The document outlines best practices for handling negative social media responses and crises during events. It discusses preparing for potential issues, assembling a crisis response team, monitoring events online, determining when to respond, providing positive content, recruiting influencers, involving content leaders, being transparent, and remaining calm in crisis situations. Several crisis scenarios are presented along with recommendations for how to address them according to the best practices.
1. Social Media Flash Crisis: Best Practices for Handling Negative Comments, Posts and Opinions Presented by Adele Cehrs Epic PR Group
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13. Crisis Scenario #1 A national association of health and nutrition professionals has scheduled its annual conference in Miami, right in the middle of hurricane season. The day before the conference, the National Weather Service announces an impending tropical storm. Attendees are posting their questions on Facebook about how the weather will impact the conference. The association leaders are dragging their feet to make a decision about whether to reschedule the conference or not, but attendees are demanding answers. What do you do?
14. Twist #1 Twist: Thankfully a hurricane did not reach Miami or your event site. However, the inclement weather did affect the majority of the attendees travel schedule and over half missed the welcome reception the opening night. Attendees are upset and want their money back.
15. Crisis Scenario #2 A national organization for the nonprofit community is holding its annual meeting with record-high attendance. The meeting boasts engaging, highly educational sessions, but one speakers, a vendor who has the largest attendance of all the sessions, structures his presentation as a sales pitch for his services. Attendees immediately tweet their frustration and boredom. One attendee even questions the organization’s standards for accepting speaker and says he should get a refund. What do you do?
16. Twist #2 Twist: Did we mention this presentation has been given by a high-profile sponsor who has the ear of your boss? He is scheduled to speak again at the conference with the same presentation topic later that day. Worst of all -- he has posted his feelings about how he was treated to your listserv after his first session.
17. Crisis Scenario #3 Day one of a medical-supply convention is complete. You have a contract with a local hotel to offer discounted rates to attendees. One attendee discovers bed bugs in their hotel room. One particularly frustrated attendee posts negative feedback on the convention’s Facebook page calling the hotel “low class” and having “poor customer service”. Other attendees immediately post comments in agreement. What do you do?
18. Twist #3 Twist: The one person with the hotel room with bed bugs takes a picture of her mattress and sends other attendees into a panic. They start to openly saying they will never attend another convention b/c of these issues. Additionally, the hotel staff has not responded to the guest’s concerns. The photos have been posted to Facebook (on the event page) with a caption that says, “I hate this &X*# hotel”.
19. Crisis Scenario #4 The National Technology Geek Council is trying a new technique by live streaming tweets. The tweets are showing up automatically behind the presenter as they are speaking. What do you do?
20. Twist #4 Twist: The speaker is not very articulate. He does not know about the negative tweets that are being posted by the attendees behind him. Once he sees them, he stops his presentation and becomes unable to continue his session.
21. Crisis Scenario #5 You are in charge of events at a luxury property located in the United States. Your property has received some negative reviews on Trip Advisor that you are unaware of. You book a large meeting with 300 attendees who are concerned about the reviews. What do you do?
22. Twist #5 Twist: One of your junior staff members (an intern) has posted replies that are “less than savory.” This is a reflection of your facility – how do you correct it and respond to it?
23. Response flow chart Event Occurs Is this a crisis? Yes No Assemble Crisis Response Team Monitor Online Chatter Respond or not Respond? No Determine Type of Response Yes Respond to individual needs directly Provide Positive Digital Content Recruit Fans and Content Leaders Be Transparent
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25. Thank You! Adele Cehrs 105 N Washington St, Suite 202 Alexandria, VA 22314 www.epicprgroup.com Facebook/Twitter : EpicPRGroupDC
Notas del editor
Response: Even if the board has not yet made a decision regarding whether or not to hold the event, it is important to keep attendees up to date. A posting on the conference website and Facebook pages is important. An email alert to registered attendees would also be reccommended. A suggested response would be: We are currently monitoring the weather forecasts for the Miami area, and will make a decision regarding whether or not to host the XYZ conference shortly. As soon as a decision is made, we will contact registered attendees via email. Additional information will also be available on the conference website. We appreciate your patience and understanding regarding this issue.
Response: Even if the board has not yet made a decision regarding whether or not to hold the event, it is important to keep attendees up to date. A posting on the conference website and Facebook pages is important. An email alert to registered attendees would also be reccommended. A suggested response would be: We are currently monitoring the weather forecasts for the Miami area, and will make a decision regarding whether or not to host the XYZ conference shortly. As soon as a decision is made, we will contact registered attendees via email. Additional information will also be available on the conference website. We appreciate your patience and understanding regarding this issue.
It is important to provide a response to these negative comments as soon as possible. Suggested response: At XYZ event management, we make every effort to provide attendees with the highest quality, educational experience. We appreciate any and all speaker feedback in regards to content, effectiveness and overall presentation . This information is vital in our evaluation process. We apologize if a specific speaker did not meet your expectations and will take this into consideration for future speaking events.
Response: Even if the board has not yet made a decision regarding whether or not to hold the event, it is important to keep attendees up to date. A posting on the conference website and Facebook pages is important. An email alert to registered attendees would also be reccommended. A suggested response would be: We are currently monitoring the weather forecasts for the Miami area, and will make a decision regarding whether or not to host the XYZ conference shortly. As soon as a decision is made, we will contact registered attendees via email. Additional information will also be available on the conference website. We appreciate your patience and understanding regarding this issue.
Suggested Response: First, have someone on staff immediately contact hotel management to see if and/or what they are willing to do to compensate guests for their inconvenience. Second, it is important to immediately reach out to those individuals who posted negative complaints individually. This should be done in person or via phone, NOT on Facebook. Reassure them that you are aware of the issue, but while these are circumstances beyond your control, you are working with hotel management to see if some sort of restitution can be made. While you cannot guarantee any specific outcome, you are sorry for the inconvenience and will do everything you can to work with the hotel. On Facebook page, quickly respond to the complaints by posting a general response. Suggestion: XYZ management is aware of the situation regarding the hotel fire alarm. We are working with hotel management to address this issue and apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. As soon as we have additional information regarding the hotel’s position on this matter, we will let you know. Once again we apologize for any issues this may have caused.
Response: Even if the board has not yet made a decision regarding whether or not to hold the event, it is important to keep attendees up to date. A posting on the conference website and Facebook pages is important. An email alert to registered attendees would also be reccommended. A suggested response would be: We are currently monitoring the weather forecasts for the Miami area, and will make a decision regarding whether or not to host the XYZ conference shortly. As soon as a decision is made, we will contact registered attendees via email. Additional information will also be available on the conference website. We appreciate your patience and understanding regarding this issue.
Response: Even if the board has not yet made a decision regarding whether or not to hold the event, it is important to keep attendees up to date. A posting on the conference website and Facebook pages is important. An email alert to registered attendees would also be reccommended. A suggested response would be: We are currently monitoring the weather forecasts for the Miami area, and will make a decision regarding whether or not to host the XYZ conference shortly. As soon as a decision is made, we will contact registered attendees via email. Additional information will also be available on the conference website. We appreciate your patience and understanding regarding this issue.
Response: Even if the board has not yet made a decision regarding whether or not to hold the event, it is important to keep attendees up to date. A posting on the conference website and Facebook pages is important. An email alert to registered attendees would also be reccommended. A suggested response would be: We are currently monitoring the weather forecasts for the Miami area, and will make a decision regarding whether or not to host the XYZ conference shortly. As soon as a decision is made, we will contact registered attendees via email. Additional information will also be available on the conference website. We appreciate your patience and understanding regarding this issue.
Response: Even if the board has not yet made a decision regarding whether or not to hold the event, it is important to keep attendees up to date. A posting on the conference website and Facebook pages is important. An email alert to registered attendees would also be reccommended. A suggested response would be: We are currently monitoring the weather forecasts for the Miami area, and will make a decision regarding whether or not to host the XYZ conference shortly. As soon as a decision is made, we will contact registered attendees via email. Additional information will also be available on the conference website. We appreciate your patience and understanding regarding this issue.
Response: Even if the board has not yet made a decision regarding whether or not to hold the event, it is important to keep attendees up to date. A posting on the conference website and Facebook pages is important. An email alert to registered attendees would also be reccommended. A suggested response would be: We are currently monitoring the weather forecasts for the Miami area, and will make a decision regarding whether or not to host the XYZ conference shortly. As soon as a decision is made, we will contact registered attendees via email. Additional information will also be available on the conference website. We appreciate your patience and understanding regarding this issue.
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