Brands need to have a vibrant and active social media presence today. That\u2019s just a fact of doing business in the modern world. However, being on social media comes with both benefits and dangers. The latter includes direct, continual contact with fans and customers. The opportunity to engage, to solve problems, and to influence the narrative about and around the brand in the consumer public.<\/p>\n
However, when mistakes are made, all of those benefits can act against the brand, amplifying a momentary lapse and creating a monumental PR crisis. When that happens, the issue should be dealt with carefully and directly\u2026 But what comes next? Let\u2019s take a look at how brands should use the tools available on social media to mitigate a PR crisis and move forward to re-establish the brand\u2019s reputation.<\/p>\n
Begin by accepting responsibility where appropriate. People online will blame the brand, whether or not decision makers accept responsibility. It\u2019s infinitely better to stand up and admit where things went wrong, either personally or corporately. That doesn\u2019t mean pandering. There\u2019s often no need to take the blame for something that isn\u2019t the brand\u2019s direct responsibility, but it\u2019s always a good look to be seen taking leadership of a crisis response.<\/p>\n
Once the brand has proactively taken a leadership role in the mitigation of the crisis, decision makers should determine what measures could be taken to prevent similar crises in the future. This action tells the consumer public that the brand is interested in making positive long-term changes, rather than simply placating upset people in the moment.<\/p>\n
Whether it\u2019s a major issue such as a security breach or a serious crime, something relatively minor, like an employee personally saying something inappropriate online, or anything in between, when a brand announces that it is taking responsibility while also implementing preventative steps, this communicates that the brand\u2019s decision makers take the issue seriously enough to suspend business as usual and properly address the problem.<\/p>\n
From there, it\u2019s important that the company understands their short-term customer relationship cannot be business as usual. Depending on the severity of the PR crisis, it could take some significant action to woo customers and fans back into the proverbial trust circle. For retail brands, this might include special offers, new discounts, and a more proactive customer service process that shows customers they\u2019re appreciated and important.<\/p>\n
For both retail and other organizations, another important facet of repairing relationships after a PR crisis is to raise the perception of the brand in the minds of key audiences. A message that says something along the lines of, \u201cYes, we messed up, but that\u2019s not us. This is what we\u2019re really all about\u2026\u201d can go a long way toward repairing the perception of the company. This could mean content showing community involvement, investment in causes important to the target audience, or a full-on positive brand reputation campaign. Or it could be some or all of these.<\/p>\n
The goal with all of these actions is to reset the brand\u2019s reputation in a way that makes other aspects of what it does more important and more front-of-mind than the mistake. This process may take many forms, but it\u2019s up to the brand communicators to craft the narrative, make it connective, and keep it relevant to the right audiences.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Brands need to have a vibrant and active social media presence today. That\u2019s just a fact of doing business in the modern world. However, being on social media comes with …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":5048,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,63,131],"tags":[116,250,53,48,206,133,204,251],"yoast_head":"\r\n