Social Media Crisis Management: How To Face It 

If you want to make it big, you’ll need a social media crisis management plan. You’ve been on social media long enough to see the masses cancel celebrities left and right. Some people face cancellation for simple human error. Others may objectively deserve it.

It could just be part of growing on social media. The more exposure you receive, the more criticism you subject yourself to. Everyone you meet can’t be a fan. Some of them may follow you just to keep tabs on you. They may be waiting patiently for your downfall.

In those moments of crisis, you will need some professional help. Find someone with experience in social media and crisis management. Read for more information on why this is so important.

Collaborating With the Right Brand Is Key

Sometimes, collaborating with the wrong person can lead to a full-blown crisis. Your brand needs to know who it’s getting into bed with. You could inherit terrible PR from another brand. Imagine all your hard work to build a brand going up in flames. We can’t have that.

Checking before you collaborate on Instagram is key. But where do you look? How much can you actually research on a brand? Some secrets go very deep. Others don’t take much to discover. We will give you the best methods for uncovering information about your prospective business partner.

1. Check the Reviews Online

Luckily, people don’t gatekeep much anymore. Consumers are very open about the truth of the brands they support online. If they spend money, they have expectations. If a brand doesn’t meet those expectations, they post it online. If the product exceeds those expectations, they will rave.

You just need to know where to find these reviews. Of course, there are the usual places like Yelp or the Amazon review section. But, there are fewer traditional places as well.

Amazon and TikTok are havens for consumers who want to share their experiences with certain brands. There is also a strong urge to overshare on these social media channels. You might get far more information than you bargained for.

Find out the general perception of this brand in your target audience. If it’s a negative one, avoid it. Don’t wait for there to be a public outcry. Make the best decisions with the information you have.

2. Look in the Comment Section

The truth might be closer than you think. Look at the Instagram comment section for the brand. You might see negative comments from real customers. Some brands have a social team that removes these comments before the public sees them. So, when you find them, take a screenshot. They may not be there later.

Bad comments may not have to be a red flag. Pay attention to how the brand responds to these comments, if they respond at all. Are they dismissive? Do they tell the person to refer to their DMs for a status update on a query? Do they give the same copy-and-paste message to everyone? Decide if the responses are adequate. 

You may inherit their online reputation if you make a strong brand connection. Do you mesh well? Maybe your brand subscribes to a different consumer ethos altogether. The lack of compatibility may show up in other ways.

3. Ask Your Followers What They Think

Sometimes, all you have to do is ask. You will be promoting content to your followers. Find out what they think of your potential collaborators. You may want to find more potential followers with this collaboration. However, you have to be mindful of the ones you already have.

Don’t throw away your loyal followers for some potential new ones. This is unless you plan to change your target audience completely. 

An Instagram Poll could do the trick. The next time you upload an IG Story, use an Instagram Sticker to ask a question. You could ask followers what they think of a particular brand. Or, you could give them several brands to choose from. They can tell you their preferences.

How To Manage a Social Media Crisis as a Small Creator

Not every creator can retain a huge PR firm to devise an action plan to save their brand. Most of them have to play it by ear. Sometimes, they make the situation even worse.

Each crisis is unique. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to avoiding social media demise. You must use your judgment to determine which tips work best for your brand. Ignore what doesn’t apply and use what does. Here are three tactics that could work for you.

1. Decide Whether To Respond

Depending on the situation, no response may be the best PR move. Maybe you stand to benefit from the extra social media visibility. Did your following increase on social media? Perhaps they didn’t follow you with the best intentions. They might wait to see what you say in response to the crisis.

Use this opportunity to promote your brand. Let these people know what you have to offer. Distract them from the media storm currently engulfing your brand. They may take the bait. Some people may look past what’s happening and see that you offer great content.

This approach won’t always work. Some people may leave after the hype dies down. They only followed for the drama and didn’t get any. This is why it’s key to capitalize on the influx when possible. 

The increased engagement rate may catch Instagram’s attention. IG could start to promote your content to a wider audience. It could lead to more organic engagement and more followers. It’s risky, but it’s worth a try.

2. Pause Social Media Posting

If the situation is serious, posting on social media may be a bad idea. People could perceive it as deliberate ignorance. Some allegations are serious enough to warrant a proper response.

Think of your loyal followers. They are probably defending you in comment sections and online forums. You can’t leave them unarmed. If only for them, you should respond.

This approach could be tricky if you have brand deals on social media. You may have an obligation to post content at a specific time. Breaking contractual obligations can be fatal to your brand. It could stop brands from wanting to collaborate with you in the future.

3. Respond Quickly

Time on social media is unlike regular time. Everything moves quickly. Your response to online drama should be fairly quick as well. Of course, you might bring unnecessary attention to the issue. Some people who never knew about it will now know. But, at least they learn of your perspective first. Being first in time could give you a biased advantage in their minds.

Many gossip sites will love to spin a narrative and spread misinformation where they can. Getting ahead of the worst of it is key. 

Ballerina Farm didn’t benefit from pretending that her controversy didn’t exist. Instead, it gave the perception that she didn’t care about her reputation and loyal fans. A social media giant like this one surely had the response team to address the situation promptly.

History may show that you never had a submission in the conversation. This allows other people’s videos to be the governing truth. People will only find this content when they search for you online. 

Imagine greenscreen clips with screenshots marring your brand! You can’t let that happen if it could cost you your brand.

Social Media Crisis Management Examples

Let’s talk about how well-known brands dealt with their social media crises. You might learn something from their crisis management plan- whether that is what to do or not to do.

Dove

This household name frustrated many customers with one offensive Dove ad. A Black woman removed her brown shirt to reveal a white woman in a cream shirt. It was an ad for body wash.

The backlash online was palpable. Dove immediately removed the ad and apologized for it’s tone-deafness. It took full responsibility, acknowledging that it fully missed the mark.

People overlooked that the ad must have passed several channels before going live. It seems that most people have forgotten.

Balenciaga

Do you remember those uncomfortable images featuring children? Yes, the ones that the average person would deem disturbing and inappropriate. Thanks to social media, this fashion stalwart had much to overcome on the internet.

This controversy transcended social media. However, social media popularized Balenciaga’s images. Instagram provided a forum for people to share their thoughts on the photos.

How did the brand respond to the social media backlash? They sued the entity responsible for the photo shoot. Their approach was to blame someone else. They completely avoided responsibility.

They waited about a week to respond to the issue. Did they expect the controversy to blow over? Did they think everyone would forget? Maybe they thought their client base didn’t have a problem with the photos. Regardless of the reason, they waited too long and lost followers.

When they did respond, they used the CEO. It’s a good idea to use someone with clout to make the response. They claimed to put certain measures in place to avoid this in the future. This is a good idea as well.

Do This After Implementing Your  Social Media Crisis Management Plan

You’re on the other side of this engine explosion of a crisis. The smoke starts to clear, and you see you’ve retained a following. Now you’re nervous about how you should treat them. It’s reasonable to walk on eggshells on social media.

Here are some tips for navigating the other side of your crisis response plan:

1. Watch Your DMs and Comment Section Closely

You might be lucky enough to have vocal followers. Conduct temperature checks with them to find out what they think about your brand. They may send you full responses in your Instagram direct messages. 

Perhaps you can facilitate anonymous submissions for the shy ones. They might be more forthcoming about their perception of you. They may ask if certain rumors are true.

If you have problems getting comments and messages, you have a bigger problem. Your engagement rate is likely low. That is the biggest issue you could have after implementing your crisis management strategy.

You should attempt to heal your engagement rate as soon as possible. You may have to revamp your social media growth strategy fully. It will have to account for the recent crisis. 

Your social media response will have to be an aggressive one. Consider engaging in social outreach. Maybe you need to collaborate with a prominent brand.

2. Join an Online Forum

Think of a crisis like a weed. It starts underground first. By the time everyone can see it, it’s already too late. Try to catch rumors or drama long before they come to the surface. Find out what people have to say about your brand online.

Reddit is notorious for having the best damning information on brands. When there is a fire, the smoke likely comes from Reddit. See what people are saying there. It may take more than just Googling your brand. You may have to do extra to find the worst.

You could snuff out a potential issue long before it becomes visible. Some brands may even use these underground websites to spread positive information about a brand. This method is a great form of brand reputation management.

Plixi Can Help You Rebuild After an Instagram Crisis

Building a social media platform is hard enough. It’s even harder when you don’t have the crisis management social media brands deserve. How do you rebuild after hemorrhaging followers for weeks straight? People unfollowed you for a reason. The real-time communication from your IG page didn’t have the strong effect you wanted. Now you feel like you’re back to square one.

It might be time to call in the big guns. No, we aren’t talking about crisis managers. We’re talking about growth experts. The Plixi ones know how to get you back into the game. We have internal teams that study patterns on Instagram. 

We also have an advanced AI targeting algorithm. With all our resources, we can find you new followers. These followers will love what you produce and engage with your content because they are from your target audience. We can save the day after your social media crisis management efforts. 

Trust us with growing your online brand. Sign up with Plixi today!

Frequently Asked Questions About Crisis Management on Social Media

Are you currently having some type of crisis? Maybe you aren’t handling it well. Do you have questions about handling a social media situation like this one? You could also want preventative tips for how to avoid a crisis in the future. Hopefully, you’ll find answers to your questions below:

Why is social media crisis management important?

Social media crisis management is important because social media controls people’s perception of a brand. Maintaining a good social media reputation can help to preserve your brand’s goodwill. It can help to keep a healthy social media following even after public controversy.

What is crisis management for social media?

Crisis management for social media involves responding to negative social perceptions, aiming to preserve or protect brand reputations. It involves determining and giving effect to the best course of action to save a brand’s online perception.

How do you resolve a social media crisis?

How you resolve a social media crisis depends on the nature of the crisis. If the matter is serious, it’s best to avoid it. Some crises require a quick and public social media response. Other crises will blow over soon, overtaken by a bigger social media story. Some brands survive without any social media crisis communications.