Robin Colner, Founder and CEO of DigiStar Media, discusses how to handle negative comments spread about your business over social networks.

1. Social Media
&
Crisis Management
iCAN –Global Entrepreneur’s Breakfast
Forum
1/15/2013
Robin Colner, Founder & CEO

2. Rapid Real Time Response
is Critical in the Social Media Age

3. Most Crises Play out in
Social Media
• At some point every brand and business will
have to handle one or more of the following
negative situations on their social media
platforms:
• 1. A rogue employee posts something
detrimental to the company.
• 2. An unhappy customer posts something
negative about their experience.
• 3. A product or service fails which often turns
into a PR crisis

4. How to Handle a Crisis in Social
Media?
Always PREPARE and Be READY
with the RIGHT Plan

5. Great Examples
And
Lessons Learned

6. United Breaks Guitars
Lesson: Train your Staff to Provide Excellent Customer
Service – Respond with an Apology IMMEDIATELY &
Don’t Throw Your Customers’ Precious Cargo

7. Domino’s Pizza – YouTube Fiasco
Lesson: Have a Social Media Policy, especially
if a franchise – View policies at
www.socialmediagovernance.com/policies.ph
p

8. Paula Deen, Home Depot,
Mountain Dew – Forgot to Be
Politically Correct
Lesson: Avoid Racial Slurs – It’s a Social
Media Hot Button – Offline mistakes
move online

9. Home Depot Apologizes and
Sacks the Agency and Employee
Lesson: Be Humble, Monitor
Creative Outputs – It is better to
be Caring than Clever

10. Mountain Dew – The Most Racist
Commercial Yet

11. Justine Sacco Gets Sacked –
Spawns #HasJustineLandedYet
Lessons: The individual will suffer –
Companies often rebound from bad
PR- Be careful of jokes on Twitter,

12. Applebee’s Firing
Creates a Firestorm
“We wish this situation hadn't
happened. Our Guests’ personal
information—including their meal
check—is private, and neither
Applebee’s nor its franchisees have a
right to share this information
publicly. We value our Guests’ trust
above all else. Our franchisee has
apologized to the Guest and has
taken disciplinary action with the
Team Member for violating their
Guest’s right to privacy.”
Lesson: Have all Employees Sign a
Social Media Policy Agreement and
Explain it!

13. JPMorgan - #AskJPM Backfires
Lesson: Companies should avoid open
Q & As, leave them to the President
and Celebrities

14. Burger King Gets Hacked
Lesson: Protect your
Passwords, Monitor and
Supervise Social
Platforms – ALWAYSHootsuite
Google Alerts,
Talkwalker,
en.Mention.net

15. Red Cross Response Hits the
Funny Bone
“Ryan found two more 4 bottle packs of Dogfish Head’s Midas Touch
beer… when we drink we do it right #gettngslizzerd”
Lessons: Use
Humor Carefully
When
Appropriate to
diffuse the
backlash and if no
one was hurt
Always Respond
Quickly and
Apologize

16. The Epicurious Breakfast Flop
Lesson: Never Newsjack a Tragedy w/
Brand Promotions – Avoid Canned
Responses a Regret is not an apology

17. Uber – A Surcharge Lesson
Lesson: Prepare for Criticism in Advance
by Early Messaging and Web Disclaimers

18. SouthWest Airlines – Fl.345 Nose
Dives at LGA – SWA Responds
w/in Minutes
Lessons: Rapid
Response & Honest
Communication Helps
a Brand Control the
Story
Fans will come to
your defense
Turn a negative to a
positive

19. Build a Community of Brand
Advocates on Social Media Platforms
so They Will Defend You
“The Best Time to Fix the Roof is When the Sun is
Shining.” J.F.K.
Pay it Forward and Pay it Back – Quid Pro Quo is
key
Follow the 90/10 Rule of self-promotion
Always Thank, Retweet and Comment to your
Fans, Followers and Partners – Be Proactive
Identify and Build Relationships with Influencers
Create Fan Appreciation Campaigns

20. West Jet Airlines Plays
Santa

21. Best Practices for Social Media
Crisis Management – PREPARE
P – Plan Ahead with a Crisis Mgmt. Strategy
R – Respond Rapidly – Put lawyers on speed dial
E – Empathize w/detractors – Don’t Criticize or Act
Defensive
P – Proactively establish a social media policy that
employees sign and know consequences
A – Avoid politically incorrect, racial references
R – Resolve issues sensitively and give people a place to find
out info
E – Engage critics to show authentic concern but take
individual issues offline ASAP

22. The RIGHT Plan
R – React Responsively in Real-Time & in Stages
I – Investigate (Listen & Monitor) to Identify
Influencers, Analyze Sentiment and Implement
Appropriate Action
G – Go Offline to Resolve Complaints – Never
Delete Posts w/ Complaints
H - Humble and Honest reactions
T - Train your employees to prevent and contain a
crisis and help Social Media Generate Positive
Outcomes

23. Thank you!

24. Thank you for Connecting with
Robin Colner & DigiStar Media
RColner@DigiStarMedia.com
DigiStar Media
@RobinColner
Personal: RobinColner
Company Page: DigiStar Media
 Website:
www.DigiStarMedia.com
 Blog:
www.DigiSmartBlog.com