Include Social Media in Your Crisis Communication Plan

We live in an impatient society. If we send an e-mail or leave a voice mail, we expect a response immediately. I read somewhere the average time required for a company to respond to an e-mail is around 24 hours. I must be one of those impatient ones, because I like a response earlier than that.

 

Perhaps the reason is because we are accustomed to the 24-hour news cycle and the immediacy that comes from receiving breaking news on social networking sites, such as Twitter. Some people even go so far as to claim that the press release is dead, that it has been replaced by Twitter. I wouldn’t go that far, but technology and social media certainly have changed the way we send and receive news.

 

Social networks such as Facebook and Twitter have become another line of communication that businesses must check, and responding to these messages is a crucial aspect of business and customer service today. People expect an immediate response if they ask a question or make a comment on these sites. If you fail to respond to a negative comment or question, then the situation may escalate, and all of your followers, friends or fans will know about it.

 

We all hope we never need to use a crisis communication plan, but these plans are a necessity for every business. If you developed one prior to the age of social media, then it’s time to dust it off and add a chapter or two about social media.

 

We don’t have control of our messages anymore. Everyone has a voice, and those with thousands of followers on Twitter or Facebook have a strong voice. Make sure that your business has a plan so you can act quickly. Preparedness will enable you to address the situation in an early stage — and hopefully stop it from escalating into a crisis.