When An Innocent Post Turns Into A Social Media Crisis

Advantages

Social media lets you tell potential clients about your product or services, often on several platforms at the same time. You can show them the beauty and range of your catering offerings with a few photos. Your blog posts can quickly establish you as a thought leader (a term I think is more descriptive than “influencer”) in your field. If your service demands detailed explanation, it’s easy today to throw a short video on the web, to draw eyes and clients.

Disadvantages

The big downside to social media? All those eyes mean a greater chance of drawing the attention of critics. And if something you post or a difficulty your company causes is serious enough, you don’t have a problem on your hands. You have a crisis.

It happens. It’s scary but not terminal.

Sadly, it’s become all too common for big companies and small to walk smack into a social media crisis. Your auto mechanic shop makes a small customer service mistake with someone who’s having a bad day, and their complaint on Facebook turns into an avalanche of bitter posts about your shoddy or insensitive company.

Or your seemingly innocent Twitter post sparks offense in one person, and in a few hours, 10,000 people are set on social media fire. At Christmas time a few years ago, The UPS Store told its Twitter followers that it offers shredding services, in case “your child addresses a letter to the North Pole.” Not much “ho ho ho” there. Indignant adults mobilized. One respondent replied, "Why not just punch the little kid in the face, while yelling "there is no such thing as Santa?" It took a day for The UPS Store to delete its tweet.

Management to the Rescue

That’s an important value of hiring someone to manage your social media. A skilled manager will establish a solid understanding of your company and the voice it wants to project at the outset of your relationship. They know by experience where “funny” or “snarky” crosses the line into “Scrooge” or “offensive.” If your quiet afternoon is interrupted by a sudden firestorm of angry posts on your Facebook page, they know how to put out the fire. And then how to repair the damage so you can’t even smell any smoke!

A social media crisis is an uncomfortable place in which to find yourself, your employees and your business. It’s worth at least talking with a pro, to find out the level of your vulnerabilities.

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