Social Media Crisis Management and Crisis Communication
1. B E R N S T E I N C R I S I S M A N A G E M E N T
2. SOCIAL MEDIA FACTS
Facebook tops Google for weekly traffic in the U.S.
One in five divorces are blamed on Facebook.
If Facebook was a country, it would be the world’s third largest.
An Egyptian couple actually named their daughter “Facebook” thanks
to the network’s role in the spring revolution.
Frito-Lay set a World Record with 1,575,161 Facebook likes in 24 hours
on April 11 2011
There are more Facebook users than cars (800 million vs. 750 million)
Auto-posting to Facebook decreases likes and comments by 70%
Over 75 million more people played Farmville than there were real
farmers in 2011.
Roughly two new members join LinkedIn every second.
B E R N S T E I N C R I S I S M A N A G E M E N T
3. SOCIAL MEDIA FACTS
YouTube is the second largest search engine in the world.
More video is uploaded to YouTube in 60 days than the 3 major US
networks created in 60 years
40% of companies admit to having no training or governance of social
media
57% of people talk to people more online than they do in real life
Half of all mobile shoppers share their experience on social networks.
The average number of iPhones sold per day is higher than the number
of people born each day. (402k vs. 300k)
Of the 6 billion people on the planet, 4.8 billion are estimated to have a
mobile phone, while only 4.2 billion own a toothbrush.
Social media has officially overtaken pornography as the number one
search item on the web.
B E R N S T E I N C R I S I S M A N A G E M E N T
4. SOCIAL MEDIA SITES
Top Dogs:
1. Facebook – 750,000 unique monthly visitors
2. Twitter – 250,000,000
3. LinkedIn – 110,000,000
4. MySpace – 70,500,000
5. Yelp – 66,000,000
6. Google+ - 65,000,000
Ones To Watch:
1. Reddit – Keep an eye on this in 2012
2. Pinterest
B E R N S T E I N C R I S I S M A N A G E M E N T
5. SOCIAL MEDIA &
EMERGENCY COMMUNICATION
Social media is the ideal platform for crisis communications .
Proven to work under intense conditions in recent years – earthquakes in Haiti &
Japan, mass flooding in Thailand, tornados in the U.S., crime fighting in Kenya,
Middle East “Twitter revolution”
Aided by pervasiveness of cell phones
“Crowdsourcing” (ex. Ushahidi) integrates and maps crisis data.
Can be used for internal communication/coordination. ex: tracking and
coordinating return of salespeople after a major natural disaster
Internal forums and automated text systems allow employees to stay informed
during crises, even when phone lines are jammed/inoperable.
Social media and company pages allow stakeholders to stay informed as well.
B E R N S T E I N C R I S I S M A N A G E M E N T
6. REPUTATION IS EVERYTHING
Just 14% of consumers trust advertisements
90% of consumers trust peer recommendations.
Nearly 4 in 5 consumers stated they have decided against buying a product or service after reading negative
reviews online.
Establish a social media presence
Schedule monitoring & alerts
Foster positive sentiment
Respond to as many inquiries/mentions as possible.
Create interaction/incentives for your stakeholders, top reasons to visit brands on social media are:
humor, personal connections, special offers, and useful information.
Detect negative sentiment?
If you spot trouble, first a public holding message, then a public resolution. Turn negative to
positive.
You don’t necessarily HAVE to respond. Avoid engaging with unwarranted anger/trolls unless others
echo.
May require redirect to other platforms, ie. Twitter links to company blog.
B E R N S T E I N C R I S I S M A N A G E M E N T
7. SOCIAL MEDIA CRISIS MANAGEMENT CASE STUDY:
SEE SOME SIMILARITIES?
B E R N S T E I N C R I S I S M A N A G E M E N T
8. B E R N S T E I N C R I S I S M A N A G E M E N T
9. B E R N S T E I N C R I S I S M A N A G E M E N T
10. B E R N S T E I N C R I S I S M A N A G E M E N T
11. B E R N S T E I N C R I S I S M A N A G E M E N T
12. CLAIRE’S BUNGLED SOCIAL MEDIA
CRISIS MANAGEMENT
Case Study: Claire’s v. Tatty Devine
Last year, Claire’s faced criticism for allegedly copying a Laura Figel
design
Feb 22, UK jewelry maker Tatty Devine posted images to its blog
showing extreme similarities between its own designs and that of
Claire’s.
T.D. closed comments after 200 outraged posts appeared. More than
2,000 tweets linking the post went out on Day One, most with #Claires
hashtags attached.
Conversation moves on to Claire’s Facebook page
Claire’s deletes posts and bans users from its Facebook page
B E R N S T E I N C R I S I S M A N A G E M E N T
13. CLAIRE’S BUNGLED SOCIAL MEDIA
CRISIS MANAGEMENT
Claire’s finally responds after nearly 48 hours with this Facebook post:
"Claire's Stores, Inc. is a responsible company that employs designers,
product developers and buyers, and works with many suppliers to
provide innovative collections that bring customers all the latest
fashion trends. As such, we take any allegations of wrong doing
seriously. We are looking into the matters raised.“
Sample typical Claire’s post:
This spring break, stay fierce—even while on-the-go—with our purr-fect
little Leopard Contact Lens Case. What are your travel must-haves?
B E R N S T E I N C R I S I S M A N A G E M E N T
14. CLAIRE’S BUNGLED SOCIAL MEDIA
CRISIS MANAGEMENT
What Claire’s should have done:
Put a human face on the company.
Find your most camera-friendly exec and let them issue the apology via
YouTube.
Embed the video on your company blog with an accompanying post, link
from any relevant pages, and publicize on all social media accounts.
Apologize. NOT admit guilt, apologize.
“We were as surprised as anyone to see the similarities between our
designs and those of an independent designer. All of us at Claire’s would
like to apologize for the confusion, and once we get to the bottom of the
situation, we’ll be happy to share more information.”
Actively & intensely monitor social media channels. Reply with links to
official statements, clarify & correct misinformation ASAP.
“In the absence of communication, rumor and innuendo fill the gap”
B E R N S T E I N C R I S I S M A N A G E M E N T