Social media risk #3 - Going viral – for the wrong reasons

Having a great team, running a great social media account, and working at a great organization can make us complacent. But in an age of instantaneous communication, anything can happen – and will get amplified at the speed of light.

In this blog post we take a look at 1 of 6 social media risk areas for the public sector and how to handle them. 

 

RISK #3

Going viral – for the wrong reasons

 

Crisis will strike

At some point, something is bound to go wrong. It could be anything from an honest misunderstanding to severe product failures. And when crisis strikes – not managing the situation properly or not managing it at all will most likely worsen the situation tremendously. And if you’re unlucky, it might even risk damaging the brand beyond repair.

 

Be prepared when things do go wrong

Familiarize yourself with PR crisis management measures, and educate your team. Have an escalation and response plan for the eventuality that your organization gets caught in a harsh spotlight.

 

The 5 things to do in a PR crisis

  • Own up to and acknowledge the problem, fast
  • Have a clear protocol for who will take the lead
  • Provide a holding response until you have full information
  • Communicate often, both externally and internally
  • Stop all scheduled posts to avoid further missteps

 

  • Assess

    • Do you know who will do what during a social media crisis?
    • Can you recognize and respond to a crisis quickly?
    • Do you know what your "holding responsible look like?
    • Do you have any way to prevent improper communication?

How can RelationDesk help? 

 

  • Detect an unusual volume of traffic
  • Pause all scheduled posts with one click
  • Evaluate effectiveness of response with Measure

 

r-public-screenshot01

 

Did you know… RelationDesk lets you measure the proportion of positive and negative comments over time with our smart tag system.

 

Want to know more about RelationDesk?

Let us tell you more about RelationDesk and get a free trial by booking a demo!