Social Media &

Crisis Management

iCAN –Global Entrepreneur’s Breakfast Forum 1/15/2013 Robin Colner, Founder & CEO

Rapid Real Time Responseis Critical in the Social Media

Age

Most Crises Play out in Social Media

• At some point every brand and business will have to handle one or more of the following negative situations on their social media platforms:

• 1. A rogue employee posts something detrimental to the company.

• 2. An unhappy customer posts something negative about their experience.

• 3. A product or service fails which often turns into a PR crisis

How to Handle a Crisis in Social Media?

Always PREPARE and Be READY with the RIGHT Plan

Great ExamplesAnd

Lessons Learned

United Breaks Guitars

Lesson: Train your Staff to Provide Excellent Customer Service – Respond with an Apology IMMEDIATELY & Don’t Throw Your Customers’ Precious Cargo

Domino’s Pizza – YouTube Fiasco

Lesson: Have a Social Media Policy, especially if a franchise – View policies at www.socialmediagovernance.com/policies.php

Paula Deen, Home Depot, Mountain Dew – Forgot to Be

Politically Correct

Lesson: Avoid Racial Slurs – It’s a Social Media Hot Button – Offline mistakes move online

Home Depot Apologizes and Sacks the Agency and

Employee

Lesson: Be Humble, Monitor Creative Outputs – It is better to be Caring than Clever

Mountain Dew – The Most Racist Commercial Yet

Justine Sacco Gets Sacked – Spawns

#HasJustineLandedYet

Lessons: The individual will suffer – Companies often rebound from bad PR- Be careful of jokes on Twitter,

Applebee’s Firing Creates a Firestorm

“We wish this situation hadn't happened. Our Guests’ personal information—including their meal check—is private, and neither Applebee’s nor its franchisees have a right to share this information publicly. We value our Guests’ trust above all else. Our franchisee has apologized to the Guest and has taken disciplinary action with the Team Member for violating their Guest’s right to privacy.”

Lesson: Have all Employees Sign a Social Media Policy Agreement and Explain it!

JPMorgan - #AskJPM Backfires

Lesson: Companies should avoid open Q & As, leave them to the President and Celebrities

Burger King Gets Hacked

Lesson: Protect your Passwords, Monitor and Supervise Social Platforms – ALWAYS-HootsuiteGoogle Alerts, Talkwalker, en.Mention.net

Red Cross Response Hits the Funny Bone

“Ryan found two more 4 bottle packs of Dogfish Head’s Midas Touch beer… when we drink we do it right #gettngslizzerd”

Lessons: Use Humor Carefully When Appropriate to diffuse the backlash and if no one was hurt

Always Respond Quickly andApologize

The Epicurious Breakfast Flop

Lesson: Never Newsjack a Tragedy w/ Brand Promotions – Avoid Canned Responses a Regret is not an apology

Uber – A Surcharge Lesson

Lesson: Prepare for Criticism in Advance by Early Messaging and Web Disclaimers

SouthWest Airlines – Fl.345 Nose Dives at LGA – SWA Responds w/in Minutes

Lessons: Rapid Response & Honest Communication Helps a Brand Control the Story

Fans will come to your defense

Turn a negative to a positive

Build a Community of Brand Advocates on Social Media

Platforms so They Will Defend You

“The Best Time to Fix the Roof is When the Sun is Shining.” J.F.K.

Pay it Forward and Pay it Back – Quid Pro Quo is key

Follow the 90/10 Rule of self-promotion

Always Thank, Retweet and Comment to your Fans, Followers and Partners – Be Proactive

Identify and Build Relationships with Influencers

Create Fan Appreciation Campaigns

West Jet Airlines Plays Santa

Best Practices for Social Media Crisis Management –

PREPAREP – Plan Ahead with a Crisis Mgmt. Strategy

R – Respond Rapidly – Put lawyers on speed dial

E – Empathize w/detractors – Don’t Criticize or Act Defensive

P – Proactively establish a social media policy that employees sign and know consequences

A – Avoid politically incorrect, racial references

R – Resolve issues sensitively and give people a place to find out info

E – Engage critics to show authentic concern but take individual issues offline ASAP

R – React Responsively in Real-Time & in Stages

I – Investigate (Listen & Monitor) to Identify Influencers, Analyze Sentiment and Implement Appropriate Action

G – Go Offline to Resolve Complaints – Never Delete Posts w/ Complaints

H - Humble and Honest reactions

T - Train your employees to prevent and contain a crisis and help Social Media Generate Positive Outcomes

The RIGHT Plan

Thank you!

Thank you for Connecting with Robin Colner & DigiStar Media

RColner@DigiStarMedia.comRColner@DigiStarMedia.com

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@RobinColner@RobinColner

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