As you have probably guessed after the last DIY column, I’m a big fan of using social media. The opportunity to shift communications from a model where customers are talking about you to a model where customers are talking to you is changing how we do business and revolutionizing how we communicate – in my opinion for the better.
Social media is one of the most cost effective forms of communication on the planet – in fact it’s generally free. In the last DIY column, we offered some tips to get started with social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. The second piece of the social media explosion is using social media in a crisis. Just like crisis PR, the use of social media in a crisis is "a whole different animal" from the traditional promotional information that is included in a blog, Facebook page, or YouTube video. In a crisis, social media can be utilized to distribute accurate information to the media, consumers, and business partners at lightening speed. That can be a huge asset in some situations, and a liability in others. So, how do you decide?
First, there are a few things you should know before you try using social media in a crisis….
· Social media in a crisis requires some digital infrastructure. Unless you have access to an agency or an IT department that can react instantly or your crisis is so huge that virtually everyone wants information immediately, it is best to have some structure in place.
· Going "viral", much like being proactive with traditional PR is not without risk. You have to start with the understanding that there will be people who say negative things about your property and that this is not about individual comments but getting information out and opening a dialogue.
· You need a strategy, messaging points, and what I call a social media map – a guide to which media you want to use for each message and/or audience, how you want to use it and what the goals are for the use of that medium. Generally all of these things have to be created at lightening speed and on the fly. If you are uncomfortable with the fast pace, you may need some help.
· Not every social medium works for every crisis. What you need to say and to who will determine what medium works best.
· Unlike promotional uses of social media, using social media in a crisis requires time and effort – just like other methods of crisis PR. This is not a Facebook page or Twitter Tweet you can update in a few moments a few times a day. You have to monitor and respond throughout the crisis so that posts are RT and relevant.
So, keeping these five things in mind….
In my opinion your center’s most valuable asset is its reputation and in this day and age, anyone can damage that reputation with a couple clicks of their mouse. The most common forms of damaging social media are viral emails and negative blog or page posts. Most often, you’ll know when one of these emails is making the rounds – I normally start getting forwarded copies from concerned retailers, customers, and business associates within hours. And if you start using Google Blog Alerts (or a social media monitoring service such as Radian 6) you’ll know about the blogs.
Respond to the emails with a counter effort. Get your hands on every possible copy of a viral email. Ask friends business associates – basically anyone you know, anyone they know, etc. to forward the copies they have received to you. Create a response statement that is concise and states the facts about your situation. If possible work with local law enforcement or your center security to refute the information spread in the incorrect email. Once your response is prepared, create a generic email address – either within your company’s server (for example: [email protected] or [email protected]) or create one using one of numerous free services like gmail or hotmail. Then simply type in every email address from every copy of every version you received in the BCC space and send the email to yourself. The trick is to respond as quickly as possible – remember this email is spreading in real time so a response that happens five days later is ineffective. You need a response that happens five hours (better yet five minutes) later.
Be prepared – you may get responses from people wondering how you got their email address. I recommend simply stating that concerned customers forwarded the email to the center and that the center is responding to all email addresses that received the original email. I assure these folks that all responses were sent BCC and that these email addresses will not be used for any other purpose.
Depending on the content of the original email you may also want to send a release to the local mainstream media stating that the email is false and why – even if you do not send out a release, in many cases the media will call you asking about it. At one of my centers, we had an email circulating that was attributed to the author’s "brother-in-law who is a county police officer". It was full of incorrect urban legend style statements that were presented as facts. We went directly to the county police and they issued a press release stating that the email was not true. We attached a PDF of the release and a link to the police department’s online press room in our response email. The story stating that the email was hoax made the front page of our paper – in large part due to the statement from the police.
The same goes for false blog and page posts. You see these most often in response to news stories that appear online and then get copied in to blogs. You can, and should respond. Use a shorter more concise version of your email statement and include a web site or email address for those who want to contact you for additional information and post it as a response comment on the blogs. Respond to all legitimate blog posts you can find. Be prepared for your posts to set off a flurry of discussion and have thick skin. Once you have posted your comments, in almost every case you should not respond to the follow up comments no matter how bad they may be unless someone else posts seriously factually incorrect info. Responding to opinions is not your goal. Spreading correct factual information and opening an avenue for customers to get correct information or communicate with your center directly is.
If something is incorrect or offensive, talk to the site owner and have it taken down. For example, I know of a business where someone died on their floor – while someone who happened to be there shot video on their camera phone. The videographer then posted the very graphic video on YouTube. The business was able to work with YouTube to have the video taken down. Legitimate sites will do this – most have a reporting feature built in to handle these situations.
Not all crises are matters of reputation. I have seen social media used to spread product recall information, to quickly spread information about traffic situations, and to get the word out regarding weather related evacuations. Blogs can be used to post correct information (an error in an ad, an error in a web site posting, etc.), post response information, or keep the media updated. I think back to hurricanes and blizzards that have forced the closing of some of my centers where I would have loved to use Twitter to let shoppers and the media know that the mall was closing or let them know that the mall was re-opening after the storm had passed. I had another center that had to be evacuated due to what we thought was a gas leak (thankfully it turned out to be a malfunctioning escalator) where I would have loved to have had a blog on the center web site to post correct information and answer customer FAQ’s. And at still another that had a perceived "teen issue" where I would have loved to have started a Facebook page to open a dialogue between shoppers of all ages and mall management. Imagine what I could have learned from what they said and the suggestions they made?
My favorite social media story came from a recent meeting with a prospective PR agency. The owner told us a story about how they helped one of their clients, a high end hotel chain, combat some negative blog posts. It seems a guest at the hotel was in his room posting about how terrible the hotel was and how he was disappointed with his stay. Because the agency was monitoring the blog buzz, they were able to call the manager of the hotel and pass on the nature of the complaint. The hotel manager immediately sent someone to the guest’s room to fix the problem and offer some free amenities to ensure the remainder of the guest’s stay was great! Within minutes, the same guest was back on the blog talking about how great the hotel was and how responsive they were! Now that is effective monitoring and response to the impacts of social media!
The uses are endless – and best of all can be tailored to your center, your audience, and your messaging needs including the need for responses and dialogue. And your only cost is usually time – a true advantage in this environment of cost cutting and shrinking budgets. I believe that social media – be it promotional, pr, or crisis related is the best and most effective DIY project to come along in years. Check your local business publications, Google "Using Social Media" or chat with your PR agency – you’ll be amazed at how many articles are out there that can give you great ideas and help you get started!
Sidebar:
A Few Words About When Not To Use Social Media In A Crisis
If you are directly dealing with victims, social media is not the answer. Think of the recent Air France crash as an example – can you imagine if the families of those on the plane had to get their information from Twitter, Facebook, or the Air France web site or blog? Victims always deserve personal care and attention from a real person – be that on the phone or on site. Social media never can and never should be used in place of personal care and attention.
Social media is one of the most cost effective forms of communication on the planet – in fact it’s generally free. In the last DIY column, we offered some tips to get started with social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. The second piece of the social media explosion is using social media in a crisis. Just like crisis PR, the use of social media in a crisis is "a whole different animal" from the traditional promotional information that is included in a blog, Facebook page, or YouTube video. In a crisis, social media can be utilized to distribute accurate information to the media, consumers, and business partners at lightening speed. That can be a huge asset in some situations, and a liability in others. So, how do you decide?
First, there are a few things you should know before you try using social media in a crisis….
· Social media in a crisis requires some digital infrastructure. Unless you have access to an agency or an IT department that can react instantly or your crisis is so huge that virtually everyone wants information immediately, it is best to have some structure in place.
· Going "viral", much like being proactive with traditional PR is not without risk. You have to start with the understanding that there will be people who say negative things about your property and that this is not about individual comments but getting information out and opening a dialogue.
· You need a strategy, messaging points, and what I call a social media map – a guide to which media you want to use for each message and/or audience, how you want to use it and what the goals are for the use of that medium. Generally all of these things have to be created at lightening speed and on the fly. If you are uncomfortable with the fast pace, you may need some help.
· Not every social medium works for every crisis. What you need to say and to who will determine what medium works best.
· Unlike promotional uses of social media, using social media in a crisis requires time and effort – just like other methods of crisis PR. This is not a Facebook page or Twitter Tweet you can update in a few moments a few times a day. You have to monitor and respond throughout the crisis so that posts are RT and relevant.
So, keeping these five things in mind….
In my opinion your center’s most valuable asset is its reputation and in this day and age, anyone can damage that reputation with a couple clicks of their mouse. The most common forms of damaging social media are viral emails and negative blog or page posts. Most often, you’ll know when one of these emails is making the rounds – I normally start getting forwarded copies from concerned retailers, customers, and business associates within hours. And if you start using Google Blog Alerts (or a social media monitoring service such as Radian 6) you’ll know about the blogs.
Respond to the emails with a counter effort. Get your hands on every possible copy of a viral email. Ask friends business associates – basically anyone you know, anyone they know, etc. to forward the copies they have received to you. Create a response statement that is concise and states the facts about your situation. If possible work with local law enforcement or your center security to refute the information spread in the incorrect email. Once your response is prepared, create a generic email address – either within your company’s server (for example: [email protected] or [email protected]) or create one using one of numerous free services like gmail or hotmail. Then simply type in every email address from every copy of every version you received in the BCC space and send the email to yourself. The trick is to respond as quickly as possible – remember this email is spreading in real time so a response that happens five days later is ineffective. You need a response that happens five hours (better yet five minutes) later.
Be prepared – you may get responses from people wondering how you got their email address. I recommend simply stating that concerned customers forwarded the email to the center and that the center is responding to all email addresses that received the original email. I assure these folks that all responses were sent BCC and that these email addresses will not be used for any other purpose.
Depending on the content of the original email you may also want to send a release to the local mainstream media stating that the email is false and why – even if you do not send out a release, in many cases the media will call you asking about it. At one of my centers, we had an email circulating that was attributed to the author’s "brother-in-law who is a county police officer". It was full of incorrect urban legend style statements that were presented as facts. We went directly to the county police and they issued a press release stating that the email was not true. We attached a PDF of the release and a link to the police department’s online press room in our response email. The story stating that the email was hoax made the front page of our paper – in large part due to the statement from the police.
The same goes for false blog and page posts. You see these most often in response to news stories that appear online and then get copied in to blogs. You can, and should respond. Use a shorter more concise version of your email statement and include a web site or email address for those who want to contact you for additional information and post it as a response comment on the blogs. Respond to all legitimate blog posts you can find. Be prepared for your posts to set off a flurry of discussion and have thick skin. Once you have posted your comments, in almost every case you should not respond to the follow up comments no matter how bad they may be unless someone else posts seriously factually incorrect info. Responding to opinions is not your goal. Spreading correct factual information and opening an avenue for customers to get correct information or communicate with your center directly is.
If something is incorrect or offensive, talk to the site owner and have it taken down. For example, I know of a business where someone died on their floor – while someone who happened to be there shot video on their camera phone. The videographer then posted the very graphic video on YouTube. The business was able to work with YouTube to have the video taken down. Legitimate sites will do this – most have a reporting feature built in to handle these situations.
Not all crises are matters of reputation. I have seen social media used to spread product recall information, to quickly spread information about traffic situations, and to get the word out regarding weather related evacuations. Blogs can be used to post correct information (an error in an ad, an error in a web site posting, etc.), post response information, or keep the media updated. I think back to hurricanes and blizzards that have forced the closing of some of my centers where I would have loved to use Twitter to let shoppers and the media know that the mall was closing or let them know that the mall was re-opening after the storm had passed. I had another center that had to be evacuated due to what we thought was a gas leak (thankfully it turned out to be a malfunctioning escalator) where I would have loved to have had a blog on the center web site to post correct information and answer customer FAQ’s. And at still another that had a perceived "teen issue" where I would have loved to have started a Facebook page to open a dialogue between shoppers of all ages and mall management. Imagine what I could have learned from what they said and the suggestions they made?
My favorite social media story came from a recent meeting with a prospective PR agency. The owner told us a story about how they helped one of their clients, a high end hotel chain, combat some negative blog posts. It seems a guest at the hotel was in his room posting about how terrible the hotel was and how he was disappointed with his stay. Because the agency was monitoring the blog buzz, they were able to call the manager of the hotel and pass on the nature of the complaint. The hotel manager immediately sent someone to the guest’s room to fix the problem and offer some free amenities to ensure the remainder of the guest’s stay was great! Within minutes, the same guest was back on the blog talking about how great the hotel was and how responsive they were! Now that is effective monitoring and response to the impacts of social media!
The uses are endless – and best of all can be tailored to your center, your audience, and your messaging needs including the need for responses and dialogue. And your only cost is usually time – a true advantage in this environment of cost cutting and shrinking budgets. I believe that social media – be it promotional, pr, or crisis related is the best and most effective DIY project to come along in years. Check your local business publications, Google "Using Social Media" or chat with your PR agency – you’ll be amazed at how many articles are out there that can give you great ideas and help you get started!
Sidebar:
A Few Words About When Not To Use Social Media In A Crisis
If you are directly dealing with victims, social media is not the answer. Think of the recent Air France crash as an example – can you imagine if the families of those on the plane had to get their information from Twitter, Facebook, or the Air France web site or blog? Victims always deserve personal care and attention from a real person – be that on the phone or on site. Social media never can and never should be used in place of personal care and attention.