How to Manage a PR or Social Media Crisis in 7 Steps

No matter how strong your strategy is, it’s important to have a social media management plan in place. What defines a media crisis? It occurs when a negative narrative forms around your brand. Many brands have found themselves in the media spotlight at least once or twice. For example, in 2017 Pepsi produced an ad featuring Kendall Jenner that viewers believe to be related to the Black Lives Matter movement. Pepsi’s response was not immediate which allowed the issue to gain attention. No matter how detail oriented a company’s public relations team is, connotations like these can still be found by the public. These tips will help you plan and execute an effective response strategy for any media crisis!

Preparation:

1. Create social media and public relations alerts! How can you manage a PR or social media crisis if you do not know it is happening? Use media monitoring to monitor conversations around your brand. Acting quickly is the key to preventing a small problem from snowballing.

2. Be sure to have a crisis response team. You need spokespeople, liaisons, and decision makers. Extra tip: it’s best to form this team out of people from different sectors like marketing, sales, and customer service.

3. Create several templates. One specific plan won’t work for every crisis. Make sure it’s flexible for any situation that might get thrown at you.

Execution:

4. Stop and listen. This is where the social media monitoring comes in handy. You need to assess the situation to develop an accurate understanding of what is happening. Ask what happened, who is talking about it, what does the public think happened, and how has the public reacted.

5. Acknowledge what happened and respond. 70% of social media users believe that being honest and genuine is the best way to respond to a media crisis.

6. Determine your response channels. Be sure to respond on all platforms the crisis originated on. However, if you want your response to reach your whole audience, announce it on everything. The longer it takes for people to hear your response, the less control you have on the situation.

7. Monitor the situation. This is another use for social media monitoring. Be sure that the public reacts well to your response. If not, adjust your attack.

No company wants a negative narrative attached to their brand. Pepsi’s situation shows what can happen if you do not effectively plan and execute any media crisis. Your company should be prepared to prevent anything detrimental affecting your brand's reputation.

Need help developing a PR Crisis Management strategy? Give our team a call -- We are happy to help!