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Handbook HOW TO HANDLE A

SOCIAL MEDIA CRISIS

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CONTENTSThe userrsquos perspective 4

Social listening and social care 5

The social media crisis spectrum 6

Detecting a crisis 8

Building a response plan 11

Juggling resources 14

The right response for the right channel 16

Post - Crisis 19

Crisis management Strategically responsive 20

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SOCIAL MEDIA IS TURNING UP THE HEAT FOR BRANDS

More than ever before consumers are expecting a seamless

brand experience from any company and if they donrsquot get

one theyrsquore not afraid to let you know By 2016 40 of the

worldrsquos largest enterprises will be using social media as their

primary customer service channel1 Last year a vast majority of

experts within the PR and Communication industries admitted

that maintaining credibility and a good reputation was their

biggest challenge2 Social media is squeezing PR marketing and

customer service into the same production line and it can be

hard to keep up This handbook will outline how to successfully

defuse a crisis on social media and break down the formula for

spinning a crisis into positive PR

A crisis can be crippling for your brand and your business

would you know how to tackle one if it hit you

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THE USERrsquoS PERSPECTIVESocial media users make for empowered consumers By 2012 around half of social media users in the United States were actively using social networks to ask questions report satisfactions or to complain Social media has been subsumed into most brand experiences and itrsquos an incredible opportunity to display how capable your brand is at interacting and managing customer relationships

Understanding why users have pushed this evolution into social is extremely important - and

itrsquos also very easy to do Your audience wants to interact with you on social media because itrsquos immediate itrsquos easy and most importantly itrsquos public If as a brand you canrsquot successfully engage in this interaction your business prospects - both present and future - will know about it

Gone are the days of writing complaint letters or staying on the phone for hours on hold Users like social because itrsquos fast and success for a brand means being able to keep up with this fast-paced service

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SOCIAL LISTENING AND SOCIAL CARESocial listening and social care are key to impressing a demanding online audience Avoiding a crisis starts with a basic understanding of how to deliver good customer service on social Presenting a multi-channel brand experience can be a real challenge but with customer service expectations rising year after year you canrsquot afford to neglect social media

The key thing to remember is to be where your customers are 88 of social media users are less likely to purchase from a brand that leaves questions unanswered on social networks3 so itrsquos crucial to know where these questions are appearing and to answer them immediately

Social listening will be your right-hand man in this process It allows you to monitor conversations about your brand on non-owned channels so you can look out for complaints occurring outside your own social ecosystem Define some useful Listen queries that relate to your brand and to any potential crisis topics and monitor conversations that are happening around these terms paying close attention to where these mentions are coming from For most companies the hotspots for user interaction will be the usual suspects - Facebook Twitter LinkedIn and Instagram - but itrsquos important to know which network your target audience prefers and how they like to use it

Armed with your listening insights you can then go in and start interacting with your audience Answer their questions thank them for their praise and help them with their problems

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LEVEL OF RESOURCEHighLow

CRISISISSUEHighLow

THE SOCIAL MEDIA CRISIS SPECTRUMBeginning a dialogue with your audience will arm your social media management team with a wealth of insights and should be the first step in your crisis-prevention operation The second step is to define what could be deemed as negative engagement for your brand and the level of resource you would need to address this

In its most severe form a social media crisis can snowball beyond your ability to control and cripple your brandrsquos credibility and reputation Itrsquos unlikely that a breakdown in service or instance of negative engagement will descend into a full-fledged crisis without some level of neglect or misjudgement from a social media management team

When it comes to negative comments on social prevention is always better than the cure Any social media team worth their salt should make a distinction between a social media issue and a crisis along with the appropriate level of resource needed to diffuse each

Using a social media crisis spectrum can empower you to distinguish between a contained instance of negative engagement and a full blown crisis Once this is done you can tailor the resources you invest to diffuse each one A crisis management plan that is implemented closer to the lsquoissuersquo end of the spectrum will always effect better results than actioning towards the lsquocrisisrsquo end

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So what exactly does an lsquoissuersquo look like And how can you be sure your approach to an issue will diffuse the problem without making it worse

In line with their slick brand persona menrsquos cosmetic giant Lynx are setting a shining example for handling social media issues and preventing the snowball effect

Each one of these customersrsquo comments had the potential to snowball if ignored or handled incorrectly Being a company that manufactures fragrances rsquoblistersrsquo and lsquoitchesrsquo are words that Lynx wouldnrsquot want associated with their brand so if these comments had caught the attention of other users and gone viral the repercussions could have been disastrous

Luckily the social media management team swooped straight in with appropriate responses no doubt as part of a well crafted crisis management

strategy Although you should always try to resolve an issue within the same channel this isnrsquot always possible and Lynx demonstrate a great way to transition this smoothly Each comment was met with a helpful and sympathetic response in the words of an approachable persona that Lynx customers can relate to The result Each comment remained an issue and didnrsquot snowball into a crisis

Monitoring conversations around potential crisis topics will allow you to detect and issues early on before they snowball into an angry mob

DETECTING A CRISISSocial listening should be integral to any crisis prevention plan Define conversation topics that are sensitive for your brand and set up listening reports to monitor these terms This will allow you to pick up on when and where potential issues or negative engagement are occurring and intercept quickly

Sentiment analysis can be extremely useful for effectively monitoring sensitive conversation topics

THE GENIUS OF SENTIMENTFor those who arenrsquot familiar sentiment analysis refers to an innovative technology that processes the language used in web mentions to determine if they are positive negative or in some cases

neutral This allows you to get an idea of the subjective context behind a mention and itrsquos typically used in social media listening

ldquoWhatrsquos interesting about Sentiment Analysis is it allows for a lot of nuance in its scoring system For example a movie might receive a tweet like lsquoI

loved the action but the plot was mediocrersquo Sentiment Analysis tools will determine that the action was very positive the plot was slightly negative

therefore overall the movie is slightly positiverdquo

Seth Redmore VP marketing at Lexalytics

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1 Detecting a crisisWersquove already touched on the importance of using listening tools to spot a potential crisis early on Sentiment data can enrich your listening by adding further context to each web mention It can help pick up on subtleties like lsquoservice was mediocrersquo and will gauge the userrsquos negativity with a score which will allow you to react before it gets to the breaking point By using a sentiment tool you can also get an idea of where negative mentions are appearing and if they might be concentrated in a particular place To continue the previous example you might find multiple negative mentions about lsquoservicersquo

2 Judging the effect of your response

Once yoursquove issued an apology to address a serious crisis or sent out a series of responses in reply to issues sentiment analysis can help you to judge whether your audience is reacting positively or not If the case is not you can then think about how to respond in a more successful way

3 Monitoring competitors

Sentiment analysis can also enable you to implement an effective real-time marketing strategy By monitoring sentiment data around your competitors you can detect early on when they are experiencing a negative reaction from their audience and jump in with a solution This can be great for lead generation and building brand awareness

4 Identifying how to escalate

Knowing when to take the issues away from social is key Sentiment analysis can help you define the right action to implement offline

Sentiment analysis can be incredibly useful for crisis prevention and crisis management for the following reasons

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ldquoSentiment analysis is essential for timely crisis prevention on social media it allows companies to address minor inconveniences before they turn into disasters For instance a hotel can upgrade a guest whorsquos tweeted about a bad experience and reap the rewards

of positive reviews at very little cost Similarly if a well-known blogger comments about a defective product catching it early and shipping her a new one immediately can earn you a good review

equal to thousands of dollars in sales thanks to the fast-paced world of bloggingrdquo

Seth Redmore VP marketing at Lexalytics

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BUILDING A RESPONSE PLANOccasionally unexpected incidents could take your social media management team by surprise There are countless examples out there of brands falling victim to an unfortunate incident that gained traction on social too fast becoming impossible to diffuse early on These are the kinds of stories that make it to press and if you donrsquot issue the right response fast enough it could be a PR nightmare as well as a breakdown in service to your customers So how do you build a response plan for a fast-hitting crisis

Back in 2011 FedEx found themselves in the middle of a potential crisis on social media A video was posted of a FedEx employee handling a package carelessly The video quickly went viral rounding up 45 million views within a week of being posted

CASE STORYSteve Dwyer from Sweetwater has found Falcon Socialrsquos sentiment analysis feature incredibly useful for tackling social media issues Using the platform to identify negative comments he was able to change audience sentiment by sending any would-be disappointed customers a surprise jar of candy

Sentiment analysis is integrated into Falconrsquos Listen and Engage features

ldquoWe monitor any and all content that comes through listening If we find even the tiniest bit

of negative sentiment we jump on itrdquo

Steve Dwyer Social Media Manager Sweetwater

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The story quickly made it into the press and was even circulated around the internet as a gif This had all the potential for a PR disaster for FedEx but they set in motion a beautiful response plan

that worked wonders with both the press and their audience How did they do it Wersquove broken down their success into a simple plan

Responding to a crisis like this usually has three stages

FedEx successfully managed to tackle the crisis at all three levels

Stage 1

FedEx quickly met with the customer and resolved the issue to his satisfaction From a customer service point of view this is the most important thing and getting it done quickly is key FedEx

were able to make amends with the customer who uploaded the video before he could express any further dissatisfaction to his followers on social Damage control done

Stage 1

THE CUSTOMER

You must address the issue for the customer affected

Stage 2

YOUR AUDIENCE

You must implement an appropriate response plan for

your social media audience

Stage 3

THE PRESS

You must tackle the press issue - turn the crisis story

into a story about how great your brand is at apologizing

and putting things right

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Stage 2

FedEx posted a video apology from their Senior VP of Operations Matthew Thornton III

From a crisis management point of view this is the most important thing As the original incident happened in YouTube as a video FedEx responded quickly in the same medium

The video was brilliant because it humanized the brand Matthew spoke with obvious emotion

showing the audience that there are people behind the issue People make mistakes and good people fix them This is a relatable message and one to remember for any brand building a crisis management strategy

Stage 3

Once you have correctly responded at the first two stages make sure that the press find out how well yoursquove done FedEx posted a blog article titled lsquoAbsolutely Positively Unacceptablersquo This was great way to give the press a concrete apology to link to and draw quotes from

The three-stage plan was hugely successful for FedEx who were quickly referenced by others in the industry as experts in crisis management Howell Marketing Strategies a leading PR firm in the US even wrote up a blog praising FedExrsquos exemplary response

ldquoFedEx quickly took action recognized the mistake made by their employee claimed responsibility stated their values satisfied the customer and updated the massesmdashsocially The power of social is exemplified in the fact that FedEx did not have to call a news conference they didnrsquot have to send out a press release they were able to meet face-to-face with the understandably unsatisfied customer and inform the world about what steps they have taken through tweets and a thoughtfully written blogrdquo4

ldquoI am upset and embarrassed for our customerrsquos poor experiencerdquo

Matthew Thornton III Senior VP of FedEx Operations

But how can you replicate this brilliance for your own brand Effective crisis management means knowing your resources how best to use them and how to adapt them for the appropriate platform

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JUGGLING RESOURCESFedEx demonstrated an exemplary responsiveness in their crisis management plan they reacted quickly to the right audience and with the right approach Achieving this kind of strategic brilliance will have required a carefully-planned application of resourcesIn the heat of the moment juggling your resources effectively will be impossible without a plan already in place but how can you build this before a crisis has hit The trick is to organize your resources around these key pillars

Identifying spokespeople

Invest time in doing a survey of the company and identify potential spokespeople for particular issues on your social channels Engage these people with your crisis management strategy so that theyrsquore onboard and understand whatrsquos expected of them Be sure that your chosen spokespeople can be contacted for a quote approval or even an interview at short notice at any time of day Aim to appoint at least one qualified spokesperson in each department so that you have covered all bases for a potential breakdown in service or need for comment

Enlist tooling

Acquire the right tooling for your organization and not only could you free up time for your team members but you can also detect issues and potential crisis situations earlier An integrated social media management platform can help widen your listening reach respond to problem comments efficiently and keep on top of replies Falconrsquos Listen and Engage features carry out these functions particularly well Tooling also minimizes the possibility for hacking a centralised platform allows you to govern multiple social channels from one place and implement efficient password control

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Define appropriate escalation processes

Once an issue arises itrsquos important to tackle it within the same channel with a response that instills trust and engagement in your audience Comments like lsquoplease call usrsquo or lsquoplease emailrsquo donrsquot go down well on social Of course not all crises can be addressed through social media alone and escalating the issue to the right contact within your organisation can be a great way to minimize damage and to show your support Be sure to do the legwork when passing the issue on donrsquot expect your customer to spend time finding the right contact This is a great way to show your audience that yoursquore taking their problem seriously and allow them to see that yoursquore willing to invest resources into fixing it

Have an approval plan

Approval structures can be a bottleneck on your response time during a crisis but approval can be absolutely necessary in some instances Decide when a comment or action might need signing off and be sure to have a plan in place for making this process as efficient as possible Tooling can help speed up the approval process within Falconrsquos Publish for example you can assign comments for approval to stakeholders and notify them instantly It can also be useful to create pre-approved response template to speed up the production line during a crisis

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THE RIGHT RESPONSE FOR THE RIGHT CHANNEL A crisis can unfold differently depending on where it takes place and itrsquos important to have all bases covered FedEx is a great example of how to tackle crisis management through video but what about Twitter and Facebook Here are some tips on how to adapt your response strategy for each social network

TWITTER50 of Twitter users engage with brands on Twitter And 100 of these people believe that Twitter is the best platform for interaction with a brand5 This makes your Twitter strategy incredibly important especially when dealing with negative engagement and customer service

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So how can you make sure that your Twitter relationships are successful There are a handful of brands who have nailed this and wersquove reviewed their accounts for some secrets on Twitter mastery

1 Consider a dedicated customer service account

With questions complaints praise and general comments piling in a dedicated lsquohelprsquo account can be a useful way to hone in your response efforts This way you can allocate at least one team member to monitoring comments and delivering responses that are aligned with your brand identity and crisis strategy

Nike does this particularly well

Nike Support empowers Nike customers to voice their opinions knowing that therersquos someone there 247 to assist them This promotes a healthy brand-customer relationship as well as allowing Nike to spot any issues or potential crises early on

Itrsquos important to remember however that comments and complaints may come in from all directions and wonrsquot just be limited to your customer service account A management tool such as Falconrsquos Engage can help you keep track of where comments are coming in and allow you to allocate the right team member to dealing with an issue

2 Be human (and a little witty if you can)

Nikersquos replies are always colloquial giving the impression that the person behind them is warm and approachable If your brand were a person yoursquod want your customers to feel like they could approach you on the street and Nike does this wonderfully

As long as your replies are appropriate for the comment and aligned with your brand persona be sure to make them as friendly as possible

3 React quickly

Customers love Twitter because itrsquos immediate so make sure you respect that Responsiveness is important for avoiding a crisis even if this is just a short note to let customers know yoursquore on the case If yoursquore too slow to act the customer might escalate their issue to a wider audience

Itrsquos also important to remember that customer service is not finished with just one tweet - be sure to direct your audience to the right resources and walk them through problems step-by-step if they need it

Not all issues will be able to be resolved with a series of 140 character messages so you should also know when to take the issues away from Twitter when necessary

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FACEBOOKGiven the fact that Facebook posts and comments are exposed to just as wide an audience as they are on Twitter as well as being equally immediate we would recommend applying the same best practices to your Facebook response strategy with one exception

Facebook comments do not have a character limit so when possible try to be detailed in your responses If yoursquore too short with a customer they might misconstrue this to mean you donrsquot care

Outdoor equipment supplier DampB Supply manage to do this very well

Whilst Twitter demands concise responses that occur frequently on Facebook you can take your time and add in as much helpful detail as you can

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POST - CRISISEvaluating your response strategy regularly is incredibly important for ironing out any kinks Once your crisis management dream team have worked their magic take time to scrutinise how your response strategy panned out and be sure to implement any learnings for next time Some questions you should be asking are

bull What have you learned about your audience

bull How adequate are your resources Were you able to respond in time or should you enlist help in the future

bull If the story made it to press how quickly did this happen and which publications picked it up Should you reach out to the reporters and build a relationship

bull Did your preventionresponse plan work the first time Did sentiment data show that you had to work on your response

bull How should legitimate complaints be escalated once the damage control is done

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CRISIS MANAGEMENT STRATEGICALLY RESPONSIVE Being confronted with the early nudges of a crisis on your social channels can be daunting Facing the possibility of a PR disaster can be even more alarming But itrsquos important to remember that social media and its immediacy hold opportunities for you as a brand to show your audience how brilliant you are and how seriously you take their needs to be

Defining how you can support your customers and online audience in their times of need is half the battle and a carefully crafted crisis management strategy should take this into account

Knowing exactly what your customers expect from you will arm you with the understanding you need to make amends when things go wrong Once yoursquove nailed this winning the PR battle will simply be a case of drawing attention to the wonderful things yoursquove done Here at Falcon we have a range of dedicated service plans that will be useful in helping you understand your audience and craft a response plan Above all listen to your audience respond to their needs and the positive coverage will follow

Get in touch to find out about our social crisis management solutions

More infofalcncrisissolutions

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ENDNOTES

1 Why social media is moving up the risk register Guest Author Fourth Source November 2013

2 Challenges for PR and Communication Industries Statista 2014

3 Consumer Study Anna Drennan Conversocial blog December 2011

4 FedEx Gets it Right in Response to Viral Video Amy Howell Howell Marketing December 2011

5 Secrets of the Best Customer Service Twitter Accounts Lauren Dugan Social Times January 2015

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