crisis management – Online Moderation

Social Media Crisis? Take ownership of the issue.

Mike Merriman — Mon, 01 May 2017 14:51:02 +0000

Yup – another airline incident caught on film. This time it was American Airlines flight 591 #AA591. While the incident was deplorable, the good news is that American Airlines got out in front of the backlash. They took ownership of the incident and defused any impending actions by the public. See their almost immediate response. “We have seen the video and have already started an investigation to obtain the facts. What we see on this video does not reflect our values or how we care for our customers. We are deeply sorry for the pain we have caused this passenger and her family and to any other customers affected by the incident. We are making sure all of her family’s needs are being met while she is in our care. After electing to take another flight, we are taking special care of her and her family and upgrading them to first class for the remainder of their international trip.

The actions of our team member captured here do not appear to reflect patience or empathy, two values necessary for customer care. In short, we are disappointed by these actions. The American team member has been removed from duty while we immediately investigate this incident.”

Do you have a Social Media Crisis Plan? Let Mzinga help.

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The first 24 hours in a social media crisis are critical – is United Airlines listening?

Mike Merriman — Mon, 10 Apr 2017 16:35:22 +0000

The first headline I saw in my newsfeed today was “Bloodied Passenger Dragged From United Flight At O’Hare Airport.” Upon reading the story in numerous international publications, I checked various social media channels to learn more about the incident. Not surprisingly #BoycottUnited and #Flight3411 are trending hashtags – and the story doesn’t get better for United the more I read. After last week’s #leggingsgate incident I fully expected to see a concerted effort by United’s team to deal with the chatter. Listen to all the experts – the first 24 hours in a social media crisis are critical. Communications in this phase are the number one priority. A sound communications strategy starts with acknowledging the incident occurred. Next step – apologize – without pointing fingers at people or policy. Finally develop and commit to a plan of action – which may involve holding employees or partners accountable, and changing policies and procedures. The goal here is to understand what happened, prevent it from happening again, and most importantly keep your customers loyal. There’s plenty of noise on social media now calling for United’s head. United has chosen to defend their position with “We apologize for the overbook situation.” This position doesn’t acknowledge the results of the incident, and while they use the word – isn’t an apology.

Don’t be United. Develop a sound Social Media Crisis plan in the event you ever need it. Mzinga can help.

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Social Media Crisis costs Target Millions

Mike Merriman — Fri, 07 Apr 2017 16:48:25 +0000

Last April, Target published a blog post highlighting their stance on transgender bathroom policies, and specifically their policy of inclusion. As a result, nearly 700,000 consumers signed a pledge to boycott the store. In the weeks that followed, numerous individuals posted opinions about the policy on various social media channels which went viral. While Target already had this policy in place, the blog post caused a spark and fanned the flames of a social media crisis. Target’s CEO Brian Cornell claims to have found out about the blog post only after the fact and says that while he fully supports the policy, he wouldn’t have approved a post that “flaunts” it. The boycott has cost Target millions and forced them to react by installing or retrofitting single occupancy toilets to the tune of an additional $20M.

Target had taken a stand with their policies which their PR and Communications teams seemingly thought would be newsworthy and a positive refection on their brand. In reality it backfired. Brand protection is more than reacting to a social media crisis. When done properly brand protection is a proactive strategy that avoids backlash and crisis. Contact Mzinga help you determine your brand protection strategy and crisis management plans.

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