Crisis Management on Social Media
These days, information (and also rumor) is being spread so
fast online. And it has been faster after the birth of social media. We find
out the things happened through social media before we read the traditional
media. Sometimes it is such a pain in the neck to the public agencies. Because
just clicking a retweet or like, the complaints and negative messages travel so
fast through the network like a skipping stone on a pond.
“Oh, look at this! A guy who talked with me on the phone
half an hour ago posted about our conversation. And he’s blaming our ministry.”
2 years ago, my staff found the negative post after he received a complaint
call. It was not a hot potato, so we just let it go at that time. But if these
people gather together and raise their voices, it will be too late. As a
result, it is becoming more and more important for public agencies to deal with
mounting complaints about government service on social media before it turns
out to be a real big trouble.
The organization often faces a dilemma between defending themselves
and admitting the truth in the case of crisis. It was easy to block the truth
from the people, and information traveled very slowly in the past. So the
organization easily got tempted to hide the truth and defend until they found either
the way to fix the problem hopefully or an acceptable excuse alternatively. However,
things have changed. The intelligence capability has been improved, and social
media is making it easy for the people who share the same interests to gather and
speak out their opinions. At the same time, they expect the government to
answer and deal with the issues immediately. If they find out that the
government hid something, it will severely damage the reputation and
credibility.
“I will deal in a different way if I face that issue again.”
Danielle Cummings, Chancellor of the Diocese of Syracuse, said in the last
guest speaker session while she was talking about the sexual abuse by priests which
happened several years ago. “Admit the truth, and not (over-)defend.” Her answer
was clear. Being overprotective of ourselves does not help solving the
problems. Speed of reaction and smart solution is also required. But transparency should be the basic
moral ethics on social media.
* For your information: 10 Tips For
Reputation And Crisis Management In The Digital World
The intelligence capability has been improved, and social media is making it easy for the people who share the same interests to gather and speak out their opinions. At the same time, they expect the government to answer and deal with the issues immediately. If they find out that the government hid something, it will severely damage the reputation and credibility. likes
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