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Foreseeing and Managing A Social Media Crisis.

When a social media crisis happens, it is important for the company to react quickly and effectively. In order to avoid any more damage to their brand, they need to take action and address the crisis in a way that will satisfy their audience.

By Emilia WilkinsonPublished 4 years ago 3 min read

Preparing for a worst-case scenario before a crisis strikes your Instagram, affecting your monthly Instagram likes and Instagram followers, it is always wise to set yourself up to survive even the trolliest of trolls. Have a solid plan in hand, with a list of key stakeholders and responsibilities, and a clear chain of command. That way, when worse comes to worst, you’ll be well-positioned to turn your brand’s reputation back around.

Social media crises can be caused by many things, such as a CEO’s rant on Twitter or a customer service rep who posts an inappropriate tweet.

When a social media crisis happens, it is important for the company to react quickly and effectively. In order to avoid any more damage to their brand, they need to take action and address the crisis in a way that will satisfy their audience.

A company’s social media crisis starts when they post information online that goes against their values and causes some sort of negative reaction. This could be anything from a customer being offended by the CEO’s Twitter rant to a public apology for a racist comment on Instagram. Once this happens, the company needs to respond in order to avoid any more damage to your brand’s reputation, and a social media crisis doesn’t have to mean the end of your brand’s reputation.

In this post, we’ll dive into just how to deal with the fallout when your good rep goes wrong and it its even better if you can prevent a crisis before it begins — so we’re also going to take a look at methods for spotting potential issues as they emerge and share exactly how to shut a problem down in the early stages.

Here are first few things to keep in mind before you jump onto other steps:

  1. Internal communications should not stop
  2. Secure all your accounts and change your passwords
  3. Do not post anything new for a while

Social media is a great tool for brands and businesses to connect with their customers but it can also be a minefield. The social media crisis management tips below will help you navigate the pitfalls of social media and make sure your company doesn't get caught out.

More Effective Ways To Manage A Social Media Crisis

Respond promptly

It is imperative that you respond promptly to all customer complaints. If you ignore the problem it will not go away and can even escalate quickly. Simply deleting the offending post or maybe that mean tweet won't solve anything either - customers want an apology and they want it quickly!

Be human

Social media is all about connecting with people so don't just use automated responses or pre-written responses when responding to customer complaints on social media channels. A personalized response will show your customers that you care about them

Lay out your policies

If you are in charge of a company’s social media, it is essential to have a good social media policy. It should have guidelines for appropriate use and outline what the consequences are for breaking the rules.

A clear social media policy will help your employees understand what is expected from them on social media and set expectations for the public. It will also serve as a reminder to employees who might be tempted to break the rules.

A good one should feature guidelines for appropriate use, outline what the consequences are for breaking the rules, and discuss how your company will react when someone breaks these rules.

Make sure you have a clear head and practical understanding of how to react in a social-media emergency

Monitor your brand's social media channels for any signs that something is going wrong or that something may go wrong soon

Be aware of the risks associated with what you post on your own channels, such as using humor when the situation isn’t funny, posting too much information about the situation, or posting too many updates about it on your channels.

Plan before the storm!

Businesses and brands should have a plan in place to deal with any potential issues that may arise from social media posts. These plans should include a strategy for identifying potential issues, monitoring the brand's online presence, and responding to these potential issues before they become crises.

A good social listening program can help you spot an emerging issue. It also helps to identify trends and predict potential issues.

This is because the more time you spend on social media, the more likely it is that you will see something that's worth addressing. It will also help you to understand your audience better and know what they want from your business.

social media

About the Creator

Emilia Wilkinson

I create content for SocioTraffic. Our goal is to help businesses and individuals grow by providing knowledge and marketing tools that can be effective towards growing and maintaining your social media presence.

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