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By Kim McLaughlin
Developing a social media plan without an issues management plan is like driving a car without insurance. It’s a bad idea.
When we communicate online, particularly through social media networks, we take a risk. This is an unavoidable fact – one that scares off many SMEs from getting online at all. It’s also a fact that sometimes, social media screw ups can tarnish your brand if you’re not 100% prepared.
An issues management plan should account for as many possibilities as your team can think of. Try to think of smaller issues like general criticism or larger issues like complaints that go viral or online spats.
A comprehensive issues management plan should cover the technical steps you’ll take to respond e.g. move the conversation to direct messaging, issue an apology on facebook, etc., and outline the key messages you’ll use to respond.
For example, on February 2nd, Kenneth Cole made a huge faux pas on twitter:
Within a few hours, the tweet had been retweeted around the world and the community was appalled at this flagrant insensitivity to the protests in Egypt. The twitterstorm spilled over to the Kenneth Cole facebook page where people had more room to tell the company what they really thought about Kenneth’s inappropriate comment. Two hours later, Kenneth Cole posted this on Twitter:
“Re Egypt tweet: we weren’t intending to make light of a serious situation. We understand the sensitivity of this historic moment -KC”
Followed by:
Finally, Kenneth’s apology on facebook read:
“I apologize to everyone who was offended by my insensitive tweet about the situation in Egypt. I’ve dedicated my life to raising awareness about serious social issues, and in hindsight my attempt at humor regarding a nation liberating themselves against oppression was poorly timed and absolutely inappropriate.” – Kenneth Cole, Chairman and Chief Creative Office
Kenneth’s Cole immediate apology on Twitter was good. Quickly moving the conversation off Twitter and on to Facebook was a great move. But the KC team didn’t think the message through. A true issue management plan would have made sure that the apology did a few things:
- Separated Kenneth’s stupid comment from the brand with a hearty mea culpa. e.g.: I take full responsibility for my comments and they are not a reflection of the wonderful people who work for Kenneth Cole…etc.
- Allowed for a stronger apology. e.g. “I apologize to everyone who was offended” sounds weak. He should have apologized to everyone. Period.
- Omitted the pat-on-the-back reminder of how he’s dedicated his life to…blah blah blah.
It’s interesting that Kenneth Cole’s social media team didn’t post another tweet until February 15th. Taking a little time to regroup perhaps? Let’s hope they came up with some better messaging to protect their brand online.
Now chances are, any mistake you make online won’t generate the kind of attention Kenneth Cole did in February. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be 100% prepared.
If you’ve decided to implement an online strategy, it’s time to pull out the old-school issues management binder and write your step-by-step plan and key messages for dealing with anything that can happen on social media.
Kim McLaughlin is a social media strategist and owner of Lyra Communications. To find out more about Kim,continue to her website. |
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