WHAT I HAVE LEARNED ABOUT CRISIS COMMUNICATION FROM MY

RELATIONSHIPS

Alžběta Matějů, H1.cz6/9/2014 Babelcamp 2014

Alžběta MatějůOnline Marketing Consultant

facebook.com/alzbeta.mateju

linkedin.com/in/alzbetamateju@tyholky

@Bettys_Tiger

What is a communication crisis?

It´s here! So what should I do?Don´t panic. Take a breathe.Cooperate. Brief every teammate. And track channels

individualy.What really happened?How serious it is?Listen up. Monitor your influencers.Position your business.Pick right channels.Spread the message and react if needed.Evaluate.Learn.

Crisis communication specifics on SM channels

Crisis communication is not a solution, it is a tool.

Premise No. 1: There exists the crisis and solution to the crisis. If we do not have a

solution and answers, we do not have anything to communicate.

Do you want to master crisis communication on social media

channels?Learn from your relationships. Think of social

media and of your customers like thinking in a relationship.

I'll tell you what I have learned from my relationships (and probably you will find out that you know the

same).

1. Let go of the accidental swipes-to-the-left.

1. Red Cross• What is the worst marketer nightmare? Personal tweet on the company's

Twitter account. • Tweet from @RedCross went like : “Ryan found two more 4 bottle packs of

Dogfish Head’s Midas Touch beer… when we drink we do it right #gettngslizzerd”

• Red Cross respond with transparency, humor and good grace.• Red Cross acknowledged the tweet went out, deleted it, and explaining it. They

turned a potentially harmful tweet into an opportunity for engagement.

1. Let go of the accidental swipes-to-the-left.

• Lesson learned: You’re life is not actually destroyed because you accidentally swiped left when you meant to swipe right. You can make mistake. Be honest with your fans/followers. Social media folks are forgiving.

2. Know which phrases to avoid (and please, don´t use them).

2. Nestlé• Nestle said: Nestle fans, don't use an altered version of the company's

logo as your profile pic, or your comments will be deleted. • The reaction: Don't tell us what to do! • Nestle's response: The logo is our intellectual property. This is our page,

we set the rules. You don't like it? There's the door.• The problem here isn't Nestle is trying to police its Facebook page, but

Nestle's response to people who didn't like the initial statement.

2. Know which phrases to avoid (and please, dear god, avoid using them)

• Lesson learned: Be always polite. No need to play it cool, apologize when you should to. Do not just talk, do it. Respond even tough questions. Understand the other side of the problem. Avoid certain formulations. Be fully competent and familiar with the issue.

• Every fan deserves you to provide him a full answear.

3. Forget the ego. Say sorry.

3. Domino’s Pizza• Domino’s Pizza found themselves faced with a crisis-gone-viral. Back in

2009, before they ever had a social media presence, two employees of franchise uploaded a video to Youtube of themselves doing disgusting things to a sandwich.

• The video instantly went viral and Dominos Pizza was launched into a full social media crisis.

• They managed to launch a communication strategy that saved their brand from potential ruins, the results of this crisis were close to a miracle.

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3. Forget the ego. Say sorry.

• Lesson learned: Always release a first response, don´t try to stay behing the closed doors. Silence is not a solution. Customers wold be horrified you are ignoring the situation in hopes that it would simply disappear.

4. Crisis is not a flu, it doesn´t disappear by itself.

4. Parsley scandal aka „Petrželková kauza“

4. Crisis is not a flu, it doesn´t disappear by itself.

• Lesson learned: If you are not noticing the problem, it will escalate until you lose control over it. Do not ignore your customers, while you will be dealing with your little crisis by yourself. The biggest mistake is arrogantly respond or not respond at all. Sometimes things goes wrong, that happens. Simply say you are sorry.

5. Never both be angry at the same time.

5. Amy’s Baking Company Bakery Boutique & Bistro

5. Never both be angry at the same time.

• Lesson learned: Think twice while writing the answer. Thing of the consequences. Think in bigger picture and predict.

6. Don’t lower your standards.

6. Amazon

• Amazon moved gay, lesbian, transgendered and erotic books to the Adult section. On one hand they say it was a re-categorization error, but Amazon sent letters to publishers informing them of the move. That's not something Amazon can take back easily.

6. Don’t lower your standards.

• Lesson learned: Don´t settle or go for something you wouldn’t usually be willing to do. Keep in mind how to act and don’t feel like you have to compromise.

7. Tell me what is the problem.

7. Southwest Airlines• Southwest Airlines is one of the most recent

example of a big brand who knew exactly how to handle a crisis through social media. Quick response time and open, honest communication on Facebook and Twitter were key in helping the brand control the story. They posted just minutes after the accident, promising updates.

• Most of the comments from fans included notes of support and appreciation for Southwest's open communication.

7. Tell me what the problem is.

• Lesson learned: Customers should be informed about what is going on. If they don´t, they gets angry and confused. One of the basic principles of social networking is connecting friends and sharing. Share too and give your customers the real feeling that they know what is happening with the brand.

8. Do something for the other.

8. DKNY

• DKNY recently found themselves in an online situation that very well could have gone viral, creating a potential crisis for the brand. Instead, DKNY handled the situation promptly, responsibly, honestly and strategically.

8. Do something for the other.

• Lesson learned: Be one of the first to become aware of the situation, in real-time. Be able to extinguish this potential fire before it began to go viral, quickly escalating into a potential crisis.

9. Be smarter then your guy.

9. Union Street Guest House• Union Street Guest House in New York

put in place a policy to prohibit wedding parties from posting negative online reviews about them. The policy, stated that newlywed couples would be fined “$500 for any negative review posted on the internet after their special day”.

• “The policy regarding wedding fines was put on our site as a tongue-in-cheek response to a wedding many years ago. It was meant to be taken down long ago and certainly was never enforced.”

9. Be smarter then your guy.

• Lesson learned: You cannot control what others say about you online. The only thing you can control are your own actions. Don’t do foolish things that will end up costing you way more.

10. Sometimes crisis can clean the air.

10. Burger King

• The hacking of the Burger King Twitter feed have resulted in a good way.

• Hack went on for a couple of hours. Users started noticing strange tweets coming from the burger chain’s account, profile picture changed to the McDonald’s and BK said the company was bought by their rivals.

• The hack was quite fun, so it started to be great news topic soon. It brought many of new followers soon, people spread the word.

10. Sometimes crisis can clean the air.

• Lesson learned: Not all social media disasters have to be catastrophic to the image of the company they affect and that Burger King even look to have come out of it positively. Sometimes you can gain large numbers of new followers. Your brand could show the funny/human side.

Be always ready. What else can mess up?

Alžběta MatějůOnline Marketing Consultant

facebook.com/alzbeta.mateju

linkedin.com/in/alzbetamateju@tyholky

Thank you

@Bettys_Tiger