Most brands do not have a social media crisis plan and this is alarming. It was once said that the best laid plans of mice and men often go not as expected and that is true also to social media. Sometimes things get beyond your control and more often than not, it can get a bit ugly. Social media posts are meant to go public and others might read and interpret it as unintentional, insensitive or even misleading. With today’s social media landscape, most often, a real-life brand image crisis carries over onto social media, where it catches fire and spreads quickly. For example, Tesla can make electric cars and cutting-edge rocket technology, but they forgot to follow two-factor authentication procedures for Twitter. Luckily, they escaped without much PR damage, but examples to the contrary are far too common. The recent past is littered with brands that suffered very real damages from hacks and leaks. Steps to take:

1. Detect – Make sure that you are listening on all appropriate channels to chatter about your company. If you see something negative and is a legitimate complaint, act before it goes viral.
2. Identify – Figure out who is involved in the issue, what happened, why it happened, and how to resolve it.
3. Consider – Deal with the crisis in a timely but thoughtful manner. Make sure your response is transparent both in your apology and in your steps to resolve it.
4. Respond – responding in appropriate social media channels as well as including on non-social media channels as well.

Once you’ve developed a plan, make sure to circulate it within your organization. Everyone in marketing, PR, and sales should read it. You could even try running scenarios with your team, in order to test your preparation. With a good crisis plan in place, and the proper training, you can safely avoid any potential social media catastrophe.