There is a great article on Ragan.com that focuses on the results of a study that says most companies are not prepared for a social media crisis. It’s worth a read.
How and when an organization responds and reaches out using traditional communications vehicles and through social media is crucial. One of the challenges is that social media has turned the world into a 24/7 news cycle. Many organizations aren’t prepared for that. How do you strategically and authentically respond if you aren’t prepared?
There are many steps an organization can take to put processes in place in case they are faced with an issue or crisis. It makes it a great deal more straightforward to deal with the issue at hand, rather than trying to decide what the approval process is for a tweet or blog.
We often work with clients to prepare issues and crisis communication plans. There are times, when the development of the plan includes a session with senior executives and/or staff. This workshop takes them through case studies of issues that played out online and puts some potentially real life scenarios in front of them. It’s a great opportunity for an organization to come together and work through what needs to happen and to understand how and when to respond.