Social media has become the most used and active channel of communication. Therefore, organizations are incorporating socia media in their crisis management plan. Organizations are now using social media to communicate in a more effective and fast way with customers about their business operations as well as responding to queries (Apuke et al., 2018; Civelek et al., 2016). However, despite the evident benefits of social media, it has also resulted in the fast spread of negative communication. Organizational reputation is directly related to financial achievement. Therefore, although social media might be beneficial in crisis management, it can contribute to the escalation of a crisis due to its ability to spread negative comments rapidly, and the provision of a platform for many people to share their opinion (Apuke et al., 2018). Organizations can use social media for reputation rebuilding and repair, to prove a statement, and dispel rumors and share massages of fact. Many procedures, including resolving issues by contacting the source, triggering the takedown procedures, deleting entries, and taking legal action, among others, can be used to solve issues of negative consumer posting.
Social media is an important tool for crisis communication. It facilitates immediate and efficient communication with stakeholders and the public to reduces the potentially bad consequences immediately (Apuke et al., 2018). Organizations can use social media to help in protecting reputation and minimizing social media-related risks. Organizations are able to monitor social media issues in their early stages, and thus effectively protecting their reputation. Also, in cases where negative comments that can injure the reputation of an organization have been made, organizations can take a faster response to resolve the issue (Derani et al., 2016). Furthermore, social media has change mass broadcasting initiatives that were previously based on traditional media. Therefore, when an organization posts a message on social media, these messages can reach a wider population as compared to the traditional media channel. Therefore, an organization can effectively share messages of facts to help reduce the effect of harmful rumors on its operation. Thus, social media can serve as an effective tool in crisis management as it provides a quicker channel of communication and a wider audience, which makes it favorable in the spread of messages of facts, dispelling rumors, and reputation repair.
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Measures to Address the Negative Comments
One of the common sources of negative comments is badmouthing. Badmouthing involves customers spreading negative publicity in the form of negative word of mouth, through their personal social media accounts, after poor services, without making any contact with the organization (Ollqvist, 2015). This is a complex case for organizations to deal with since they have no control over the message being communicated or the situation since they are not provided with a chance to rectify their mistakes. This is a sign that the customers spreading the negative information are not interested in correcting the problem, but are only motivated to cause problems for these organizations (Ollqvist, 2015). Organizations were forced to make contact with customers. The first step towards addressing the situation was identifying individuals responsible for badmouthing, followed by contacting these individuals publicly. In cases where the organizations were wrong, they acknowledged the problem and then tried to resolve the issue privately through discussion and negotiation. The organizations made it clear that they were unaware of the problem as a way of showing their good intention (Ollqvist, 2015). The matters were resolved by posting on social media about the outcome of the negotiation, irrespective of whether the results were positive or negative. In instances where customers responsible for badmouthing were wrong or unreasonable, organizations did not give in to their demands.
Some organizations initiated the takedown procedure as a way of dealing with negative comments. However, taking down these comments was not a permanent solution since these customers could still make more comments (Ollqvist, 2015). Besides, taking down comments does not guarantee that copies regarding the subject will not be published. Therefore, when takedown procedures were triggered, organizations opted to combine it with legal actions. There are instances where legal actions were necessary to facilitate the identification of anonymous individuals who were responsible for online attacks (Ollqvist, 2015). Sometimes, the only effective response, particularly in damaging and malicious attacks, may be legal action. Although some organizations opted to take legal actions against online users that were responsible for the negative comments, this response is not plausible, especially since negative publicity on social media happens quite frequently, and one cannot take legal action against every person.
Deleting entries was another option used by organizations to address the negative publicity on social media. However, this is not an advisable option. Since such actions will always be noticed by customers, there is a risk of causing customers to voice their opinions on other platforms (Ollqvist, 2015). And, since companies will not be able to have control over posting on other platforms, the situation is bound to escalate. Users on social media may also feel that their freedom of speech was challenged, which may lead to an uproar. Since there are no clear rules established to dictate what content about companies and brands are offensive or derogatory, companies should delete comments sparingly.
Recommendation for Better Crisis Communication
Social media has a huge impact on crisis communication management, with these platforms shifting the power from formal communication to informal communication. In addition, the growing popularity of social media has shifted the control of information from the organizations’ side to the public side. Furthermore, social media has resulted in the development of new risks in organizations. Therefore, organizations are encouraged to harness social media to share information in order to avoid tainting organizations’ reputation through negative feedback, as a result of communication breakdown (Derani et al., 2016). Crisis management teams should consider adopting social media as a tool for sharing information, clarifying rumors, and repairing reputation. However, for organizations to effectively adopt social media in crisis management, the following recommendation ought to be put into action:
Select the right platforms : Organizations should investigate the available options and select the most effective forum depending on the message to be conveyed and the target audience (Ollqvist, 2015). With many options, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and many others, the research by the crisis management team must be thorough.
Integrate media plans : Organizations need to integrate their conventional media and social media communication to ensure uniformity in the presentation of the corporate image.
Have clear instructions : Organizations must make clear procedures and differentiation of actions that require approval and those that immediate actions can be taken by employees in compliance with other requirements (Ollqvist, 2015).
Be categorical on who is responsible for social media activity : For the purpose of accountability, specific individuals should be given the responsibility of managing social media platforms (Ollqvist, 2015). These individuals should be aware of their ultimate responsibility to ensure a clear presentation of company messages and facts and the protection of organizational reputation.
In conclusion, effective communication during a crisis is paramount to ensuring that organizations maintain their positive image. With the development of social media, the spread of information is rapid, posing a threat to organizational reputation. The incorporation of social media in crisis management can facilitate quicker communication to relevant stakeholders during a crisis, help dispel harmful rumors, and aid in the repair of reputation. In the event of negative communication, organizations can choose to respond through various techniques, including having a private negotiation with the responsible customer, triggering the takedown procedures, deleting entries, and taking legal actions. For effective utilization of social media in crisis management, organizations need to select the right platforms, integrate their media plans, have clear instructions, and be clear on individuals responsible for the management of social media.
References
Apuke, O. D., & Tunca, E. A. (2018). Social media and crisis management: a review and analysis of existing studies. LAÜ Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi , 9 (2), 199-215.
Civelek, M. E., Çemberci, M., & Eralp, N. E. (2016). The role of social media in crisis communication and crisis management. International Journal of Research in Business & Social Science , 5 (3).
Derani, N. E. S., & Naidu, P. (2016). The impact of utilizing social media as a communication platform during a crisis within the oil industry. Procedia Economics and Finance , 35 , 650-658.
Ollqvist, H. (2015). Dealing with Negative Publicity in Social Media (Master's thesis, Hanken School of Economics).
