You’ve Got a Social Media Crisis!!! Keep Calm and Read On…

The old PR rule of thumb to lay low until the crisis is over was completely obliterated by the birth of social media. For any company to survive they have to act fast online at the first sign of trouble. While many companies do this, too many do it wrong.

Case in point: while shopping at Carolina Girls, a fashion store in South Carolina, a young black woman claims she heard an employee whisper “shoplifter” as she entered the store. The story hit social media in a big way. Carolina Girls quickly apologized, which could have been okay if left right there, but they didn’t let it go and even went so far as to suggest the incident never happened. They later blamed the comment on “young shoppers” and not their staff.

Lesson learned: the customer is always right. Still. It’s better to just apologize and let it go than to push ahead and try to prove that the customer is wrong.

Another tragic example of a defensive employee rep at the keyboard: high-end infant clothing retailer Jojo Mamana Bebe is so popular (it’s said that the brand is a favorite with Kate Middleton!) that it has a Facebook swap group with over 20,000 members who sell each other hand-me-downs, using photos from the catalog to denote items for sale. Founder Laura Tenison posted to the group, shaming FB fans for stealing Intellectual property. Her tone was condescending at best, and even came across as threatening. The backlash carried far; fans of the brand did not appreciate being slammed in public.

Lesson Learned: no matter how important they think they are, bigwigs should not be allowed to post personal messages on behalf of the brand.

If your company makes a mistake, don’t hide it. The Red Cross learned this when an employee posted a personal tweet on the company account: “Ryan found two more 4 bottle packs of Dogfish Head’s Midas Touch beer… when we drink we do it right #gettngslizzerd.” TheRed Cross quickly deleted the tweet and responded with humor: “We’ve deleted the rouge tweet but rest assured the Red Cross is sober and we’ve confiscated the keys.” Fans appreciated the response and the crisis was averted.

Another great example of using humor- JCPenney introduced a new teapot that,to one Reddit fan, bore a striking resemblance to Hitler. When the Telegraph made this observation into a story the retailer was compelled to respond. “It was totally unintentional,” JCPenney replied, “if we had designed it to look like something we would have gone with a snowman or something fun :)”

Lesson Learned: Handle a goof with humor and honesty.

Being proactive is crucial when your company’s reputation is on the line. When Southwest Airline flight 345 landed nose first at New York’s LaGuardia airport they immediately posted on social media all available info and promises of timely updates. Readers responded with gratitude that the airline didn’t wait to respond and what could have been a disaster was responsibly averted.

Lesson learned: Be proactive. Post first.

If you find your company in a social media crisis, handle it wisely.

1. Acknowledge the negative feedback. A one way conversion because nobody at the company level was listening screams “we don’t care” to followers. As soon as a negative post hits, acknowledge the poster’s feelings and emphasize with them. Be human, share their pain, and craft a genuine apology while being totally transparent. Address each comment personally. Don’t make the mistake of going silent or throwing out a single emotionless response. Social media isn’t an ad in the paper, it’s a personal conversation.

2. Keep the conversation focused. Help your followers understand the problem and how it happened. Explain what is being done in the short run and also how the company is working to rectify the problem so it wont happen again. Be apologetic and keep reiterating how you are solving the problem.

3. Over-communicate and follow up. Saying the right thing during the crisis is important. Giving regular updates in the aftermath is just as important. Turn a social media crisis into a great opportunity to reach out and connect with your audience and show them how much you care. Give specific details about what is being done. Offer a timeline. Post regular updates. Engagement reads as earnestness and builds trust.

A social media crisis doesn’t need to lead to disaster. When handled with sensitivity, humor, sincerity and class, it can strengthen your brand’s integrity and image in the long run.