Social media crises –The good, the bad and the ugly

…and why the same old rules apply

Sophie Blue

Founder & Director, Blue Planet PR

Lecturer (Communications & PR),

Raffles College of Design and Commerce & UTS

@BluePlanet_PR

SophieBlue

BluePlanetPR

United Breaks Guitars – Original version

Bodyform – it began with a Facebook post…

Bodyform resonds: The Truth

In the thick of it…

• Everything happens at lightning speed

• Audiences demand total transparency

• Dialogue is just as important as message

transparency

• Brand detractors are well-deployed,

have the same tools and don’t rest

The First 24 Hours

How to prepare?

‘In peace prepare for war,

in war prepare for peace’

- Sun Tzu

Rules of thumb…• Be timely: respond quickly, but be careful

• Don’t get angry or sarcastic

• Be attentive and show empathy

• Show insight: identify the real issue

• Manage expectations on timings and outcomes,

both internally and externally

• Work with the right teams in the right areas

• Have the right people on the job – not interns

• Be authentic – protect the brand, but be human

The old rules still apply

Blue Planet PR & Social Simulator• The Social Simulator is a secure, web-based, crisis simulation

platform supported by real-life social media role-players

How a Social Simulator exercise works…

Preparation

• We work with you to design an

appropriate scenario.

• We develop the run-sheet,

messages, images and other

simulation content.

• We prepare mock pages in

Social Simulator representing

your site, news sites and

Facebook pages.

• We develop the community

personas that engage your staff

during the simulation.

Operation

• The simulation is held in your office,

or run online with staff at many

locations.

• Typically runs for 3-6 hours, with up to

20 of your staff taking on crisis team

roles.

• Our staff play community personas,

challenging your staff to respond.

• A debriefing session follows each

simulation, with a subsequent

activity report.

The crisis hits the fan…

Example runsheet

Social Simulator integrates

feedback & analysis• Immediate feedback at the end of the

exercise on strategy, process and messaging

• Optional follow-up analysis based on

simulator reports of tweets, emails, comments,

statements

• Identification of areas to work on through

training, planning and further simulations

• Potential for follow up social media training

and support

• Cut down version available – Crisis90

Thank youSophie Blue - Director, Blue Planet PR

Sophie.blue@blueplanetpr.com.au