Comments on: Digital Crisis Communications – what matters

By: What Does it Take to be a “Top 10″ Social Media Speaker? | Technically Women

Thu, 06 Aug 2009 21:55:29 +0000

[...] 1. Demonstrated thought leadership. You write original stuff that other people link to, quote and share. You’re so far ahead of the game, you’re defining the space. [...]

By: Weboart

Weboart — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 18:56:09 +0000

Hi Maggi! It’s a fact that speed is the key to social media understanding. Nowadays; what happens online, happens on real life.One tweet can be enough to launch a huge gossip and generate negative buzz on the Net, right? Digital crisis can happen to anyone, and never is too early to plan, don’t you think? Btw, if you want to keep discussing this topic, just check my article “Social Media in Crisis Management: The sharp click”. See ya!

By: Maggie Fox

Maggie Fox — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 12:43:24 +0000

@mike – the important word in that sentence is “acute”. As I said in my post, “Unless an issue makes the transition to a mainstream media or digital platform with a massive audience – it will not gain widespread traction in a short period of time.”

In the absence of media interest in “company screwed up in social media” stories, firms will have more time to deal with most of these kinds of relatively low-intensity issues, provided they are listening appropriately.

By: Mike Spataro

Mike Spataro — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 12:25:03 +0000

Maggie,

I’m not one to suggest at all that the world starts and stops with conversations in social media or whatever happens online, but if you are saying that the only way an issue becomes a crisis for a brand is when it reaches MSM, that seems a bit odd to me. Perhaps I’m not understanding your point.

Mike

By: Maggie Fox

Maggie Fox — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 02:52:54 +0000

@Amber – thanks very much for your comments, and as you know, Radian6 is one of our vendor partners, so welcome to the conversation!

@Mike – thanks for the feedback, but I’d like to respectfully disagree; I think the climate in which “company screwed up in social media!” is a story worth reporting on will shift over time. As we’ve seen again and again, issues only become acute brand-damaging problems when they cross over to MSM. In the absence of that interest, companies that are listening should be able to deal with issues before they become significant. They’ll also have more time to do so.

By: Mike Spataro

Mike Spataro — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 02:27:05 +0000

Hi Maggie – great thoughts. I would add one more. I believe the definition of what actually constitutes a crisis is changing. Social media is changing the game to a point where inappropriate brand engagement with consumers can cause real issues for a company that traditionally would not have been labeled a crisis, but could have the same impact over time.

Mike Spataro
SVP, Client Strategy
Visible Technologies

By: Amber Naslund

Amber Naslund — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 22:28:39 +0000

Maggie, great stuff. I’m particularly passionate about #1. Responding isn’t always solving. It’s about being present, available, and accessible to people to let them know they’ve been heard. And people in general are more patient when they’re being communicated with, even if it takes a bit to get to a real resolution or answer.

Thanks for bringing some solid levity into the crisis communication discussion in social media.

Cheers,
Amber Naslund
Director of Community, Radian6
@ambercadabra

By: Maggie Fox

Maggie Fox — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 20:54:50 +0000

@Jane absolutely – and that underscores the need to ensure that your digital crisis communications plan is a living, changing document – the Internet never sleeps!

By: Jane Jordan-Meier

Jane Jordan-Meier — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 19:42:58 +0000

Good points Maggie. To your point crafting an adequate response in 30 mins or less, I say that’s the reason for lots of PRE-crisis work. Do whatever you can to come up with worst-case sceanrios and then write responses to all of them! The more bizarre the better (the scenarios, or worst things, that is, that could happen to my brand, my company, my industy) and then do a retreat or at least an exercise to test and validate the messages.

By: Maggie Fox

Maggie Fox — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 21:07:40 +0000

@Bill – Thanks! And as it happens I wrote an article earlier this year about flight 1549, you can check it out here.

As far as which tools we use, there are lots that are commercially available – we use Radian6, and layer in a couple of custom pieces when we’re dealing with really high-volume issues. Also – there’s always a person involved as well to make the final call. Automated tonality is directional at best, and isn’t appropriate when you’re dealing with a digital crisis.