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To Engage or Not to Engage Social media crises and issues are multilayered and complex. Unlike incidents that play out in traditional media, each social media incident must be evaluated for its own unique risk to your organizations operations. When determining whether to respond to a social media post, first consider the following attributes:
dia activity on which the comments were published? Is the channel accessible by search? Are comments accessible through aggregators such as Google News? In short, what is the likelihood your brand will be exposed to key audiencesmedical staff, patients, neighbors, media, or other stakeholders?
Articulate policies and procedures for your response. Assign responsibilities. Identify vulnerabilities.
ered influential? To whom? Do the authors audiences appear to overlap with your stakeholders?
Viral potential: Is the comment generating discussion among the user community? Are people commenting? Reposting? Retweeting? Longevity: Is this a one-off comment, or is
Then, test those policies with scenariobased exercises (see sidebar). The scenario exercises give definition and clarity to social media (a topic that seems intangible to many who have not embraced social media firsthand) and clarify just how social media ties in to your organizations operations. When your internal audiences understand the impact, they are more likely to champion for you.
the author continually posting criticisms of (or rumors about) your organization?
Security/confidentiality: Is security-
compromising information being shared? What would be the public safety implications of replying to the comment?
Reproduced with permission from the November/December 2012 issue of Spectrum, 2012 by the Society for Healthcare Strategy and Market Development.
Legitimacy: Is there truth behind the comment(s)? Is the poster supporting his or her arguments with credible documentation? Can you easily clarify any misinformation?
Planning Your Response After considering the attributes above, discuss with your team the benefits and risks of responding to each comment. Then, discuss the most appropriate channel for response. In the most serious scenarios, you may want to take the conversation off social media and orchestrate your response through traditional media channels. If you decide to act, act promptly. Social media are instant, and users respond well to organizations that display a sense of urgency. Social media have become realtime sources of information, so prompt responses may help defuse a crisis before it builds momentum.
State a point of view or clarify misinformation, but avoid arguing your point of view. Unlike traditional reporters, social
media users have no obligation to report objectively. In fact, many of the most successful and highly regarded bloggers are very subjective and opinionated. You cant expect to change an authors point of view; you can, however, state your point of view or clarify misinformation.
Be humanexpress sympathy or empathy if appropriate. Social media users do
not respond well to polished responses that feel corporate. The tone of your response should be conversational and personal. Although social media users may be factually incorrect, their feelings are valid and should not be dismissed. Remember, expressions of concern, understanding, or sympathy are not admissions of wrongdoing. Provide a solution. When responding to an issue, problem, negative comment, or crisis, the response should always have an element of resolution. The tenets that guide a traditional media crisis response also hold true in the social media sphere. Be transparent. As with traditional media, when working with social media, it is important to be honest and forthright; avoid speculation. Be transparent in identifying the individual who is delivering the response. Social media users prefer to see
the name of the individual who is representing the organization. Never go off the record. The mantra of spokesperson trainers may be even more crucial in the world of social media. Unlike users of traditional media, social media users are not bound by a written or unwritten code of ethics, nor do users necessarily care to protect a relationship with your organization. Expect that all of your correspondenceincluding
e-mail screenshots and phone message recordingswill be posted publicly. Written by:
Christopher Lukach, APR Senior Vice President and COO Anne Klein Communications Group, LLC Mount Laurel, NJ 856.866.0411 chris@annekleincg.com www.annekleincg.com November-December 2012 | Spectrum