Digital Skills Gym: Webinar

1. Steph Gray
The Social Simulator for The Digital Skills Gym
@socialsimulator
Managing
hostility and crises
online
v2

2. Today
1. Changing media landscape for crisis communication
2. Types and severity of crises
3. Heading off trouble & strategic planning
4. Final questions

3. The changing media landscape for
crisis communication

4. Bad news travels faster
The staff error
The misjudged humour
The accident
The customer
protest
The angry comment
The environmental
campaign

5. But help can (and does) come from anywhere
http://bit.ly/1cfd8Wn & http://blog.standbytaskforce.com/

7. A new style of journalism: newsgathering

8. Collaboration & boundaries

9. Depth and openness

10. http://www.slideshare.net/EdelmanInsights/global-deck-2013-edelman-trust-barometer-16086761
Social media has given us more access to sources we trust…

11. A difficult environment to manage

13. Crisis as a spectrum
13

14. Issues vs crises
Issues are negative or
critical communications
incidents which could
damage a relationship with
a customer or stakeholder,
e.g.
•report of poor customer
service
•misinformation/rumour
•marketing protest
•foreseeable operational
problem
Crises are issues with strong,
negative emotional impact
which have the potential to:
•spread quickly to a large
group of
customers/stakeholders
•cause long-term reputational
damage to the organisation
•cause significant disruption
•endanger public safety

15. What’s different, what’s the same in handling hostility/crisis?
Same Different
• Clear roles and
responsibilities still matter
• Media reaches a lot of
people
• People want clear,
straightforward information
• Speed & depth
• Media is just one audience
for your messages
• Driven by trust in people,
not just organisations
• The tools to investigate,
speculate and mobilise are
commonplace

16. Source: NZ Government http://www.scribd.com/doc/109032865/Social-Media-in-
Government-How-to-Handle-a-Mishap-v1-0
How serious are the implications of hostility/crisis?

17. Scenario 1: The wrong account
***

18. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YGc4zOqozo
Scenario 2: An unhappy, influential customer

19. Scenario 3: concerted spoof
http://arcticready.com/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=NMUFci_V4mU

20. Heading off trouble
20

21. Three tasks for digital communication
Listening Publishing Engaging

22. Active monitoring

23. Backed up by consistent responses
Can you add
value?
Can you add
value?
Evaluate the
purpose
Evaluate the
purpose
Respond in
kind & share
Respond in
kind & share
Thank the
person
Thank the
person
Unhappy
Customer?
Unhappy
Customer?
Dedicated
Complainer?
Dedicated
Complainer?
Comedian
Want-to-Be?
Comedian
Want-to-Be?
NegativePositive
Yes No
Do you want
to respond?
Do you want
to respond?
No ResponseNo Response
No
Yes
Take reasonable
action to fix issue
and let customer
know action taken
Take reasonable
action to fix issue
and let customer
know action taken
Are the facts
correct?
Are the facts
correct?
Gently correct the
facts
Gently correct the
facts
No
No
No
Yes
Are the facts
correct?
Are the facts
correct?
Does customer
need/deserve more
info?
Does customer
need/deserve more
info?
Yes
Explain what is
being done to correct
the issue.
Explain what is
being done to correct
the issue.
Yes
Is the
problem
being fixed?
Is the
problem
being fixed?
Yes
Let post stand and
monitor.
Let post stand and
monitor.
No
Yes
NoYes
Yes
Assess the
message
Assess the
message
Adapted from the US Air Force Blog Triage

24. The community manager role
ConciergeConcierge
PunchbagPunchbag
SpongeSponge
GardenerGardener
CheerleaderCheerleader
Traffic copTraffic cop
Spam warriorSpam warrior
Social media
mentor
Social media
mentorCounsellorCounsellor
Adapted from: http://blog.getsatisfaction.com/2011/01/24/community-manager/

25. Assess your ‘digital vulnerability’
1. Search engine rankings for important keywords
2. Website structure & resilience: how easy is information
to find, and what volume of interest can the site handle?
3. Social media channels (access, influence & process)
4. Monitoring tools (access, keywords & process)
5. Key staff online
Inspired by: melissaagnescrisismanagement.com

26. Keywords
Compare keyword popularity at http://www.google.com/trends

27. (Online) reaction in a crisis
Recovery, normalisation, humour,
acceptance
Alerting, situational awareness
Emotional response, anger, empathy
Investigation, understanding, research,
accountability

28. Ingredients of a good response to hostility & crisis online
1. The right channels to respond
2. Established authority
3. The ability to respond quickly
4. Know where the fine line is
5. Demonstrate transparency
6. Appreciate that the internet loves a joke
‘CCO model’ by Patrice Cloutier: http://crisiscommscp.blogspot.co.uk/

29. Tip 1: The right channels to respond

30.
Source:
http://www.police.qld.gov.au/Resources/Internet/services/reportsPublications/documents/QPSSocialMediaCaseStudy.pdf &
http://www.qldalert.com
Tip 2: Established authority

31. Tip 3: The ability to
respond quickly
http://storify.com/likeaword/gangway-collapse-at-
hms-belfast

32. …with a story/statement your supporters can share?

33. Tip 4: Know where the fine line is

34. http://www.tesco.com/food-
concerns/
http://tescofoodnews.com/
Tip 5: Demonstrate transparency

35. Tip 6: See the opportunity in ‘crisis’

36. Key principles for handling hostility and crises in social media
1. Social media rewards fast, human responses in line
with your organisation’s personality
2. Become a credible, transparent source of information
3. Avert problems: set rules for your channels, manage
expectations, monitor actively, build relationships
4. Integrate social media response into your crisis
planning: including resourcing and approvals

37. Keep in touch!
Steph Gray
@socialsimulator on Twitter
steph@socialsimulator.com