'll reply to the issue both publicly and privately on social media platforms. I'll monitor the situation using social media tools, and provide guidance to my customer service team on handling inquiries. If needed, I'll engage with my audience to rebuild trust. I know that acting quickly, communicating clearly, and demonstrating empathy and transparency are vital, so having a pre-prepared plan will make the process smoother.

Having a plan of action (or crises plan) to use as a play book can really help here too. That way everyone knows what needs doing from the start.

Leading through a social crisis takes levelheadedness like piloting a ship through rocky waters. Assemble key players to assess the situation and align on response plans. Project calm rationality to ease fears. Share frequent updates to reassure and prevent misinformation. Frame challenges as opportunities to showcase values. With transparency, swift care for the impacted, and guidance from company north stars, you will navigate the storm. Soon blue skies and smooth sailing will return! Now let's batten down the hatches crew!

Speed is everything, your approval and consulting committee should be created ahead of any crisis. I always benefit from have a clear crisis comms strategy and hierarchy ranking different types and virality range. The difference between having it under wraps or appropriately handled can come down to the speed of decision making.

Think like a reporter. Ask the who, what, when, where and why of the situation. It will help you in both your preparation and your planning.

During a crisis, forming a dedicated crisis team is vital to effective management. Assemble representatives from various departments, tailoring the team to your organization's size and needs. Include members from social media, marketing, PR, customer service, legal, and senior management. Clearly define roles and responsibilities, assigning specific tasks to each team member. Designate roles for monitoring the situation, communicating with stakeholders, crafting messages, and obtaining approvals. Establishing a cohesive and coordinated crisis team ensures swift and accurate responses, minimizing the impact of the crisis and safeguarding your organization's reputation and stakeholders' trust.

Always, always, always have a written plan of action and know when to contact your stakeholders. Ex: Level 1 - Handle internally Level 2 - Involve management Level 3 - Communicate with stakeholders No one wants a 'bad' surprise so be sure to know how and when to communicate - have it spelled out!

Communicating effectively during a crisis is paramount to maintaining trust and credibility. Internally, prioritize open and transparent communication with employees, partners, and investors, keeping them informed about the situation and the actions being taken. Provide clear guidelines for responding to inquiries and comments to ensure a unified and empathetic approach. Externally, address stakeholders, customers, media, and influencers with transparency and empathy, acknowledging the crisis and outlining the steps being taken to resolve it. Consistent and authentic messaging across all channels will strengthen your organization's reputation and build lasting relationships with stakeholders.

I think it is important that key stakeholders both internally and externally are aware and a concrete and official statement should be put out immediately to assure consumers or your audience that a critical investigation is ongoing

Working as a community manager for a variety of social media crises, even if the problem can't be resolved immediately, it's important to get in contact with a social team to at least get the message out that you're aware of the issue, working on it, and will be sending out an update as soon as possible. That means working with your social media and direct response team and also saving conversations with upset customers so you can follow up with them later. This can be the difference between a well-handled social media crisis and one that impacts your public image. That also means having community managers that can surface issues that happen on social media and get in contact with the team!

Conduct a thorough post-mortem with the crisis team to analyze the crisis response. Seek feedback from stakeholders to gain valuable insights into their experiences. Identify root causes, strengths, and weaknesses of your crisis management approach to refine future strategies. Measure the impact on social media metrics, including reach, engagement, sentiment, and conversions, to assess the crisis's effects on your brand. Utilize these learnings to enhance your crisis preparedness and response, ensuring greater resilience in the face of challenges.

In a crisis, especially when leadership may downplay its severity, a reflective approach is key to protecting the company’s reputation. The step Evaluate and Learn from the Crisis turns a difficult moment into an opportunity for growth. By conducting a review with the crisis team and gathering feedback from stakeholders, we can identify what went wrong and how effectively we responded. Social media metrics like reach, engagement, and sentiment provide insights into brand impact. This evaluation strengthens accountability and equips us to handle future challenges more effectively, building lasting trust in our brand.

Sometimes it feels like the initial crises wasn't our fault; maybe it was just a difficult product, maybe it was a faulty product, or maybe it was something completely unrelated. Even in these situations it's important to reflect and look for opportunities to spot potential issues sooner and contain them where possible.

It's also important to make sure that procedures are assessed whenever someone new joins the crises team. And that people working on different aspects of social have been briefed on the crises plan.

Even the best teams can come across hard times. But having solid systems and processes in place before a fire takes place can make the extinguishing it that much easier.

I think a lot of times people's egos get in the way and brands immediately want to draw a line in the sand on who was "right" and who was "wrong." All I will say is whichever side you decide to stand on based on the line you've drawn you better be able to weather the storm. Also, don't forget to show humility. There is soo much power in being able to say, I'm sorry and you know, actually mean it.