The chances are that, if you run any kind of social media campaign for your business, you will encounter some form of reputation crisis at one time or another. Although initially alarming, there are ways in which you can reduce any damage to your online reputation.
The key to dealing with a social media reputation crisis is prior planning and preparation.
Whether you do this independently or engage the services of a professional company, it is certainly something that needs to be prepared for in advance.
In this short blog, I’ll be covering a few basic elements that you need to be aware of before you launch a social media marketing campaign for your business.
How To Handle A Reputation Crisis On Social Media
1. Have A Plan Of Action
Do you have a plan in place on how to deal with negative contributors on public forums or business profiles that are in the public domain?
The first questions to ask yourself when you see something negative online are:
- Is the negative post relevant?
- Is it malicious?
- Is banning the poster or deleting the post a suitable course of action?
It is important to distinguish between genuine feedback and posters with malicious intent before you decide on any one course of action.
2. State Your Social Engagement Policy
Make sure your policy is in a prominent and clear place for all potential posters to see.
This way if they are doing it with malicious intent, you are protected.
3. Compile Statements In Advance
For any controversial things that may come up, remember, the quicker you respond, the better chance you have of limiting any lasting damage.
Make sure any employees tasked with taking care of your social media campaigns are fully informed about your company brand, business ethos, and guidelines.
Make sure to record video testimonials of happy clients in preparation for negative press.
4. Keep Your Employees Informed
Make sure each and every relevant person is informed as to what to do in a social media reputation crisis.
The last thing you want is just yourself knowing what to do if an urgent issue arises. This should form part of your organization’s crisis management training module.
Point your employees to some crisis communication planning and training.
5. Monitor Your Social Channel Coverage
Just because you or your team clock off at 5:00 p.m., it doesn’t mean your social media channels do.
Using Facebook as an example, there is a function where you can approve any post before it is visible to the public. This is a particularly useful function unless of course, you use your FB page for instantly answering customer questions.
Looking at all the social media options available for business today, I’d suggest engaging the services of a professional company to assist you. Just because you can upload a few pictures and promote your company offerings, it doesn’t mean you have the necessary skill set to deal with any social media reputation crisis that may crop up.
Social media is an extremely effective form of marketing, but you need to remember that negative news travels a lot further and faster than positive news.
Don’t take the chance.
Get the online reputation management experts on your team. It could be really worth the investment in the long term!
