How to Use Your Page’s Bio in a Crisis

Recently on The Crisis Show we talked about the recall Gills Onions experienced. During the discussion, Rich Klein made the comment that though they were in the process of a serious recall, they hadn’t done a good job at noting it anywhere on their Facebook or Twitter pages. They continued to promote and run campaigns, meanwhile their food was being recalled because of serious risk and potentially harmful poisoning.

When Rich commented on their Facebook page addressing the issue, the company responded by stating that they had announced the recall using the FDA recall page, as well as on their Facebook page when the recall had occurred. Although this is OK, the issue that Rich wanted to point out to them is that their page was consumed with marketing and promotional material, not information pertaining to the recall. This means that all customers coming to their page (including Rich) did not see any announcement about the contaminated food if they arrived past the date that the info about the recall was posted. Not good.

What should you do in this type of situation?

Especially in a serious situation or crisis where customers can find themselves ill or in harm’s way, it’s extremely important that your social media and other channels address the issue in a way that is permanently displayed until the situation or crisis has been resolved.

So if you find yourself in a similar situation with an important message to share and make seen, but still wanting to launch campaigns and go on with business as usual, here are two ways to make sure that the important information that you post doesn’t get buried:

Utilize your bio
The bio section on your Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and other accounts is (usually) write at the top of the page. It’s one of the first things that people see when they land on your page and you never have to worry about it getting buried. It’s very strategic to use this area to make your announcement public and to link to another place that contains more information.

I was surprised when Rich pulled up Gills Onion’s Facebook page and this area was completely blank. Don’t waste such valuable and important real estate, especially in a crisis.

Pin it to the top
This is such a handy feature that Facebook has created. Every Facebook fan page has the ability to “pin” a message, link, video or image to the top of their page, where it remains front and centre for 7 full days.

Had Gills Onions pinned their initial message about the recall, it never would have been buried below all of their promotions and regular activity that followed. Instead, every person landing on their page would have seen their recall announcement front and centre.

* Note: If the crisis you’re facing is severe, often it is best to hold off on previously scheduled campaigns until the crisis has been resolved and all of your customers and fans are safe and properly taken care of.

When your message is important, especially in a crisis, it’s important that you make sure that it is visible to as many customers and viewers as possible. Don’t post it once and then carry on with your regular activity thinking that everybody will scroll through your page and eventually find it. Especially in a situation such as a recall or a crisis where people risk getting harmed, you are responsible for creating awareness and getting the message out, including how they can protect themselves and what you are doing to improve and correct the situation.