Sooner or later you will have a situation on social media that can turn into a crisis. Here are 13 things you can do to minimize the impact or even avoid the crisis altogether.

1. 13 things you can do to
avoid a
Social media
crisis
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2. Pontus Staunstrup
1. Create a plan
Defining what you want to
accomplish helps you avoid
doing things that serves no
purpose or gets you in trouble

3. Pontus Staunstrup
Like this:

4. 2. Define a target audience
If you know who you’re talking
to and what to talk about, it’s a
lot easier to avoid mistakes
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5. Like posting stuff that’s so
bland it doesn’t work on
anyone:
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6. 3. Understand your role
You might want to talk about
your cool stuff, but get this
straight: To your customers any
channel can be used for
complaints. Be prepared
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7. British Airways didn’t
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Is 9 am to 5 pm in one
time zone realistic
opening hours for a
global airline?
First sponsored tweet
by a person ever

8. 4. Respond to what they say
It’s called social for a reason.
Not responding to questions
and comments shows that you
don’t really care.
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9. And don’t take too long
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53% expect a
response on
Twitter in
less than one
hour

10. 5. Be realistic about who
you are
When trying to engage on
social media, make a realistic
judgment about how your
brand is viewed. And loose the
rose tinted glasses
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11. Unless this is what you’re
looking for
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12. 6. Take it seriously
Don’t push your social media
efforts down the ladder, to an
intern or someone junior who
has too much already. That’s a
recipe for disaster
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13. Otherwise, you can get this
This came from an intern. For the record, I’m not saying
mistakes are only made by interns. Far from it. But they
should have a fair chance to learn, not get saddled with all
the responsibility
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14. 7. Training your staff is
key
In everything from how to use
tools to engagement. And teach
them the fundamentals
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15. Like not posting from
the wrong account
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16. 8. Think about your
responses
Tough questions and criticism
doesn’t equal a crisis. But a
wrong answer might create one.
Take a moment to consider your
response
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Don’t do this

18. 9. Empathy goes a long way
Of course you shouldn’t
apologize unless you feel you’ve
done something wrong. But
make sure you don’t turn
defensive or arrogant
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19. A smart person once said
“Saying that you’re sorry doesn’t always
mean that you’re wrong and the other
person is right. Just that you value the
relationship more than your own ego”
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20. 10. Have a crisis plan ready
A documented, up to date crisis
management plan can limit the
damage and at times defuse a
crisis altogether
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21. 11. Teach your organization
about social media
Even if they don’t work with
social media, they’re most likely
active there. What they do can
have a huge impact. Help them
help themselves.
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22. Because they don’t want to be
this person
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23. 12. Trust your staff
If you have a talented group of
people doing social media for
you, don’t begin to second-guess
or limit them when
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things heat up

24. Let them do things their way
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25. 13. Listen
Always follow what is being
said about your brand or
product online. That way you
can solve a problem before it
turns into a crisis
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26. Pontus Staunstrup
A final word
A crisis will often arise somewhere else and then
play out in social media. Sooner or later you will
have a situation that will demand a lot from you.
Try to plan as much as possible ahead of time and
be very clear about why you have a presence in
social media. That, together with a cool head and
some common sense, will guide you through a
crisis.

27. Questions? Comments?
@pstaunstrup
https://www.linkedin.com/
in/pontusstaunstrup
pontusstaunstrup.com
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