Social media is essential to many businesses. In some it is
pivotal. It boosts recognition, attracts clients and promotes
sales. But it can also spread negative information quickly and
create a social media crisis for these same businesses. Failing to
address a crisis early can lead to catastrophic results. This
article discusses a hypothetical social media crisis and the value
of early and bold steps to manage it.
- Definition of a social media crisis
A social media crisis can be purposeful or
accidental, but when it occurs, can be unexpected, destructive, and
hard to control. It can place the underlying business in
jeopardy.
How does the crisis arise?
A business must constantly be alert to issues that could damage
its reputation: product recalls, health or injury, a safety or
environmental incident, customer conflict, labour dispute, security
breach, lawsuits and more.
