How to Deal with a Social Media Crisis
In the 21st century, an quality online presence is invaluable. More and more, brands are working to curate compelling social media profiles. Will Klumpenhower is a burgeoning public relations professional who has generously offered CougMedia a window into his area of expertise.
How to Deal With a Social Media Crisis
The angry comments are piling up. Incensed shares are flying across the web, and you’re going viral for all the wrong reasons. You’re in the middle of a social media crisis, oh no! But don’t go throwing yourself into a canal just yet – help is here in the form of this handy-dandy website you have stumbled across. Here are my 5 steps to get yourself out of this sticky social media situation!
- Deflect Blame
- Try to Distract Them
- Don’t Post the Color Green
- Try to Distract Them Again
- Carry On as Normal
A good thing to remind yourself in the middle of a crisis is that the problem never lies with you. Unfortunately, the general public tend to forget this. If this is the case, the first thing you should do is deflect blame onto some other entity. Maybe your detractors just don’t understand the situation correctly. Maybe this whole brouhaha was a ploy by your rival to drum up bad press. Maybe the sun was in your eyes, who knows? It certainly wasn’t your fault.
Consumers are stupid and easily distracted. Put something out there to catch their interest!
It is a well-known fact in the PR industry that consumers cannot stand the color green. To avoid enraging them further, remove all posts featuring green from your social media platforms.
Fun Fact! Did you know that the outcry following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill was largely due to green being a primary color in BP’s brand imagery? Thousands of gallons of oil littered the beaches of Mobile, AL, but since Mobile is a garbage city founded on swamp muck, nobody cared – until they saw BP’s logo.
“It’s always worth another shot!” – That is my attitude when it comes to this sort of thing. It can’t hurt to try!
Pretend that nothing has happened and resume your standard posting schedule. The consumers will forget that this little snafu even occurred by tomorrow, because they have itty-bitty brains like a tiny goldfish. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a lunch appointment.
Will Klumpenhower can be reached on Twitter (@wklumpenhower) or by email at willscoolemail@email.com. Do not reach out to him with further questions. He is uninterested in your meager troubles.
