How to Use Social Media Effectively in a Crisis

Sometimes the most unexpected things happen, and your organization might need to be prepared to use social media to effectively communicate with your audience during these times?

Organizations should plan in advance these communication efforts, and have a solid understanding of which employees are responsible for various tasks.

At #SMWNYC, Kaitlin Turck (Global Digital Engagement Advisor, U.S. Department of State) discussed some of the essential things all organizations need to be aware of when using social media in a crisis situation.

From training your team in advance and establishing partnerships with local officials, to proper language formatting and expecting certain curveballs most brands don’t even think about, crisis messaging differs from regular messaging, and you must be ready.

Further analysis and commentary from Kaitlin’s #SMWNYC talk

Yes! Avoiding abbreviations & using plain language also helps with machine translation for language access. #SMWNYC #smwcrisiscomms pic.twitter.com/6mFIBPqySE

— Jennifer MacGregor (@jmacgregor205) February 28, 2017

Bottom line: Planning matters. Because Bad things happen to good people. Great session. @StateDept #SMWNYC #SMWCrisisComms

— Oshawn Jefferson (@etwom) February 28, 2017

Have a crisis on premises? Encourage people to call home if they're safe to calm panicked friends & family. #SMWCrisisComms #SMWNYC pic.twitter.com/6AF7BVYSFU

— Lori Lawson (@L_x_3) February 28, 2017

Tip: Don't use crises to promote your own products. #SMWCrisisComms #smwnyc

— Greg Saperstein (@gregsaperstein) February 28, 2017

Use plain language, avoid lingo, crisis draws nonusers. Language needs to be clear. #SMWcrisiscomms #smwnyc

— Michael Buono (@MichaelBuono) February 28, 2017

Always best to prep your digital team on message lead, roles responsibilities, SM inventory via @TravelGov #smwcrisiscomms #digitaldiplomacy

— Bjorn Schwarzenbach (@BSchwarzenbach) February 28, 2017

Tips from @travelgov on crisis comms: keep the message focused and repeat key info; avoid unrelated posts and promos #SMWNYC #SMWCrisisComms

— PRNmedia (@PRNmedia) February 28, 2017

Tip: After crisis share analytics internally to show how your work made an impact. #SMWNYC #SMWCrisiscomms

— Eileen O'Brien (@EileenOBrien) February 28, 2017

Move your scheduled content in an emergency! It's ok to pause content. Better to acknowledge the situation. #SMWNYC #smwcrisiscomms

— Jennifer MacGregor (@jmacgregor205) February 28, 2017

Don't just know what other accounts exist, build relationships with those groups (police, ect) and your organization #SMWNYC #SMWCrisisComms

— Chris Barrows 🎙 (@CBarrows) February 28, 2017

How to prep a team in crisis: Decide roles & responsibilities. Check you can log in from multiple devices/locations. #SMWCrisisComms #smwnyc

— Greg Saperstein (@gregsaperstein) February 28, 2017

Know who is responsible for crisis messaging. Train and trust. Make sure there are internal guidelines. #SMWcrisiscomms #smwnyc

— Michael Buono (@MichaelBuono) February 28, 2017

Let people know what to expect if you are directly effected. Be an open line of communication. #SMWcrisiscomms #smwnyc

— Michael Buono (@MichaelBuono) February 28, 2017

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