21 Smart Tips to Help You Stay on (the Right) Track in a Social Media Crisis

Staying calm, collected and on the right track while your customers and fans lash out and criticize your company or organization can be a crisis in itself! Here are 21 tips to help you achieve and overcome this challenge (not to mention help steer your company through the crisis), if ever you find yourself faced with a social media crisis:

1. Be prepared with a social media crisis plan (I have an inkling to say “duh!” here!)
2. Know your role within a social media crisis
3. Take the right steps to make sure that every member of your team knows and understands their role within a crisis (before a crisis strikes)
4. Have a trained (and the right) spokesperson always on the ready
5. Listen to your market
6. Be human
7. Ask your loyal brand advocates and still-happy customers for their help and support
8. Keep the conversation (two-way always) on your venues
9. Look for distinct and hidden opportunities
10. Concentrate on what you always have control over
11. Be clear in your messaging
12. Surround yourself with the right support system
13. Communicate with your team – don’t shut them out, gain from their help
14. Focus on building and rebuilding the relationship you share with your customers and fans
15. Take a deep breath and think before you respond
16. Get all the facts
17. Be as open and honest as you possibly can
18. Be timely in both your replies and your updates
19. Sincerely apologize when an apology is due
20. Keep the two-way lines of communication open
21. Respond on the same channels that the crisis broke out on

What would you add to this list? Share your thoughts and insights with me below!

photo by: Damaged Cupcake

Author: Melissa Agnes     Melissa Agnes on the Web Melissa Agnes on Facebook Melissa Agnes on Twitter Melissa Agnes on LinkedIn Melissa Agnes on Google Plus Melissa Agnes RSS Feed

Melissa Agnes is a social media crisis manager, consultant and speaker. One of the few in her field, she helps brands and organizations prepare and protect themselves with the right social media crisis plan, and offers on-call emergency crisis management services. Visit her daily social media crisis management... View full profile

This article originally appeared on Melissa Agnes - Social Media Crisis Management and has been republished with permission.

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