This week’s PR Word of the Week is a little late, but it is a good one, so read on for PR Word of the Week #7.
One aspect of communications that makes some communicators shake and others put on their game face is crisis communications. Companies of all sizes and in all industries prepare for many crises: financial, natural disasters, lay offs, internal rearranges, etc. Crises can hit anytime and anywhere.
However, we tend to forget that a crisis can also hit our corporate social media accounts. Only 20 per cent of companies world wide actually have a social media crisis plan.
To be prepared for such a crisis one must understand what it is. Therefore, this week’s PR Word of the Week is dedicated to explaining the a social media crisis.
Social Media Crisis
(sōSHəlˈmēdēə. ˈkrīsis)
noun
PR Daily defines a social media crisis as stated below:
To qualify as a social media crisis, Owyang says, an event must have one of these four effects: It causes major media coverage, necessitates changes in company processes, directly causes a decrease in revenue, or results in fines from the government.
According to the report, from 2007 to 2008 the number of such social media crises doubled. Over the past three years or so, the number of occurrences has remained high.
So there you have it. Now you know what a social media crisis is.
Next steps?
You can visit any of the following articles to help you get in front of and prepare your company for any social media crises: