Social Media Crisis Communications Quick Tip #3

Here’s today’s social media crisis communications quick tip:

When in a crisis, evaluate current and scheduled online and social media marketing communications. If you need to stop, cancel or pause any online or social media marketing campaigns or messages, do so immediately.

When to stop or pause marketing messages when in a crisis:

• When the crisis needs to be addressed on social media
• When customers, fans or your market are hurt, injured, or when negative emotions are running high
• When advertising contains irreverence
• When marketing messages reference the crisis event in any way

Why should you stop or pause marketing messages in a crisis:

• You will come across as insensitive and uncaring
• It will run counter to your crisis communications
• When a serious event has taken place, crisis communications need to be your only message
• You will be criticized and scrutinized for the above reasons
• You want to make sure that all lines of communications between you and your market are open

So be sure to evaluate all marketing messages and campaigns in a crisis, and pause them when necessary. This means you also need to keep all lines of communication open between your internal teams and departments.

Stay tuned for tomorrow’s social media crisis communications quick tip #4!