Is today your Domino’s?
Social media can both create and solve crises, and the incredibly fluid nature of social conversations requires brands to be on a constant state of readiness.
In April, two Domino’s employees created a foolish and disgusting video, and posted it to YouTube, setting off a firestorm of coverage on Twitter. It was quickly picked up by the mainstream press, which increasingly uses trending Twitter topics for story ideas like some sort of crowd-sourced, zeitgeist-obsessed, robo-editor.
After being alerted to the crises by their ad agency (who evidently were the only ones in the organization using social media listening tools), Domino’s set the crisis plan in motion, and with great swiftness issued an entirely credible press release.
But it didn’t work.
Why? Because the maxim of social media crisis relations is that you have to fight fire with fire. Communities in social media do not intersect as much as many corporate officers believe. It’s not like all the social media “types” are hanging out together in one place. It’s more like ancient Greece, with Sparta (the true believers of Twitter) and Athens (the larger, more rational Facebook) and other city states like MySpace, Linkedin, Ning, Flickr, YouTube, and dozens more.
When was the last time you read an actual press release via a link on Twitter? Blogger or traditional media coverage of a story that began with a press release, sure. But an actual release from a company? I’m not sure I’ve EVER read one on Twitter.
Domino’s big mistake wasn’t necessarily speed – they got the initial release out pretty fast. It was not understanding that you must react at the flashpoint, not around it. The Domino’s imbroglio ended only when the company created their own YouTube video response, accompanied with a new corporate Twitter account.
4 Lessons Social Media Crisis Management
In my social media consulting and training, I’ve been talking a lot about Domino’s and crisis management, and I’ve pulled out these 4 lessons that apply to all brands.
1. It’s Risky Business
Social media firestorms can cause real damage. A study by BrandIndex in the days following the Domino’s crisis found that overall, national perceptions of the chain’s quality fell from +5 positive to -2.8 positive. A huge drop in positive perception in 48 hours? For a multi-billion dollar company, that’s serious consequences.
2. You Never Know
One thing I can guarantee about Domino’s is that they didn’t wake up on April 15 thinking “You know, I wonder if a crazy employee will stick cheese in their nose today, and put it on YouTube?” You never see a crisis coming. That’s why it’s a crisis. Even if you choose to not engage proactively in social media at this time (although increasingly, your silence is deafening), you must at least be listening. Set up alerts and RSS feeds, subscribe to Radian6 or Spiral16 or some other listening software. Make it someone’s job to pay attention.
You do NOT want to be the last to know when the social media masses are trashing your brand.
3. Do Fire Drills
A major area where social media crises differ from “real world” crises (although one often begets the other now), is that most companies have not yet identified their communication protocols. If something unfortunate happens to your brand in social media, who in your company is in charge of identifying the problem? Who do they call? Who needs to be alerted?
The same way most companies have call lists and alert procedures determined for offline crises, you must develop similar processes for social media. Commit to having that plan in place by the end of this quarter.
4. Prepare to Create
Because the best way to mitigate social media crises is to respond at the flashpoint, you must be prepared to make and launch content in a variety of formats and circumstances. If a YouTube video breaks, who in your company can create a YouTube video? How quickly? Can you get an emergency Twitter account set up? Who would do that? Can you make a blog post? A podcast? A photo gallery?
Unlike traditional crisis management, which typically requires procedures for press conferences and written releases, in social media you have to be ready to make multi-media content. And if you have to go through your Web design company or IT Department to make that happen, you’re dead. Maybe you should be training corporate officers on how to use a Flip camera and upload video, and to use WordPress?
Of course, you’ll probably never need a social media crisis plan. But, maybe you will. And if you can’t get a video from your CEO on YouTube within 3 hours, anytime of the day or night, you’re not fully prepared. Are you?
(photo by indi.ca)
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“4 Brand-Saving Recommendations for Social Media Crisis Management” [link to post]
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RT @greggvm: “4 Brand-Saving Recommendations for Social Media Crisis Management” [link to post]
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Learn from the Domino’s debacle: 4 brand-saving recs for social media crisis mgmt: [link to post]
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RT @Social_Traffic: 4 Brand-Saving Recommendations for Social Media Crisis Management … [link to post]
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4 Brand-Saving Recommendations for Social Media Crisis Management … [link to post]
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4 Brand-Saving Recommendations for Social Media Crisis Management …: Social Media Strategy Blog Social Media C.. [link to post]
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I know it’s not usually valuable to just stop by and say “this post rocks”. But it does. And I’m saying it.
There are so many gems in here, from being prepared to make multimedia content to responding at the flashpoint and understanding that all social media users are not a homogenized mass that clusters together.
Jay, this is why you are ALWAYS a resource to me. Great stuff.
Amber
.-= Amber Naslund´s last blog ..March of Dimes® Selects Radian6 for Social Media Monitoring =-.
Thanks so much. You know how much I respect you, so your comment has made my week. This is a post I’ve been toying with for a long time, and I’m glad I finally pulled the trigger. Delighted that you enjoyed it, especially since your company is in the middle of this issue.
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RT @jaybaer: 4 Brand-Saving Recommendations for Social Media Crisis Management [link to post]
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Damn, that @jaybaer is good. Really good. Do you really have a social crisis comms plan? [link to post]
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RT @jaybaer 4 Brand-Saving Recommendations for Social Media Crisis Management [link to post]
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Quick let’s test him while he is out of town.
.-= Jim “Genuine” Turner´s last blog ..TechCrunch and The Twitter Documents =-.
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Tips to manage SM crisis [link to post] (via @jaybaer) I add have multi-media ready for “most-likely” crises
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Five star. RT @jaybaer: 4 Brand-Saving Recommendations for Social Media Crisis Management [link to post]
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Jay – I’ve got to echo Amber’s comments here, great stuff! Now, of course, brands will have an easier time responding to a firestorm if they already have an established presence in social media. Starting from scratch in the middle of a controversy makes their job so much harder. (Start now people!) But, at least a controversy gives them a reason to start. And some companies do well with a lesson learned to make them stronger, and maybe even leaders, in the end. Just look at Dell for an example of that.
.-= Adele McAear´s last blog ..Technically Women Launches =-.
Thanks so much Adele. I agree that companies like Dell and Comcast are great models. They learned the lesson (unfortunately, the hard way) but instead of saying “that’s a one-time, random occurrence” they’ve totally transformed the way they communicate with their customers. Awesome.
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RT @AmberCadabraDamn, that @jaybaer is good. Really good. Do you really have a social crisis comms plan? [link to post]
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Wow – great post: RT@jaybaer 4 Brand-Saving Recommendations for Social Media Crisis Management [link to post]
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RT @adamferris 4 Brand-Saving Recommendations for Social Media Crisis Management: Social Media Strategy Blog [link to post]
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RT @AmberCadabra Damn, that @jaybaer is good. Really good. Do you really have a social crisis comms plan? [link to post]
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RT @AmberCadabra: Damn, that @jaybaer is good. Really good. Do you really have a social crisis comms plan? [link to post]
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RT jaybaer 4 Brand-Saving Recommendations for Social Media Crisis Management [link to post]
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Great ideas for the crisis comms ppl. RT @jaybaer: 4 Brand-Saving Recommendations for Social Media Crisis Management [link to post]
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How to deal with social media crisis? 4 brand-saving recommendations: [link to post]
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RT @tweetmeme 4 Brand-Saving Recommendations for Social Media Crisis Management | PR 2.0 | Social Media Consult… [link to post]
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RT @scott_townsend @AmberCadabra @jaybaer Do you really have a social crisis comms plan? [link to post]
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RT @autom8 RT @scott_townsend @AmberCadabra @jaybaer Do you really have a social crisis comms plan? [link to post]
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RT @ManiKarthik: 4 Brand-Saving Recommendations for Social Media Crisis Management [link to post]
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More info for you… 4 Brand-Saving Recommendations for Social Media Crisis Management … [link to post]
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As IROs, if there’s a crisis, we need 2be involved. Good tips in putting together a SocMedia-generated crisis plan here. [link to post]
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Great writing! Athens=FB, Sparta=Twitter RT @jaybaer: 4 Brand-Saving Recommendations for Social Media Crisis Management [link to post]
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RT @TWTRBIZRT @adamferris 4 Brand-Saving Recommendations for Social Media Crisis Management: Social Media Strategy Blog [link to post]
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RT @ManiKarthik 4 Brand-Saving Recommendations for Social Media Crisis Management [link to post] – Try us: http://su.pr/89DN4f
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Interesting article about SM Crisis Management – does your company have a plan? [link to post]
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RT @tweetmeme 4 Brand-Saving Recommendations for Social Media Crisis Management..interesting stuff. [link to post]
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If there’s a crisis, IROs need to be involved. Good tips in putting together a Social Media generated crisis plan here. [link to post]
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Great content. RT @jaybaer 4 Brand-Saving Recommendations for Social Media Crisis Management [link to post]
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RT @jaybaer: Social media can giveth. And it can taketh away. 4 Rules for Social Media Crisis Management. [link to post]
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This is really good. My business is centered on consumer brands, but somehow I’ve been invited to speak at the National Pulp and Paperboard Manufacturers annual conference in September. My presentation is “Responding to Disaster at the Speed of Light.” My goal is to help them “unlearn” everything these CEOs think they know about crisis response. And bring the new world to life. Any other examples besides Dominos you think are especially powerful?
Robert – Thanks so much for your comment. I hope you can share the slides of your presentation. So many people would benefit from it, even if they’re not in the paper biz.
Donna Tocci (see two comments down) is a great example of someone who has lived through a social media crisis and can tell the tale. Motrin is a good case study with Motrin Moms. So is United Airlines (happening now). Dell and the “Dell Hell” situation, too. Comcast with the “technician sleeping on my couch” video.
Frank (@comcastcares) can help with Comcast. Donna (@donnatocci) can help with Master Lock.
Robert – reach out via Twitter and I’d be happy to help w/your presentation.
Jay…as much as I would have loved this crisis to happen to that other brand (lol)…the brand I’m affiliated with is Kryptonite.
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RT @jaybaer: Social media can giveth. And it can taketh away. 4 Rules for Social Media Crisis Management. [link to post]
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This brought back many memories for me. I’ve re-tweeted as “required reading” and passed it around internally as the same. Thank you!
LOL. Thanks so much for the nice RT Donna. Indeed, you’ve lived this a lot more than most. In fact, I’m going to connect Robert (two comments above you) with you for his presentation.
Always great to see you here. Thanks!
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RT @jaybaer Social media can giveth. And it can taketh away. 4 Rules for Social Media Crisis Management. [link to post]
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Required reading! RT @jaybaer: Social media can giveth. And it can taketh away. 4 Rules for Social Media Crisis Management [link to post]
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4 Brand-Saving Recommendations for Soc Media Crisis Mgmt (via @jaybaer) [link to post] (h/t @chuckhemann)
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RT @jasonpinto RT @DanaCullum: 4 Brand-Saving Recommendations for Social Media Crisis Management … [link to post]
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RT @tweetmeme Social Media Crisis Management. Broader point is about meeting the audience where *they* are [link to post]
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RT @DanaCullum: 4 Brand-Saving Recommendations for Social Media Crisis Management … [link to post]
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4 Rules for Social Media Crisis Management. by@jaybaer [link to post]. Domino’s disaster used as case study.
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Very good post! Nice ways to stop a fire in the middle of some kind of crisis. You have to monitor what people are saying because they are always talking about your brand. Look at the firestorm on United by the United Breaks Guitars. It took him creating a song, which was catchy, to finally get them to listen. Plus, threats to make more songs. You never know how much content can be made against your brand and how catchy it will be.
.-= Jamie Favreau´s last blog ..What will be the next wave of journalism? =-.
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4 Brand-Saving Recommendations for Social Media Crisis Management [link to post] RT @Ron_Jones RT @TrendTracker
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RT @TrendTracker 4 Brand-Saving Recommendations for Social Media Crisis Management [link to post]
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4 Brand-Saving Recommendations for Social Media Crisis Management [link to post] < -- good ideas to reduce risk.
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