online crisis management
DESCRIPTION
How to use social media to leverage your position when your brand is under attackTRANSCRIPT
Online Crisis ManagementHow to use social media to leverage your position when your brand is under attackDan GerstenfeldInterteam Content Services
SphinnCon Israel7 March 2010
67% of top executives regard their company’sonline reputation as vulnerable
“Online company reputation risks facing leaders are growing more complex as new digital platforms–social networks, blogs, virtual realities, Twitter and RSS–rapidly gain acceptance. No digital eraser exists to wipe away company missteps.”
Source: 2009 Risky Business: Reputation Online Survey - Weber Shandwick and The Economist Intelligence Unit
How would you want your company to be presented in a crisis situation?
Like Coca Cola Israel?
Or like Toyota?
Coca Cola’s top Google entry
Toyota’s top Google entry
Shorter response times
Source: Ogilvy Public Relations
Twitter-mania source: US Airways
presentation
@jkrums There's a plane in the Hudson. I'm on the ferry going to pick up the people. Crazy.
3:26Incident occurs
3:36 10 minutes later, a passenger on the rescue ferry Twitters from his iPhone the first known photo of the incident. 34 minutes later, MSNBC interviews him as a witness.
3:36Airliners.net posts its first thread on incident
3:41FlyerTalk.com posts its first thread on the incident
3:46Airline Pilots Central Forum posts its first thread on the incident
3:49 WSJ Blog posts its first story: “US Airways Plane Crashes in New York’s Hudson River”
3:52A WSJ e-mail alert is issued to subscribers
4:00 Story appears on Google News
4:03 AP story begins to appears on blogs and websites
4:04First person to Tweet the story is interviewed on MSNBC as witness
4:12 US Airways issues 1st statement
4:15 9 of the 10 most discussed topics on Twitter are about the incident
4:30 @SouthwestAir (Southwest’s Twitter profile) posts the following message: Our friends @USAir and their Customers are in our thoughts this afternoon
4:34 Someone Tweets that Wikipedia has an entry on the crash before any information is available on usairways.com.
4:40 Twitterers are anticipating the US Airways Press Conference
4:49 US Airways issues 2nd statement
4:56 Someone creates a Twitter profile titled “@Hudsoncrash” to share news
4:59 @SkyTalk (The Star-Telegram Twitter profile) Tweets the link to the flight log
5:00 USAirways creates its first Twitter account (@USAirways)
5:20People begin following the newly created US Airways twitter account. They currently have 217 followers. At the time, we had 8,500 followers.
Case Study: US Airways Incident
Within 10 minutes of the aircraft touching the water, a witness generated photo and headline was circulating on
How would you want your company to be presented in a crisis situation?
"Just by virtue of the volume of conversation you see online, social media is probably the most important crisis-communication element in many cases“
Doug Frisbie, Toyota Motor Sales USA's social media and marketing integration manager
Source: Advertising Age
So what do you need to do?
• Define an overall online PR and social media marketing strategy
• Adopt a hands-on approach• Be proactive• Monitor the conversation• Network with others online
Strategy Proactive
1. Create highly engaging content on a frequent basis
2. Engage your target audience. It translates to higher network visibility, and this translates to higher search visibility
3. Optimize your content
1. Establish channels before a crisisDabble: Blogs, YouTube, FacebookDon’t rely on the numbersBuild Relationships
1. Don’t be afraid to join the conversationBe gracious, be honest, be realSpeak the language of your audienceHave a thick skin
2. Act fastDoesn’t have to be perfectSet the tone for the conversationHarder to repair a damaged reputation than maintain a good one
4. Build a strong teamSocial media takes time, passion and gutsNeed Executive SponsorDon’t look outside of your department for help
How to prepare for online crisisThe Southwest Airlines recipe
Things to watch
• Real time search • Personalized search
