This document outlines challenges to conventional crisis management rules for social media crises and identifies questions brands should ask during a crisis. It notes that the first rule of crisis communication in social media is that any content can usurp formal statements. It also emphasizes communicating with employees and stakeholders. The document reviews why social media matters in a crisis, as even a single tweet can negatively impact brand perception. It identifies 12 key questions brands should ask to effectively manage social media crises, including whether it is truly a social media crisis, if they have an action plan, how to track conversations, and how to measure and define success.

1. Rewriting the crisis
handbook for social
#smwbrandfail
Sept. 25,2013

2. 2
"You never want a serious crisis to go to waste.
And what I mean by that is an opportunity to do
things you think you could not do before.“
– Mayor Rahm Emanuel

3. 3
You call this an opportunity?

4. 4
Absolutely.

5. 5
Why most crises don’t typically
feel like an “opportunity”
Protocols don’t exist or policies haven’t been updated
Situation often misdiagnosed as a ‘social media’ crisis
Resources and training haven’t been allocated

6. 6
When asked,“how
often social media
policies are updated?”
52.9% responded
“less than annually”
THISTHISTHISTHIS
DEPARTMENTDEPARTMENTDEPARTMENTDEPARTMENT
HAS WORKEDHAS WORKEDHAS WORKEDHAS WORKED
DAYSDAYSDAYSDAYS
WITHOUT AWITHOUT AWITHOUT AWITHOUT A
SOCIALSOCIALSOCIALSOCIAL
MEDIAMEDIAMEDIAMEDIA
INCIDENTINCIDENTINCIDENTINCIDENT
THISTHISTHISTHIS
DEPARTMENTDEPARTMENTDEPARTMENTDEPARTMENT
HAS WORKEDHAS WORKEDHAS WORKEDHAS WORKED
DAYSDAYSDAYSDAYS
WITHOUT AWITHOUT AWITHOUT AWITHOUT A
SOCIALSOCIALSOCIALSOCIAL
MEDIAMEDIAMEDIAMEDIA
INCIDENTINCIDENTINCIDENTINCIDENT
Do not operate heavy marketing machinery without a preparedness plan
Altimeter’s ‘Guarding the social gates: The imperative for social
media risk management,’ August 9 2012, by Alan Webber

7. 7
“Which part(s) of the
organization have a role in
managing social media risk?”
Majority (42.1%) said
social media teams
( 7.9% said PR,2.6% said Digital)
Altimeter’s ‘Guarding the social gates: The imperative for social
media risk management,’ August 9 2012, by Alan Webber

8. 8
Of those surveyed,majority (43%) “dedicated less
than one FTE to social media risk management”
Altimeter’s ‘Guarding the social gates: The imperative for social
media risk management,’ August 9 2012, by Alan Webber

9. 9
What we’ll cover today
Challenge conventional crisis management rules
Reinforce why social media matters in a crisis
Identify questions every brand should ask in a crisis

10. 10

11. 11
Challenge conventional crisis management

12. 12
First rule in a crisis: Communicate,
communicate,communicate

13. 13
First rule in a crisis: Any content is fair
game,and can usurp a formal statement

14. 14
Take responsibility,empathize
and do so early on

15. 15
If you take responsibility include an action,
even if it takes a little longer to do so

16. 16
Centralize all information

17. 17
Optimize all information

18. 18
Identify key stakeholders

19. 19
If you don’t have allies now,
you’re not going to get them

20. 20
Communicate with employees

21. 21
Over communicate social media policies
to employees often,and especially at the
start of a crisis

22. 22
Establish a crisis team

23. 23
Establish thresholds and tolerances

24. 24
Respect the role of “media”

25. 25
Respect those who deserve it,agree on
how to handle those who don’t

26. 26
Reinforce why social media matters in a crisis

27. 27
It’s just a tweet,right?

28. 28
“If you’ve heard anything about the brand in the last two
weeks,through advertising,news or word of mouth,was
it positive or negative?”
YouGov BrandIndex analysis of fast food brands, October 2012
Wrong

29. 29
These are more than engagements,
they’re recommendations
Zocalo Group Recommendation Study, August 2013

30. 30
But,are there times when a brand
shouldn’t engage?
Highly Recommended, Paul Rand, September 2013
Hear
Me’s
Reputation
Terrorists
Competitive
Destroyer
Want to be
acknowledged
Want to inspire
change
Want to do
harm

31. 31
Identify questions every brand should ask in a crisis

32. 32
Is this a ‘social media’ crisis?

33. 33
Do we have an action to
accompany our response?

34. 34
Are we aligned internally?

35. 35
Where would we like people to go?

36. 36
Where is the conversation occurring and
when should or shouldn’t we engage it?

37. 37
Are we clear on what our voice was before
this crisis began,and is it appropriate now?

38. 38
Once we engage,what is our
protocol moving forward?

39. 39
How are we incorporating paid
tools to reach the right people?

40. 40
How are we tracking search ranking?

41. 41
Who else can help us out there?

42. 42
How are we benchmarking the chatter,
measuring it,and defining success?

43. 43
What is our plan once this is over?

44. 44
12 questions every brand should ask during
(and ideally before) a social media crisis
1. Is this in fact a ‘social media’ crisis?
2. Do we have an action to accompany our response?
3. Are we aligned internally?
4. Where would we like people to go?
5. Where is the conversation occurring, and when
should or shouldn’t we engage it?
6. Are we clear on what our voice was before this crisis
began, and is it appropriate now?
7. Once we engage, what is our protocol?
8. How are we incorporating paid social tools?
9. How are we tracking search ranking?
10. Who else can help us out there?
11. How are we benchmarking the chatter, measuring it,
and defining success?
12. What is our plan once this is over?

45. Thank youMichael Stern
SVP/Group Acct Director
@michaelstern
mstern@zocalogroup.com