IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA IN MANAGING BRAND REPUTATION IN CRISIS. CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
Social media crises are a reality and a risk that we all face today. We’re all vulnerable to online attacks that threaten having a lasting and damaging impact on our brand’s reputation, both online and offline, and bottom-line. Managing your online risk requires more than just social monitoring of your brand. It requires a plan against them. A social media crisis is an online situation that has the risks of having, a negative and long-term impact on your business or organization’s reputation and/or bottom-line. Social media crises usually involve strong, negative emotions that are relatable and caneasily:
· Outweigh common sense · Get clients, fans, staff, stakeholders and others riled up · Provoke viral behavior Social media crises risk going viral very quickly, in a very short period of time, they risk being highly unpredictable and, often, unforeseeable. When not responded to promptly and in a proper manner, social media crises risk having a damaging and lasting negative impact on your brand’s reputation and bottom-line. A social media issue is a lesser situation than a social media crisis – though one that still needs to be addressed and resolved in a prompt and proper fashion.
Social media issues are negative and potentially viral situations taking place online about your brand, but they do not threaten any severe long-term negative impacts on your brand’s reputation or bottom-line. Some examples of social media issues include, but are not limited to: Ø Negative comments or discussions being posted about your brand online Ø Unacceptable comments being posted to your channels Ø Negative customer service issues Ø Negative pressIf not responded to in a prompt and proper manner, social media issues risk escalating into more severe social media crises. However, when responded to quickly and properly, social media issues define a unique and positive PR opportunity for your brand.
The best way to prepare your brand for both a social media crisis and a social media issue is to:
- Assess and understand the risk that social media and the online world present to your business or organization. This is typically done with a vulnerability audit or risk assessment.
- Take the necessary steps to prevent the preventable risk.
- Develop a social media crisis management plan to protect and prepareyour company against the unpreventable risk.
- Train your entire team to be able to efficiently detect, respond and resolvea social media crisis and a social media issue.
- No company or organization is immune to a social media crisis – or issue for that matter.
- A social media crisis can come from anywhere, when you least expect it. It could be the launch of a new campaign, a technical malfunction that leaves clients upset, an angry employee who posts an unwanted video online, or a thousand other scenarios.
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