Crisis Management on Social Media: Writing Tips

By FRANK HAMILTON

Businesses from different industries have to deal with social media crises at some point so having a good crisis plan is not an advantage but rather a necessity. Social media controversies and meltdowns are not something only big companies have to deal with. Therefore, you should be able to quickly adapt to challenges and plan for the worst. Companies that have a response plan for a brand crisis show a 20% increase in value on average, while companies that respond poorly demonstrate a 30% decrease.

The coronavirus pandemic has made social media even more important for businesses than before so businesses should pay particular attention to customer empathy and make sure that their social media efforts are as effective as possible. One of the distinctive features of social media is its ability to amplify. Both good and bad things about your brand can be shared very quickly. No matter whether it’s a tasteless tweet or a mean meme on Facebook, social media content can make your brand image suffer, and if you don’t want to fail, you should plan your official issued statements because not only prospects and customers but also stakeholders will wait for them. Here are some writing tips that might help you.

1.    Identify and isolate the problem

Social media disasters can be very devastating because no one expects them. When problems come, it’s easy to get distracted and overwhelmed, missing some important information. For example, if your company is amidst an employee scandal, you should make sure to investigate the case and identify the causes. For instance, the problem might have been caused by a human error, organization policy, sexual harassment, etc.

Do your research, identify events that caused the crisis, and consult legal professionals. This way, you will be able to choose the right words and phrasing for your statement, taking into account their possible legal implications.

2.    Don’t get defensive, use verified information and key messages

Keep in mind that the main purpose of crisis communication is to inform your audience. You should tell them what happened, why, where, and when it happened, as well as who caused the problem. At the same time, the information businesses can share with their audience is often limited.

Therefore, you should only share verified information and let your audience know that you will share more information as soon as you get it. When you decide to inform your audience, you should make sure that you understand the full picture so that you won’t share any unproven information or make statements that you might regret as you learn more. You may also feel tempted to take a defensive position, but such an approach can undermine your credibility and hurt your reputation even more.

3.    Come  up with at least three key messages

Your statement should be based on clear key messages. If you don’t know all the details of the event, you can let your audience know it. For instance, you may not be notified about a certain event in person, and you can clearly indicate it in your statement. For example, if your organization has issues with federal authorities, you cannot know all the details so you should redirect people to the sources where they can get more information.

The first message of your statement should indicate how much information you know, while in the second and third message, you can tell your followers what you’ve already done to resolve the issue, and what you’re going to do about it in the nearest future. This way, you will demonstrate your proactive position.

4.   Describe negative factors in a broad context

Many businesses use this approach to minimize the perceived impact of negative events. This technique can be especially useful if a negative event hasn’t had a profound impact on your company. For instance, if some of your customers were unsatisfied with your service, you can mention that thousands of other customers were completely satisfied.

To present events from the right perspective, you should choose words carefully. For example, when describing the event, use words like “rare,” “unfortunate,” and “isolated event.” Don’t describe the negative event as “yet another” or “frequent.” Choosing the right tone and context can be quite difficult so you may consider hiring professional writers. Fortunately, you can find experienced writers online, including copywriters, content writers, bloggers, and even professional dissertation writers.

5.    Show empathy

Your response to a negative event should demonstrate that you understand your potential customers’ concerns. Don’t distance yourself from your audience. Stick with positive language and use such phrases as “we acknowledge,” “we understand,” and “we appreciate.” Don’t tell your audience that accidents like this can happen to everyone or that many people have the same issues. This way, you will only demonstrate the lack of empathy and distance yourself from your readers.

Final Thoughts

We hope that our food will help you write a proper crisis response on social media, showing your audience that you’re working on resolving the problem and care about them. Our last suggestion is that you should be honest. If your organization is responsible for the issue, admit it. Don’t hide crucial information from your audience because if they find out that you’ve been lying, your reputation will be seriously damaged. Unpredictable events happen to companies all the time so you should always be prepared and plan how you’re going to respond to these events on social media, saving your company’s reputation.