Blog post by: Melissa Ignasiak
Shortly after the first explosion occurred at the finish line of the Boston Marathon this past week, social media sites were full of eyewitness accounts and victims attempting to contact family members. The first reports appeared on Facebook only moments after the first explosion and over 2 million tweets were posted with updates and prayers from people around the world, who actually found out about the incident on social media sites before hearing about it through a news organization. Most importantly, because cell phone service was not working well in the area, the Boston Police were able to communicate with marathon runners through Twitter, keeping them updated on safety protocols and advising them to use social media to contact family members.
Living in a digital age, social media is used as a critical means as communication, not only in a citywide crisis, but is also beneficial in a company-wide crisis. Social media can help companies carry out crisis communication better, faster, and more cost-effectively. Without having to take the time to write up a formal media release and distribute it to media channels, companies can provide immediate distribution and real time updates on social media sites. In addition, Facebook auto posts allow companies to stay connected to their fans and keep them regularly updated on progress.
Although using social media can be a huge help in handling a crisis, it is also important to have a communication plan in place for when a crisis occurs. The most important thing is that people are getting the correct information in the right places from the right people. Any organization in a crisis is responsible for communicating together as a single voice with a single message. Establishing relationships with influencers can help to distribute the correct information.
It is also important for an organization to have a communication plan set ahead of time. Unfortunately, social media can also cause a crisis, such as a company’s Twitter getting hacked. By having a plan set in place ahead of time, organizations do not have to scramble to figure out what to do next and can immediately begin to diffuse and improve the situation.
Social media began as a way for people to communicate with each other and has now become a critical element in emergency and crisis response. With the help of social media, organizations can react quicker and reach out to those affected by the crisis. No matter the severity of the crisis, implementing social media crisis communication plans correctly could save the image of a brand or even lives.
Sources:
http://www.salesforcemarketingcloud.com/blog/2011/11/16-best-practices-for-social-media-crisis-communications-from-blogworld/
http://www.salesforcemarketingcloud.com/blog/2013/03/10-social-media-lessons-about-crisis-communications/
Social media key for communicating after the Boston Marathon bombing
