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Andy’s Answers: How brands use social media for crisis management

2 min read

By Andy Sernovitz 05/26/16

Brands & Campaigns

For Debbie Curtis-Magley, Director of SAP Cross-Cloud Social and Community at Ariba, social channels are great tools for handling company crises. While most brands define social media ROI as “return on investment,” some see it as “rescue of image.”

In her presentation at SocialMedia.org’s Brands-Only Summit, Debbie discusses three different crisis management scenarios in which social media can help.

Here is a quick breakdown:

  • Critical crises: Debbie explains that the social media team will most likely be the first to see an issue come up. It’s their job to alert PR, who will act as the company’s main voice.
  • Employee misbehavior: Debbie shares the steps for using social to handle these situations: Team members acknowledge the issue, provide the relevant contact information, and listen to feedback.
  • Customer chaos: When customer emotions run high, it’s best to prevent any kind of engagement that could tip them overboard. Debbie warns to avoid humor and stay clear of trolls. She says when you try to engage with a malicious audience, it allows them to dominate the conversation.

For more details, check out Debbie’s full presentation in the video below.

You can also download Debbie’s slide presentation.

Want to see more social media case studies like these? If you’re a social media leader at a big brand, we’d love to have you at our next Brands-Only Summit in Orlando, Oct. 27 to 29.