Preparation for a Social Media Disaster

Ever posted anything that you regretted out in front of the whole world on social media? You may need to restrict yourself to robot-like discipline to keep you from making mistakes. In this generation it’s interesting to be authentic, yet it’s so risky!  The things you post on social media can be potentially disastrous. Companies are also at fault for posting something of great embarrassment.  It’s important to think of pre-crisis preparations like setting up social media policies and crisis communications plan.

The following are ways to address regrettable Facebook or Twitter posts:

Don’t have a knee-jerk reaction: don’t act on impulse, instead think of a well thought out response rather than a quick knee-jerk response. Many times businesses are not prepared to handle a social media mistake as there are many. Companies may not respond to the situation quick enough. But, it is essential that a company takes a moment to carefully deliver a message to respond to the community.

Don’t hide the mistake: companies should never act as if they didn’t make a mistake. If you social media manager posted an offensive tweet or post, it’s the responsible thing to accept it. Its damage control to delete the comment or post but it’s essential to react to the post and apologize for it.

Rebuild you image: the brand/image of a company can survive a social media disaster, however, it will take time to rebuild the company’s reputation.

Social media is a valuable resource for marketing your business. Unlike many traditional marketing channels, Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and many others allows you to communicate to your customers in real time. The downside is the instant connection with consumers that creates a greater risk but, with the above mentioned ways you are prepared to damage control your brand.

What brands have done a phenomenal job in rebuilding their brand from a social media setback?