Social media has become an important channel for crisis communication management. It allows organizations to communicate with stakeholders efficiently and minimize the negative impacts of crises. However, most existing crisis communication theories were developed before social media and do not account for its capabilities. There is a lack of international research on using social media for crisis communication across different geographic and cultural contexts. Developing global best practices could help organizations leverage social media effectively while managing reputational risks during crises.
This document is a report submitted by Jennifer Grisales to her supervisor, Julie Roberts, at the Florida Division of Emergency Management. The report proposes a standardized social media training policy to prevent mistakes in social media use during disasters. It analyzes policy options based on criteria like conformity, efficiency, and knowledge. The report recommends a standardized training policy that would provide basic social media training to all personnel, enabling cross-agency collaboration and learning. Timely implementation is urged given social media's growing role in emergency communication and the risk of errors without proper preparation.
Social Media As A Tool In Crisis CommunicationDavid Mistick
This document discusses the importance of using social media as a tool in crisis communication. It notes that social media usage increased significantly, even more than traditional methods, after a 2011 earthquake in Japan. Research also found that social media can help spread information quickly and make people feel less isolated during crises. However, the document warns that social media mistakes can negatively impact brands and market share. It emphasizes that organizations need strategies to effectively utilize social media across all stages of a crisis.
Insignia - Impact of Social Media Report A4 finaljhemus
The document discusses how social media has impacted traditional media's role in breaking news stories. Key findings include:
- Traditional media still sees itself as important, but its role has changed due to social media. Speed of reporting is now critical.
- Social media makes it easier for reporters to access sources (official and unofficial) and content like images and video.
- News often breaks first on social media, putting pressure on reporters to confirm and share stories quickly.
- This increased speed can compromise accuracy at times, though competition also drives higher quality reporting.
- Reporters use social media to source stories, eyewitnesses, and content, but still value traditional media's credibility and perspective.
The catalyst effect of Social Media in crisis communication management in the...CBR Conference
Presentation given at the 3rd International Consumer Brand Relationships Conference, www.consumer-brand-relationships.org
Copyright by
Mariana Victorino, Catholic University Portugal, Portugal
This document discusses how the shipping company Maersk Line uses social media to create transparency, empowerment, and engagement with its audiences. It focuses on Maersk's listen-and-learn strategy on social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter. The strategy aims to build relationships by understanding audience interests and topics and selecting the appropriate social media channels and content. When done effectively through ongoing dedication and alignment, a social media strategy can help form valuable connections with key stakeholders.
WARC Media research planning_for_context Apr 2013Brian Crotty
The document discusses understanding context in media research and planning. It describes five key dimensions of context - location, activity, social setting, media, and mood/emotions. Understanding these contexts helps optimize the impact of communications by identifying moments of potential receptivity. Case studies show how analyzing these contexts can inform media selection and messaging strategies.
RQ1 examines the relationship between social media interaction and viral marketing propagation. The literature establishes social media as central to viral marketing campaigns, enabling online word-of-mouth communication to spread campaigns. RQ2 asks what compels social media users to discuss viral marketing. Research presented suggests emotional connections to campaigns, familiarity, and relationships with sharers influence sharing behaviors. Limitations include lack of focus on modern social media and conflating word-of-mouth and viral marketing definitions.
A Proposal for Establishing an Issues Management Process at CDCSal Lucido
This document proposes establishing an issues management process at the CDC to proactively address public policy and reputation issues. It defines issues management as using intelligence gathering, priority setting, and strategic planning to minimize threats and maximize opportunities. The document outlines five types of threats - active threats from professional activists, passive threats from spread of misinformation online, media threats from sensationalized coverage, congressional action, and reduced funding or reputation. It argues that an issues management strategy is needed to protect the CDC's ability to fulfill its mission as institutions face increasing scrutiny and sophisticated opposition. Such a strategy would foster an outward focus on stakeholders and use cross-functional teams rather than hierarchies to nimbly address complex issues.
This document is a report submitted by Jennifer Grisales to her supervisor, Julie Roberts, at the Florida Division of Emergency Management. The report proposes a standardized social media training policy to prevent mistakes in social media use during disasters. It analyzes policy options based on criteria like conformity, efficiency, and knowledge. The report recommends a standardized training policy that would provide basic social media training to all personnel, enabling cross-agency collaboration and learning. Timely implementation is urged given social media's growing role in emergency communication and the risk of errors without proper preparation.
Social Media As A Tool In Crisis CommunicationDavid Mistick
This document discusses the importance of using social media as a tool in crisis communication. It notes that social media usage increased significantly, even more than traditional methods, after a 2011 earthquake in Japan. Research also found that social media can help spread information quickly and make people feel less isolated during crises. However, the document warns that social media mistakes can negatively impact brands and market share. It emphasizes that organizations need strategies to effectively utilize social media across all stages of a crisis.
Insignia - Impact of Social Media Report A4 finaljhemus
The document discusses how social media has impacted traditional media's role in breaking news stories. Key findings include:
- Traditional media still sees itself as important, but its role has changed due to social media. Speed of reporting is now critical.
- Social media makes it easier for reporters to access sources (official and unofficial) and content like images and video.
- News often breaks first on social media, putting pressure on reporters to confirm and share stories quickly.
- This increased speed can compromise accuracy at times, though competition also drives higher quality reporting.
- Reporters use social media to source stories, eyewitnesses, and content, but still value traditional media's credibility and perspective.
The catalyst effect of Social Media in crisis communication management in the...CBR Conference
Presentation given at the 3rd International Consumer Brand Relationships Conference, www.consumer-brand-relationships.org
Copyright by
Mariana Victorino, Catholic University Portugal, Portugal
This document discusses how the shipping company Maersk Line uses social media to create transparency, empowerment, and engagement with its audiences. It focuses on Maersk's listen-and-learn strategy on social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter. The strategy aims to build relationships by understanding audience interests and topics and selecting the appropriate social media channels and content. When done effectively through ongoing dedication and alignment, a social media strategy can help form valuable connections with key stakeholders.
WARC Media research planning_for_context Apr 2013Brian Crotty
The document discusses understanding context in media research and planning. It describes five key dimensions of context - location, activity, social setting, media, and mood/emotions. Understanding these contexts helps optimize the impact of communications by identifying moments of potential receptivity. Case studies show how analyzing these contexts can inform media selection and messaging strategies.
RQ1 examines the relationship between social media interaction and viral marketing propagation. The literature establishes social media as central to viral marketing campaigns, enabling online word-of-mouth communication to spread campaigns. RQ2 asks what compels social media users to discuss viral marketing. Research presented suggests emotional connections to campaigns, familiarity, and relationships with sharers influence sharing behaviors. Limitations include lack of focus on modern social media and conflating word-of-mouth and viral marketing definitions.
A Proposal for Establishing an Issues Management Process at CDCSal Lucido
This document proposes establishing an issues management process at the CDC to proactively address public policy and reputation issues. It defines issues management as using intelligence gathering, priority setting, and strategic planning to minimize threats and maximize opportunities. The document outlines five types of threats - active threats from professional activists, passive threats from spread of misinformation online, media threats from sensationalized coverage, congressional action, and reduced funding or reputation. It argues that an issues management strategy is needed to protect the CDC's ability to fulfill its mission as institutions face increasing scrutiny and sophisticated opposition. Such a strategy would foster an outward focus on stakeholders and use cross-functional teams rather than hierarchies to nimbly address complex issues.
This document discusses a study on the corporate use of social media and its associated risks. It provides an executive summary of the study's key findings from an online survey of 141 executives and 12 in-depth interviews. The study found that nearly half of respondents see social media as important for corporate marketing. Over half see corporate social media use increasing and three-quarters have no clear social media policy. Most companies also lack plans for dealing with social media incidents. The interviews revealed that social media's growth surprised executives and more funds are allocated to security but not necessarily for social media risks. Few companies have policies specifically for social media governance and risks.
The Shifting Paradigm of Public Relations Anita Ho
This document discusses the growth of internet users globally and in Asia from 2000 to 2009. It notes that as of June 2009, there were over 1.6 billion internet users worldwide, with over 700 million in Asia. China has the most internet users of any single country. The document also discusses how new media like social networking and microblogging are used and how this impacts public relations practices.
The document summarizes strategies for maintaining good media relations, especially during times of crisis. It discusses how corporate communications aims to build and protect an organization's reputation and image. Maintaining solid relationships with media in advance is key, as media can help disseminate information to stakeholders. In crisis situations like the Tylenol case, taking proactive steps like conducting media briefings and distributing press kits can help shape media coverage. Overall the document outlines the importance of strategic media relations for achieving corporate communication objectives.
The role of the social media in corporate PR practice using the Ukrainian con...HOSHVA PR
This research analyzes how social media relates to PR practices in Ukraine. It finds that while traditional media remains dominant, PR practitioners are increasingly recognizing social media as both an opportunity and a challenge. The research comprised interviews with PR professionals, who viewed social media as an environment changing how information is shared and as a set of tools. Many saw social media as inevitable for their work, but challenges remained in understanding its value and securing management support.
A Communicator's Guide to COVID-19 VaccinationSarah Jackson
This guide provides research, theories, models, and recommendations for communicating about COVID-19 vaccines effectively. Key points include:
1. Vaccine hesitancy is influenced by perceptions of risk and safety rather than just lack of information. Tailored communication for different audiences is important.
2. Marginalized groups have lower vaccine confidence due to historic inequities. Their input and addressing cultural factors are critical.
3. Healthcare providers are the most trusted source but must have adequate knowledge, resources and confidence in the vaccine themselves.
4. Identifying and engaging with opinion leaders in target communities can increase uptake through social influence. Understanding anti-vaccination movements is also important.
This document summarizes research on viral video advertisements and factors that contribute to their sharing online. It finds that positive emotions and strong brand image play an important role in whether a video goes viral. Specifically, branded content that incorporates creative strategies like humor can shape whether a video advertisement is shared virally. The document also reviews literature on defining viral marketing, the role of social media, different types of advertising messages and creative strategies, and motivations for online word-of-mouth sharing.
Assignment models public relations quotesenock nyoni
The document discusses the evolution of public relations from traditional to modern practices with the rise of digital technologies and social media. It covers key topics such as:
1) How public relations has shifted from one-way communication models to two-way symmetrical models that emphasize mutual understanding between organizations and their publics.
2) The changing roles of PR from controlled messaging to dealing with uncontrolled online communication.
3) The rise of owned, paid, and earned media and how organizations use these different channels for public relations. Owned media refers to channels an organization fully controls like their website or social media, while earned media involves third party endorsements.
4) Grunig's models of public relations that progressed
This document provides guidance for hospital leadership on developing and implementing an effective digital and social media strategy. It discusses establishing infrastructure such as allocating resources, developing clear policies, and creating an open network. It also covers engaging key audiences like employees and patients, addressing legal and privacy issues, and using various social media platforms and tools. The overall aim is to help hospitals leverage digital media to better manage patient experience and engagement.
Nature of pr conclusion and intro excellentenock nyoni
This document provides an overview of the meaning and functions of public relations. It begins with defining public relations and discussing the various publics an organization interacts with. It then explains that public relations aims to build positive relationships between an organization and its various publics through strategic communication and actions. The document also outlines some key factors that have contributed to the growth of public relations as a profession.
This document summarizes a literature review on the use of social media as a marketing tool. It begins by defining key terms related to social media and marketing, such as social media marketing, virtual brand communities, and factors that influence consumer attitudes. It then examines four main themes in current research: virtual brand communities and how they can influence consumer behavior; how consumer attitudes and motives are affected by social media use; the role of user-generated content; and the use of viral advertising. The review notes gaps in research, such as a lack of studies on the long-term promotional benefits of social media marketing for retailers.
Reputation Management In The Era Of Social MediaBen Maynard
The digital media leaders surveyed see social media as now integral to their business operations. Over 80% said social media is a key part of their communications mix and is playing a significant role in other areas like sales and customer service. While traditional media still drives much of their reputation, the power of social media buzz on reputation and sales is recognized. Most view several social media platforms as already essential, with more agreeing they will be in the next 12 months, though some caution about credibility of information shared remains. Monitoring influence and how information spreads across digital and traditional media is important but challenges in measurement exist.
The digital media leaders surveyed see social media as now integral to their business operations. Over 80% said social media is a key part of their communications mix and is playing a significant role in other areas like sales and customer service. While traditional media still drives much of their reputation, the power of social media buzz on reputation and sales is recognized. Most view several social media platforms as already essential, with more agreeing they will be in the next year. However, they are cautious of some information shared on these sites and monitoring influence across digital and traditional media is important but challenging.
Corporations need to have a voice and presence during times of crisis in order to maintain trust and reputation. Crisis and issues management has become increasingly important for chief communications officers. With the rise of social media, managing reputational threats online and using social media effectively to engage consumers are now critical challenges for corporate communicators.
Reputation Management in era of social mediaBen Maynard
A white paper based on research among the fifty finalists in the Media Momentum Awards 2011. It looks at how they use social media to communicate and manage their reputations and suggests some areas of best practice as well as identifying potential blindspots.
Perception of the use of social media for disease awareness in Tunisia Jamel Charabi .MD MBA
Table of Content
I. PROBLEM STUDY
II. WHY THIS RESEARCH?
III. INTRODUCTION
IV. LITERATURE REVIEW
1. SM definitions
2. SM overview
3. SM and marketing
4. Company’s marketing strategy and social media
5. SM and public relation
6. SM and market research
7. SM Metrics
8. SM in Pharmaceutical companies
a. Pharmaceutical marketing Overview
b. Healthcare professionals and social media
c. SM Strategy in pharmaceutical companies
d. Pharmaceutical companies digital targets
e. Social media content impact in pharmaceutical companies
f. Impact of connected objects on Health
g. Best practice of pharmaceutical companies.
h. Regulatory framework
V. SM & TUNISIAN PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANIES
1. Pharmaceutical market Overview
2. Regulation in Tunisian Pharmaceutical market
3. Social media in Tunisian pharmaceutical market
VI. PROBLEM RESEARCH.
VII. METHODOLOGY
VIII. RESULTS
1. How Tunisian pharmaceutical company is facing social media strategies? Also to understand the potential role of social media to increase patient’s awareness
2. To value the impact of social media on company sales performances
3. How Tunisian pharmaceutical companies are using social media in a balanced way seeking for global and local ethics?
X. LIMITS
XI. FUTURE DEVELOPMENT
XII. CONCLUSION
XIII. RECOMMENDATIONS
Role of Information Communication Technologies in Violence PreventionCat Meurn
This document discusses the potential role of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in violence prevention. It begins by providing background on the rise of technologies like smartphones, social media, and remote diagnostics. It then examines several specific ways ICTs have been or could be used to prevent different types of violence, including collective violence (through tools like Ushahidi and hotlines), sexual violence (via reporting apps and awareness campaigns), and intimate partner violence (using texting services and economic empowerment programs). The document argues that while technology is not a panacea, ICTs show promise as part of comprehensive prevention strategies when designed and implemented appropriately.
This document discusses the evolution and growth of wellness as a trend and industry. It begins by defining wellness according to its origins in the 1940s with Dr. Halbert Dunn, who saw it as complete physical, mental and social well-being rather than just the absence of disease. The trend has grown significantly since the 1970s due to influences like increased connectivity, movements for reconnection and mindfulness, and consumers seeking meaning and happiness over material goods. Various movements and trends are driving interest in wellness and impacting industries. The future of wellness will continue to be shaped by these influences.
Karen Freberg is a social media expert with a PhD in Communications from the University of Tennessee. Her research focuses on how organizations can effectively use social media for crisis communication. She has studied cases like Hurricane Irene to determine best practices. Some key practices are integrating multimedia into messages, using hashtags, linking to credible sources, and maintaining a transparent and conversational voice on social media during a crisis. Freberg emphasizes establishing social media presences before crises to build trust with communities.
Mass Media Communication in Crisis Situations[1].pdfBenedictCusack
In a crisis situation, the way we communicate can be vital to the success or failure of our response. Mass media communication is one of the most effective ways to quickly get the message out and manage a crisis.
This document discusses a study examining how the speed of an organization's response on social media during a crisis affects outcomes. It will analyze case studies to understand how response time and messaging frequency impacted public perception. The literature review found that communicating via Twitter during a crisis leads to better reputation management than blogs or newspapers. However, more research is needed on how quickly information must flow on social media and how response frequency influences effectiveness. The study aims to provide crisis communicators a better sense of the time available before messaging in social media.
This document discusses a study on the corporate use of social media and its associated risks. It provides an executive summary of the study's key findings from an online survey of 141 executives and 12 in-depth interviews. The study found that nearly half of respondents see social media as important for corporate marketing. Over half see corporate social media use increasing and three-quarters have no clear social media policy. Most companies also lack plans for dealing with social media incidents. The interviews revealed that social media's growth surprised executives and more funds are allocated to security but not necessarily for social media risks. Few companies have policies specifically for social media governance and risks.
The Shifting Paradigm of Public Relations Anita Ho
This document discusses the growth of internet users globally and in Asia from 2000 to 2009. It notes that as of June 2009, there were over 1.6 billion internet users worldwide, with over 700 million in Asia. China has the most internet users of any single country. The document also discusses how new media like social networking and microblogging are used and how this impacts public relations practices.
The document summarizes strategies for maintaining good media relations, especially during times of crisis. It discusses how corporate communications aims to build and protect an organization's reputation and image. Maintaining solid relationships with media in advance is key, as media can help disseminate information to stakeholders. In crisis situations like the Tylenol case, taking proactive steps like conducting media briefings and distributing press kits can help shape media coverage. Overall the document outlines the importance of strategic media relations for achieving corporate communication objectives.
The role of the social media in corporate PR practice using the Ukrainian con...HOSHVA PR
This research analyzes how social media relates to PR practices in Ukraine. It finds that while traditional media remains dominant, PR practitioners are increasingly recognizing social media as both an opportunity and a challenge. The research comprised interviews with PR professionals, who viewed social media as an environment changing how information is shared and as a set of tools. Many saw social media as inevitable for their work, but challenges remained in understanding its value and securing management support.
A Communicator's Guide to COVID-19 VaccinationSarah Jackson
This guide provides research, theories, models, and recommendations for communicating about COVID-19 vaccines effectively. Key points include:
1. Vaccine hesitancy is influenced by perceptions of risk and safety rather than just lack of information. Tailored communication for different audiences is important.
2. Marginalized groups have lower vaccine confidence due to historic inequities. Their input and addressing cultural factors are critical.
3. Healthcare providers are the most trusted source but must have adequate knowledge, resources and confidence in the vaccine themselves.
4. Identifying and engaging with opinion leaders in target communities can increase uptake through social influence. Understanding anti-vaccination movements is also important.
This document summarizes research on viral video advertisements and factors that contribute to their sharing online. It finds that positive emotions and strong brand image play an important role in whether a video goes viral. Specifically, branded content that incorporates creative strategies like humor can shape whether a video advertisement is shared virally. The document also reviews literature on defining viral marketing, the role of social media, different types of advertising messages and creative strategies, and motivations for online word-of-mouth sharing.
Assignment models public relations quotesenock nyoni
The document discusses the evolution of public relations from traditional to modern practices with the rise of digital technologies and social media. It covers key topics such as:
1) How public relations has shifted from one-way communication models to two-way symmetrical models that emphasize mutual understanding between organizations and their publics.
2) The changing roles of PR from controlled messaging to dealing with uncontrolled online communication.
3) The rise of owned, paid, and earned media and how organizations use these different channels for public relations. Owned media refers to channels an organization fully controls like their website or social media, while earned media involves third party endorsements.
4) Grunig's models of public relations that progressed
This document provides guidance for hospital leadership on developing and implementing an effective digital and social media strategy. It discusses establishing infrastructure such as allocating resources, developing clear policies, and creating an open network. It also covers engaging key audiences like employees and patients, addressing legal and privacy issues, and using various social media platforms and tools. The overall aim is to help hospitals leverage digital media to better manage patient experience and engagement.
Nature of pr conclusion and intro excellentenock nyoni
This document provides an overview of the meaning and functions of public relations. It begins with defining public relations and discussing the various publics an organization interacts with. It then explains that public relations aims to build positive relationships between an organization and its various publics through strategic communication and actions. The document also outlines some key factors that have contributed to the growth of public relations as a profession.
This document summarizes a literature review on the use of social media as a marketing tool. It begins by defining key terms related to social media and marketing, such as social media marketing, virtual brand communities, and factors that influence consumer attitudes. It then examines four main themes in current research: virtual brand communities and how they can influence consumer behavior; how consumer attitudes and motives are affected by social media use; the role of user-generated content; and the use of viral advertising. The review notes gaps in research, such as a lack of studies on the long-term promotional benefits of social media marketing for retailers.
Reputation Management In The Era Of Social MediaBen Maynard
The digital media leaders surveyed see social media as now integral to their business operations. Over 80% said social media is a key part of their communications mix and is playing a significant role in other areas like sales and customer service. While traditional media still drives much of their reputation, the power of social media buzz on reputation and sales is recognized. Most view several social media platforms as already essential, with more agreeing they will be in the next 12 months, though some caution about credibility of information shared remains. Monitoring influence and how information spreads across digital and traditional media is important but challenges in measurement exist.
The digital media leaders surveyed see social media as now integral to their business operations. Over 80% said social media is a key part of their communications mix and is playing a significant role in other areas like sales and customer service. While traditional media still drives much of their reputation, the power of social media buzz on reputation and sales is recognized. Most view several social media platforms as already essential, with more agreeing they will be in the next year. However, they are cautious of some information shared on these sites and monitoring influence across digital and traditional media is important but challenging.
Corporations need to have a voice and presence during times of crisis in order to maintain trust and reputation. Crisis and issues management has become increasingly important for chief communications officers. With the rise of social media, managing reputational threats online and using social media effectively to engage consumers are now critical challenges for corporate communicators.
Reputation Management in era of social mediaBen Maynard
A white paper based on research among the fifty finalists in the Media Momentum Awards 2011. It looks at how they use social media to communicate and manage their reputations and suggests some areas of best practice as well as identifying potential blindspots.
Perception of the use of social media for disease awareness in Tunisia Jamel Charabi .MD MBA
Table of Content
I. PROBLEM STUDY
II. WHY THIS RESEARCH?
III. INTRODUCTION
IV. LITERATURE REVIEW
1. SM definitions
2. SM overview
3. SM and marketing
4. Company’s marketing strategy and social media
5. SM and public relation
6. SM and market research
7. SM Metrics
8. SM in Pharmaceutical companies
a. Pharmaceutical marketing Overview
b. Healthcare professionals and social media
c. SM Strategy in pharmaceutical companies
d. Pharmaceutical companies digital targets
e. Social media content impact in pharmaceutical companies
f. Impact of connected objects on Health
g. Best practice of pharmaceutical companies.
h. Regulatory framework
V. SM & TUNISIAN PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANIES
1. Pharmaceutical market Overview
2. Regulation in Tunisian Pharmaceutical market
3. Social media in Tunisian pharmaceutical market
VI. PROBLEM RESEARCH.
VII. METHODOLOGY
VIII. RESULTS
1. How Tunisian pharmaceutical company is facing social media strategies? Also to understand the potential role of social media to increase patient’s awareness
2. To value the impact of social media on company sales performances
3. How Tunisian pharmaceutical companies are using social media in a balanced way seeking for global and local ethics?
X. LIMITS
XI. FUTURE DEVELOPMENT
XII. CONCLUSION
XIII. RECOMMENDATIONS
Role of Information Communication Technologies in Violence PreventionCat Meurn
This document discusses the potential role of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in violence prevention. It begins by providing background on the rise of technologies like smartphones, social media, and remote diagnostics. It then examines several specific ways ICTs have been or could be used to prevent different types of violence, including collective violence (through tools like Ushahidi and hotlines), sexual violence (via reporting apps and awareness campaigns), and intimate partner violence (using texting services and economic empowerment programs). The document argues that while technology is not a panacea, ICTs show promise as part of comprehensive prevention strategies when designed and implemented appropriately.
This document discusses the evolution and growth of wellness as a trend and industry. It begins by defining wellness according to its origins in the 1940s with Dr. Halbert Dunn, who saw it as complete physical, mental and social well-being rather than just the absence of disease. The trend has grown significantly since the 1970s due to influences like increased connectivity, movements for reconnection and mindfulness, and consumers seeking meaning and happiness over material goods. Various movements and trends are driving interest in wellness and impacting industries. The future of wellness will continue to be shaped by these influences.
Karen Freberg is a social media expert with a PhD in Communications from the University of Tennessee. Her research focuses on how organizations can effectively use social media for crisis communication. She has studied cases like Hurricane Irene to determine best practices. Some key practices are integrating multimedia into messages, using hashtags, linking to credible sources, and maintaining a transparent and conversational voice on social media during a crisis. Freberg emphasizes establishing social media presences before crises to build trust with communities.
Mass Media Communication in Crisis Situations[1].pdfBenedictCusack
In a crisis situation, the way we communicate can be vital to the success or failure of our response. Mass media communication is one of the most effective ways to quickly get the message out and manage a crisis.
This document discusses a study examining how the speed of an organization's response on social media during a crisis affects outcomes. It will analyze case studies to understand how response time and messaging frequency impacted public perception. The literature review found that communicating via Twitter during a crisis leads to better reputation management than blogs or newspapers. However, more research is needed on how quickly information must flow on social media and how response frequency influences effectiveness. The study aims to provide crisis communicators a better sense of the time available before messaging in social media.
This document discusses the use of social media for crisis communication. It begins by introducing how social media has evolved from a mode of communication between individuals to a critical tool for crisis response. It then provides 10 comparisons between social media and traditional media, noting key advantages of social media like its ability to spread information globally instantaneously. The document outlines different types of social media tools and how they can be used for crisis communication purposes like sharing information, enhancing situational awareness, and managing reputational effects. It presents guidelines for using social media, including checklists for situation awareness and two-way communication. Finally, it provides recommendations for NAVGAS, suggesting LinkedIn and Twitter as preferable platforms and tools like Hootsuite for social media management
Managing the Social Media Tsunami: Nestlé’s Reputational Crisis Management Ba...Leo Concepcion
This document discusses Nestlé's reputational crisis management battle with Greenpeace regarding accusations of using palm oil suppliers that caused deforestation. It provides context on how social media amplified Greenpeace's campaign against Nestlé's KitKat brand. The literature review covers concepts of reputation management, crisis communication, and challenges of managing crises in the social media era where information spreads rapidly and communities can aggressively voice opinions online. Effective crisis response requires prioritizing relationship building, maintaining transparency, and adapting traditional practices for social media while addressing misinformation risks.
The document discusses the role of communications managers during a crisis according to the British Standard BS11200. It outlines that a communications manager's regular duties are to communicate with internal and external stakeholders as the "golden source" of information. During a crisis, this role does not change fundamentally but the speed and frequency of communication needed increases greatly. Effective crisis communication requires preparation, defined roles, media monitoring, consistent messaging, and stakeholder management to minimize reputational damage. Technology can help support many aspects of crisis communication outlined in the standard.
Informing_crisiscommunication_preparation_and_response_through_network_analys...Patrick Grant
This document discusses elaborating the key public classifications in the Social-Mediated Crisis Communication model through network analysis of airline Twitter data. It defines key concepts from social network analysis, including social mediators, who are influential social media creators that bridge clusters of users, and clusters, which are subgroups of tightly interconnected users. The document proposes defining social mediators as influential social media creators and clusters as social media followers for consistency between the SMCC model and social network analysis approaches. Network analysis of airline Twitter data will help further develop and test the SMCC model's framework for understanding key publics in social-mediated crisis situations.
Presentation1 role of pr in cricis managmentIsharagurung99
1) Public relations is a strategic communication process used by companies, individuals, and organizations to build mutually beneficial relationships with the public.
2) A public relations specialist drafts specialized communication plans to create and maintain a positive brand image and build strong relationships with targeted audiences through media and other direct and indirect channels.
3) The document discusses the role of public relations in crisis communication, noting that public relations professionals are responsible for crisis management to handle situations that could negatively impact organizational goals through threats to public safety, financial loss, and reputation loss.
Public relations (PR) is defined in multiple ways in the document, but generally refers to establishing and maintaining mutual understanding between an organization and its publics through deliberate communication efforts. PR involves managing issues, keeping management informed of public opinion, serving the public interest, and using research and ethical communication. Key functions of PR include building relationships, understanding public perceptions, aligning organizational policies with public interests, and ensuring policies are socially responsible. PR practitioners must maintain good relationships with mass media, who can influence public audiences, and implement strategies to advocate for their organization in a positive light. Challenges of modern PR include maintaining its management role, networking with media, and staying ahead of technological changes.
This document discusses crisis communication management and outlines best practices for organizations to follow. It defines a crisis as a major occurrence with potentially negative outcomes that interrupts normal business. It emphasizes the importance of having a crisis communication plan to minimize damage through dialogue with stakeholders before, during, and after a crisis. The five stages of a crisis are outlined as detection, prevention, containment, recovery, and learning. Public relations plays a key role in building relationships and reputation through regular communication so organizations are prepared to respond effectively if a crisis occurs.
The role of corporate communication in risk managementKaranja1927
Corporate communication plays a key role in managing risks by facilitating information sharing between an organization and its stakeholders. Effective communication can help prevent crises by informing stakeholders early on about potential issues. It also leads to better decision making by considering diverse viewpoints and increases public trust and acceptance of decisions by engaging stakeholders. The goals of risk communication are to promote transparency, improve risk analysis, foster public trust in organizations, and strengthen relationships between an organization and its stakeholders.
Social media is a fast and effective way to do much as the ter.docxsamuel699872
Social media is a fast and effective way to do much as the term suggests—connect socially with
friends, family, and colleagues and share items of interest. These items include fun or significant
events with photos and captions, posted or re-posted reports of events, and the authors’ ideas
and feelings. As computer systems became more mobile via cellphones and tablets, making
desktop or laptop computers quaint in some ways, it became clear that social media was not a
fast-fading communications fad. Some users are continuously signed in to their favorite social
media outlet, checking on feeds and posting or replying throughout the day and late into the
night. This level of attention far exceeds that given to print newspapers of earlier decades.
Social media is also an important aspect of crisis discourse and organizational crisis
communications. Social Media as a New Entry to Public Discourse and Mainstream Media
Social media has had an unprecedented effect on the preexisting public communications
structures of face-to-face, mainstream media, e-mail, and Internet websites. It has captured
people’s time and attention that used to be focused elsewhere, including on other, older media
sources. Social media is fun and easy to use once a new user becomes familiar with the
website. Once users proceed to regularly check in and participate in social media with others,
they begin to stay connected with friends and family with a speed and quality that people have
not experienced before. Just 15 years ago, we did not share photos, memes, and videos as we
do now. Internet connectivity ensures that any of these items—including news—can be sent
rapidly and spread in several orders of magnitude, which is why we refer to some of these items
as “going viral.” Compare this dynamic to earlier practices that are still observed, such as
reading a newspaper daily, reading a news magazine weekly, listening to the radio while driving,
or watching television in the evening. Mainstream media continues to function, but it does so in
an environment influenced by social media. Even online versions of periodicals have not kept
popular attention from grasping and adopting social media in significant numbers. Accepting this
new reality, senior executives of most periodicals have joined the trend and established social
media pages and accounts. There may be some inevitable inequities among different brands of
social media, but often, the differences are in how each brand is used and who sees others’
posts. Subscribers’ pages on Facebook are highly capable; a user can upload videos, photos,
and posts. Twitter tweets are limited in size but can contain a powerful, concise, and memorable
remark that can be published there. Limited social media accounts can be set up for
neighborhoods, business associations, and internally within organizations. An implied job
description for spokespeople is to know the up-to-the-minute world of social media, includin.
Model of the diagnostic field as an element of support for public relations a...Dariusz Tworzydło
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function and skills of public relation by solomon shiwabawSolomun Shiwabaw
This document discusses the functions of public relations. It outlines several key functions including media relations, crisis communication, management and administration, representing PR at the top management level, writing press releases, using social media, and managing employee relations. For crisis communication specifically, it describes the 8 steps a PR professional should take: awareness, assessment, team building, positioning/strategy, readiness, action, evaluation, and follow-up/closure. The overall document provides an overview of the various roles and responsibilities of public relations practitioners.
Week 1-BUSINESS Policy and Strategy Class-Needs to be at least 200.docxcelenarouzie
Week 1-BUSINESS Policy and Strategy Class-Needs to be at least 200 words each
Question 1
1. Describe the strategic management process, and include how it is used by organizations.
Your response should be at least 100 words in length.
Question 2
1. Do you feel an organization should maintain their original mission and vision statement(s), or do you feel these statements should be periodically updated? Please explain your answer.
Your response should be at least 100 words in length.
Question 3
1. Are "strategic management" and "strategic planning" synonymous terms? Explain.
Your response should be at least 100 words in length.
Question 4
1. Colleges and universities, like all business, have strengths, weaknesses, and competitors. What would you consider to be an online university’s internal strengths and weaknesses? Why? Also, who would you say are the competitors to online universities? What are three external opportunities and three external threats?
Your response should be at least 200 words in length.
Question 5
1. Within this unit, we discussed how businesses may need to adapt to changing times in order to stay competitive. Their initial practices may have worked well previously, but may not serve them well in the long term. The newspaper industry is one that may face extinction. Explain why they may need to rethink their business strategy, and provide some advice on possible strategic management changes. Be specific to include goals/objects, strengths, and weaknesses.
Your response should be at least 200 words in length.
Unit II Essay
Over the course of this unit, we have discussed the importance of mission and vision statements. As a part of that discussion, we analyzed mission and vision statements for their effectiveness. For the Unit II Essay, you will expand on
this topic. Using your favorite search engine, research the mission and vision statements of different fortune 500 companies. Then, you will write an essay in which you compare and contrast the mission statements of two companies and the vision statements of two companies. You may use the same companies for both the mission and vision comparisons or separate companies. Within your essay, include the following:
Explain the principle value of two vision statements.
Explain the principle value of two mission statements.
Compare and contrast vision statements of each organization in terms of composition and importance.
Compare and contrast mission statements of each organization in terms of composition and importance.
Do you think organizations that have comprehensive mission statements
tend to be high performers? How do mission and vision statements assist in selecting an industry-specific strategy?
Explain why a mission statement should not include monetary amounts, numbers, percentages, ratios, goals, or objectives.
Your essay should be a minimum of three pages in length or approximately 75
0 words, not including the title and reference pages. Y.
A study of mass media as a behaviour changing at university level articlenabelas
This document discusses a study on how mass media can influence behavior change at the university level. It provides definitions of mass media and discusses how mass media influences people's behaviors, health behaviors, and social outcomes. Mass media is found to shape public opinion and cultural norms. While it can positively influence behaviors like reducing smoking, it can also negatively impact students by distracting them from their studies and values.
This document outlines the objectives and key concepts of a course on crisis communication. It defines a crisis as a critical situation that can threaten an organization's reputation and discusses crisis communication as an ongoing process of coordinating resources to reduce harm and support recovery. The document presents a three-stage model of crisis communication, including pre-crisis preparation, crisis response, and post-crisis resolution. Communication objectives are outlined for each stage, such as informing the public, establishing credibility, and promoting lessons learned. Effective crisis communication is presented as a critical part of overall crisis management.
The document discusses a 2-day training module on countering electoral interference. The first day covers cross-government collaboration, intelligence, countering disinformation, and public-private cooperation. The second day is a tabletop exercise to test capabilities, encourage cross-department and public-private cooperation, and provide a practical understanding of how interference can unfold. The training establishes networks to improve coordination and resilience. It teaches best practices for understanding threats, assessing risk, and designing robust responses to elections interference.
Social Media & Crisis Management--C4CS--Schmidt--DRG InterviewOliver S. Schmidt
The document discusses the rise of social media and its impact on crisis management. It contains an interview with an expert, Oliver Schmidt, who discusses how social media has changed crisis communication. Schmidt emphasizes that while social media enables new ways to engage stakeholders, it must be systematically monitored. He warns of the risks of instant and uncensored information online. Effective social media strategy requires understanding stakeholders' social media use, setting goals, and building trust before a crisis occurs.
Crisis Management Strategies in Corporate Communication StudiesAJHSSR Journal
ABSTRACT:Communication is an activitythatcannotbeseparatedfromhuman life. However, in the process,
there are opportunities for in-appropriate communication, which can lead to conflict or alsoknown as a
communication crisis. Communication strategyis a communication effort made to convey messages
appropriately to communication targetswith the aimthat the perceptions betweencommunicators and
communicants can bebuilt in harmony. With the sameunderstanding and perception, an organization can
achieveits goals smoothly. However, if in the process a conflictoccurs, causing a communication crisisbetween
the two parties, a crisis management strategy or crisis management isneeded. To makethese efforts, the role of
corporate communication isneeded as the right strategy in dealingwithconflictsthatoccur.
Keywords -Crisis Management Strategy, Crisis Management, Corporate Communication
Role Of Public Relations In Ngo Managementharshalsk
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Mahmoud Abu Farha of MBCI won the Continuity and Resilience Professional (Public Sector) award for 2016. The certificate confirms that Mahmoud Abu Farha holds the position of Executive Director and the award was sponsored by an unspecified organization.
This official transcript from Indiana University of Pennsylvania documents the graduate education of Mahmoud Ahmed Abufarha in Business Administration. It shows that he earned a Master of Business Administration degree in August 2015. It lists the courses he took, including 6 credits transferred from Arab American University Jenin, and provides grades, credit hours, grade points, and overall GPA. The transcript is digitally signed and certified to validate its authenticity and that the contents have not been altered.
Unilever, one of the world’s largest and leading companies, acquired Lipton International in 1971 and
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tea, Twinings Tea, in addition to Tetley Tea. Unilever's global brand development director of Lipton Tea
Michiel Leijnse faces a very important meeting with Unilever CEO in a few short hours. He has to make a
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financial implications in addition to indicating a reasonable return on investment. There are so many
issues relevant to resourcing Tea sustainably so we confined the problem statement to the three most
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credible partner and implementing farming sustainable practices. To fully understand Unilever's
situation, we ran a thorough analysis to assess Unilever situation in term of Industry Dominant Economic
Characteristic, the five competitive forces, the major Driving force of change, VRIN test for Resources
and Capabilities, SWOT analysis and Key Success factors for tea industry. Despite the many challenges
facing this initiative that would affect the outcome of the sustainable tea resourcing, all mentioned
analysis showed that this initiative is beneficial for Unilever. We highly recommend Unilever to adopt
and lead the transformation of the new Lipton brand, and to execute this option employing the highest
standards and best practices. Suggestion were made regarding choosing a certification partner who
possesses a significant overlap with Unilever’s strategic approaches, the usage of on- field training
programs to empower farmers with the required skills and the use of innovative marketing to
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1. Social Media and Crises Communication Management
Prepared by: Mahmoud Abu Farha
Class: BTST 670, Organizational Communication, Spring 2015 - Ramallah
Instructor: Dr. Kenneth Bohl
Abstract:
Social media as a crisis communication channel has become a very important pillar of crises communication
management, and it should be considered in crises management policies and plans. The purpose of this literature
review is to emphasize the increasing importance of social media in crises cases, and how can it be employed as
an efficient communication tool in crises management. It clarifies how did social media brought down
traditional media barriers, and how it made the stakeholders and the public more informed and empowered,
which also contributed to shift the control of organizations reputation and image from the organization's side to
the social media user's side in environment of democracy. This paper also highlights the challenges and
possibilities associated with communication through social media channels.
This paper highlights that most of the theories that were set in crises communication are based on traditional
media communication and were not updated based on the new media capabilities, forms, shift in power from
formal to informal communication and shift of control from the organizations side to the public side.
This paper also highlights the lack of researches in this field of communication management; most of the
researches were limited within specific geographic area and covers specific issues, almost all the researches
were conducted in US and Europe, we couldn’t find any study or research on international level. But from
another side we may consider that the role of social media as a crisis communication tool will be the same
regardless the geographic areas.
Based on the reviewed researches and because social media is becoming the main synchronous and
asynchronous channel of communication for organizations stakeholders, and because of the accelerating
2. development in internet services and applications through mobile networks with very cheap prices that made
social media communication available for people all the time. We think social media should be included as an
important part of risk and crises management good practices and standards on the local and international levels.
In addition, we think developing international good practices for using social media in crises management will
help organizations to use it in such an efficient way that helps in protecting reputation and minimizing the social
media related risks.
Introduction:
Crises communication is a channel of communication that allows immediate and efficient communication with
stakeholders and public in order to minimize the bad impacts of the crises as soon as possible. Social media is
an evolving field in crises communication management and it is used by employees, organizations and public
whereby it is growing at an exponential rate. In addition, social media services and technologies are improving
in such an efficient way and they became alternatives for traditional channels of communication. Numbers of
social media companies and platforms are also growing; Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Flickr and many others
became part of our daily life, at work, at home, in the car, in the restaurants, in planes and almost everywhere.
The intersection between crises communication and social media as an efficient communication channel has got
great interest by communication researchers, crises management organizations and specialists and resiliency
and business continuity specialists as being an important element in communication strategists. The evolution of
social media and related technologies have led to efficient tools for monitoring social media issues in the early
stages; it enables faster response for resolving issues and spreads messages in order to minimize adverse
impacts to organizations. Social media also enabled protecting organization’s reputation and stopping the spread
of harmful rumors. All organizations should have crisis management plans that cover crises communication and
that understand and utilizes social media.
3. The purpose of this literature review is to emphasize the importance of social media and the importance of
setting international good practices in using social media as an efficient communication channel in order to help
organizations to use it in the best way, and this need more researches in this field that cover various geographic
areas and different cultures.
This paper initially defines the concept of crisis, crises communication and social media. Then it clarifies how
social media can be a very efficient tool for crises communication and how it provides new capabilities that are
not available in traditional media. This paper also provides brief description of crisis communication theories
(image repair theory, situational crisis communication theory, chaos theory, networked crisis communication
theory, and the social-mediated crisis communication model), providing critical review for these theories and
revealing how they were not updated to reflect the impact that social media had on crises communication. Then
it investigates the best practices in crises communication management, trying to shed light on the available best
practices and their limitations. At the last section it discusses how social media can be a source of crises.
What is a crisis?
Crisis was defined by many authors over the years, we have chosen to use the definition by Coombs1
which
defines crisis as "crisis is the perception of an unpredictable event that threatens important expectancies of
stakeholders and can seriously impact an organization's performance and generate negative outcomes”(Coombs,
2007) 1
.
From this definition we understand that crises are not always factual events, it can also be caused by natural
disasters, rumors, miscommunication or any other event that may create tangible or intangible losses. All
organizations must be prepared to face crises because “no organization is immune to crisis” (Coombs, 2007) 1
.
“Crisis management seeks to prevent or lessen the negative outcomes of a crisis and thereby protect the
organization, stakeholders and industry from harm” (Coombs, 2007) 1
. The main goal of crises management is
to minimize the crises impacts in the three stages of crises pre-crisis, crisis event and post-crisis. 1
4. Crises communication
Griffin defined communication as “Communication is the relational process of creating and interpreting
messages that elicit a response” (Griffin, 2009) 2
and he mentioned that "words don't mean things; people mean
things” 2
meaning that there is no value for communication if words are not received and interpreted by people.
Crises communication can be described as communication that is used by organizations before, during and after
crises. The inability to communicate the correct messages proficiently during crises can be fatal for
organizations; organizations should always strive to manage their messages, manage and control their
communication and manage and control the crises.
It is very important for organizations to include listening to the public in their crisis communication strategies in
order to nurture trust and reliability. When people trust organizations before crises, they will have more faith in
its ability to resolve issues with no large complications. Crisis communication goal is not simply to calm
concerns of stakeholders. It is to provide information and the decisions made during the crises to the
stakeholders, so they can have more awareness and rational view on organization decisions and efforts to
minimize impacts of crises4
. Keeping information from stakeholders will most likely backfire and destroy trust.
Although understanding and empathy are very important in crises communication, the facts are what make
organizations succeed4
.
In the last few years there has been a very high use of social media and its applications like Facebook, YouTube
and Twitter. The development in web technologies, internet services through mobile networks, and smart
phones technologies enhanced the availability of social media to people all the time with cheap cost, this
allowed very fast travel of news and information. So organizations should consider the capabilities which
Internet provides in a crisis response. Organizations that use social media proactively in the three stages of
crises (before, during and after crises) moved an important step from one way communication to two way
5. interactions between the stakeholders and the organization5
. Gonzales-Herrero and Pratt (1996) suggested that
organizations crises communication should be cooperative and opened with the stakeholders and public before
crises6
. Organizations can minimize the risks of being perceived as guilty, if they engage their public in two
way communication6
. In addition to the very important role that crises communication play in damage control
during crises, it have prevention role by updating organizations knowledge base after crises.
What is Social Media?
Social media is defined as “a group of Internet-based applications that build on the ideological and
technological foundations of Web2, and that allow creation and exchange of Users Generated Content” (Kaplan
and Haenlein, 2010)7
. Social media is a channel of communication that differs from traditional media in its
capability to provide symmetrical and asymmetrical two way interactions. Social media allows organizations
communication with their stakeholders and public in low cost and high efficiency. As a result social media has
become an important part for millions of people all over the world and has changed the way they establish
relations, transfer information, interact and do business. 7
Social media allows groups and individuals to gather and form networks within very short time, either to
support your organization or against it, so it is very important to monitor social media and react quickly.
Birgfeld (2010) mentioned that social media has become an important weapon for angry people; from another
hand it is an efficient tool for crisis management. 8
Social media as a channel of communication have most, if not all, of the following characteristics:
1. Participation: Social media encourages interested people to participate with their contributions and
feedback. It blurs the line between traditional media and the audiences.
2. Openness: Since most social media services are available for people to participate and provide feedback.
They encourage sharing of information, comments and voting.
3. Conversation: social media is a two-way conversation channel. Whereas traditional media is about
transmitting or distributing content to audiences “broadcast”.
6. 4. Community: Social media allows forming communities and communicate effectively.
5. Connectedness: social media sites make use of links to other people, sites and resources to enlarge its
society.
Social media as an efficient tool for crisis communication
Quick response is the most important factor when discussing crises and social media. As Coombs demonstrated
(2007); “The terms quick and quickly are synonymous with crisis response.”1
With the continues development
in communication technologies the information travel in very high speed, crises response teams have less time
to respond effectively in order to appear to control the situation. The worst case scenario is to let stakeholders
and may be the public know about crises from other sources rather than the involved organizations, which is
becoming more frequent these days. Although quick response and providing information is very important in
crises, the most crucial point is the message and how organizations should manage the dialog through social
media which needs much of training and preparedness because dealing with social media is different from
dealing with traditional media which organizations used to. If the response through social media is not well
managed it may cause additional crises and dissolve trust between the organization and its stakeholders.
Crises can create ‘information void’ (Coombs, 2007). It may disrupt normal communication patterns between
organizations and their stakeholders which must be filled by the organization as quickly as possible; else it may
be filled by others with incorrect information.1
Once people start communication about a crisis online, the information will explode through the network of
connected users through social media sites. So organizations shouldn’t wait for the first comments to appear in
social media about their crises. They must begin communication with their stakeholders as soon as possible and
by any possible means.
7. The importance of social media comes from its networking and communication abilities that enable users to
generate contents in different formats, which makes it an efficient tool for crisis communication. Facebook is
the most widely used social networking site of the current moment, it have high level of self-presentation and
average level of media richness and social presence10
. For that reasons, Facebook is an efficient tool for crisis
communication. The high level of self-presentation provide the ability to control others impressions since it
enables visual, aural and psychosomatic interactions with stakeholders, in addition to the provision of a huge
amounts of information.
Twitter is a more open dialogic communication that indicates artlessness for concern and keenness to resolve
issues. Same thing applies for LinkedIn which is a professional networking tool that enables sharing of
confirmatory as well as casual information in crises communication. 11
Although Facebook and Twitter are the most popular social media sites that are being used by business and
people. Many other sites are available and mostly provide the same capabilities of Facebook and Twitter like
Flickr , Google Plus, YouTube, Instagram, Vine and many others.12
The large number of social media sites and the huge amounts of information that may be shared about
organizations crises makes it a challenge for those organizations to monitor, analyze and respond to that burst of
information, especially with exponential increase of social media sites populations.
Shift in power: Power of formal and informal communication
Effective crises communication management depends on both the formal and informal communication. Social
media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter increase the informal communication of the community by
expanding the geographic region of the participants in crises communication and by providing extensive sharing
of information and requests. In addition to providing efficient tools for formal communication.13
8. Markets, issues, events and society globalization through internet are leading to the reconstitution of many
publics (Moore and Seymour, 2005). Forming virtual group's online and constructing trusted societies is an
explosion in consumer-to-consumer communication that should not be ignored by organizations. Organizations
need to know what is being said about them online through monitoring social media, and they should be aware
how to use social media as two-way dialog channel. Organizations should monitor social media to detect any
issue before it develops into a crisis and being out of control.9
Awareness
Social media provides awareness capabilities that no other communication channels and technologies can
provide. The numerous and different types stakeholders such as employees, medical entities, customers and the
community require new capabilities that traditional media cannot provide and it is available with social media.
The damage of communication infra-structure is another challenge that face crises awareness and for which
social media provide a solution that may not be provided by traditional communication channels, this is because
social media depends on internet sites that can be accessed through different types of infrastructure from
anywhere like internet through smartphones and mobile networks or through landlines or other types of wireless
networks.
Using different terminologies by different stakeholders or parties in the community is another challenge that
faces crises communication awareness. In addition to formal communication the informal communication
through social media that comes from different parties help in resolving this issue through sharing of
information, requests and explanations. Allowing informal participation of the different stakeholders and the
community may increase awareness about the crises on the ground, and support the formal communication in
decentralizing response which may be necessary for efficient and flexible response.13
9. Crisis communication and social media crisis communication theories
Most of the crises communication theories focus on how organizations can repair their smudged reputation
(Avery, Lariscy, Kim, & Hocke, 2010)14
. But most of those theories and their related researches were conducted
before the huge development in social media, so it is not expected from those theories to address all concerns
related to social media. An important study prepared by (Brooke Fisher Liu, Julia Daisy Fraustino, 2014) from
department of communication in university of Maryland recommended that crisis communication theories need
to be improved to account for the wide spread of social media. The main current theories in Crises
communication and social media crises communication are: 15
1. Image repair theory:
This theory was developed by Benoit (1997) to help understand how individuals and organizations respond to
crises. The theory assumes that individual or organization accused to be responsible and that action is offensive.
It provides set of strategies for image repair.16
Social media has not investigated by most of image repair researches, although there are some exceptions,
researchers did not modify those theories. Many researchers have found that the usage of social media during
crises can generate new issues in image management.17
also they found that social media use expected to be less
effective in image repairing if the same strategies used in traditional media were replicated in social media.
Although image repair theory is an important and useful theory in general, it is agreed that it may be too linear
for social media, so the theory may need some adaptation and expansion when it is applied to social media.15
2. Situational crisis communication theory (SCCT):
The theory dictates that stakeholders must be protected first by their organizations by providing information for
physical and psychological coping. After that an organization may turn to amending its reputation. SCCT
focuses on organization-based actions, concerns and outcomes. More researching is required to explore whether
and how the SCCT can be transferred to social media and the extent to which social media can be used by
publics in order to counter organizations messages.15
10. 3. Chaos theory:
Chaos theory pursues to advance the understanding of complex, nonlinear, and unpredictable systems,
recognizing that small differences in initial conditions of an event may cause wide different in outcomes. In
crisis communication, chaos theory see communication as a facilitating point of system, from another hand it
see it as a strange attractor that respond to and recover from crises. It is found that little researches has begun
investigating the chaos theory in social media.15
4. Networked crisis communication theory (NCC):
NCC model challenges the classical crisis communication theories by showing that the medium used for
communication affects the impact of crisis communication. NCC considers the impacts of media type used in
crises communication on crises messages effectiveness, it indicates that the crises messages that are distributed
via social media sites may result in different responses by public than do the same messages distributed via
traditional media. But the researches in this area still focusing on how the media can be used by organizations to
mitigate potential negative outcomes, rather than generating positive outcomes.15
5. The social-mediated crisis communication model (SMCC):
This model aims to predict and explain how publics transmit information, and also how best communication can
be done by organizations with publics during crises. There are three main types of publics who transmit crisis
information (social media inactives, social media followers, influential social media creators) and there are five
factors that affect how organizations should engage with these publics (crisis origin, crisis type, organizational
infrastructure, crisis message form, and crisis message source). SMCC combines rumor psychology theory and
SCCT 1
in order to provide a model of how organizations may respond to public's crisis communication using
social media. The SMCC model is being criticized by scholars for focus on reputation-management and not
being a comprehensive model as the NCC.15
11. Best practices in risk and crises communication
The goal of creating best practices in general is the improvement and streamlining of the processes in an
organization or industry. It is usually based on assessing and analyzing of those processes that are being used by
leaders and experts in the field. Through studying and reviewing many research papers and searching through
electronic libraries and internet while writing this paper, we couldn’t find international and comprehensive good
practices guideline that cover social media as crisis communication channel, it is very important to set and
develop such international good practices because of the huge and accelerating shift from using traditional
media toward social media, and because the most important issue is not just to understand the importance of
social media and include it in policies and plans, but also to use it in efficient and effective way that is based on
leaders and experts experiences in this field, in order to be able to control situations in crises response.18
The most comprehensive related good practices we could find is a set of practices in risk and crisis
communication that was outlined by group of researchers with the National Center for Food Protection and
Defense (NCFPD), a US Department of Homeland Security Center of Excellence. These practices are
applicable to social media, but they need to be reviewed and adjusted in order to make use of the new
capabilities of social media that is not available for traditional media.18
The main points of NCFPD guidelines include: 18
1. Risk management and crisis management policies need to be established.
2. The required logistics for crisis communication should be planned before the crises.
3. Organizations should build partnership with the stakeholders and the public.
4. Organizations should listen to the stakeholders and public’s concerns and understand the audience.
5. Organizations should communicate with honesty, candor, and openness before, during, and after crises.
6. Organizations should collaborate and coordinate with credible media sources.
7. Organizations should meet the needs of the media and remains accessible.
8. Organizations should communicate with empathy, concern, and compassion.
12. 9. Organizations should accept uncertainty and ambiguity.
10. Organizations should provide messages of self-efficacy. By allowing the stakeholders in crises situations
to gain sense of control through meaningful actions that promote sense of self-efficacy.
Social media as source of crises
Social media is becoming the main source of information and communication; this is expected to continue with
the cheap and highly available internet services through mobile networks and smartphones, and with the
additional services and improved performance that is being provided by social media sites. From one hand
social media provides an opportunity for efficient, cheap and fast crises communication, but from another hand
it adds additional risks that companies and organizations should deal with and plan to face.
Reputation risk is the main risk that is amplified because of social media; losing reputation presents many
threats to organizations because it may affect their competitiveness, stakeholders trust and loyalty, local
positioning, relations with media, legitimacy of business operations and even their existence.
In social media, huge amounts of communicated information is unverified, users post both true and false
information about organizations that can vary significantly from what organizations share on the public sites.9
For example customers are turning to use social media to vent their frustrations if they are unhappy with the
services or products they got or after being insulted or ignored by a company. This may impact image of the
company and may cause public crises that should be carefully managed. Social media provides a powerful tool
for consumers to complain online. This is a very important issue because customers now have the ability to
value companies' reactions through social media. If negative word-of-mouth is spread through social media,
social media users build on each other’s comments and share it with their links, and the involved entity may
lose control over the conversations and interactions among users.
13. Rumors are another risk that may impact companies, organizations and people severely if not detected and
treated fast in such an efficient way. So the social media should be always monitored to detect any issue and
resolve it before its development into a crisis.19
Recommendations
The current crises communication theories didn’t take in account social media impact on crises communication
management, social media shifted the power from formal communication to informal communication and it
shifted the control from organizations side to the public side. In addition, social media added new types of risks
on organizations as well as new opportunities. These theories should be reviewed in a way that reflects the new
opportunities and the new risks of social media to make use of the power that social media provide and
minimize its risks.
The current crises communication management good practices are limited within specific industries,
organizations, or regions. Since the world is shifting to use social media as the main source of information and
the main tool of communication regardless of geographic boarders and cultural differences, comprehensive and
international good practices should be developed to help organizations in using social media in efficient way in
crises.
Conclusion
This paper has reviewed social media in crises communication management based on some researches in this
area, it tried to provide a critical review of crisis communication theories and how all social media issues and
impacts were not covered by those theories, because the theories were set before the huge development in social
media and related technologies. In addition, this paper focused on the need for good practices in using social
media as an effective tool for crises communication, the current good practices cover crises communication in
general, developed by specific industries in limited geographic areas, and based on traditional media
communication; while social media is becoming the main source of information and main tool of
communication all over the world.
14. Based on the review it is found that the current crises communication theories need to be updated and need to
take in account the new capabilities that social media provide. Organizations should focus on considering social
media in crises communication policies and plans, but it should focus more on how to use social media in
efficient way; which means good practices should be developed in social media as a crisis communication tool;
to help organizations in adopting good and tested practices on how to use social media for crises response.
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