When we think of social media – we think about networking with others and promoting our special events and fundraisers for our clients. But, about in the other instances where these events are not positive – like crisis situations? What role does social media play in these types of situations? Twitter has been in the news recently in several occasions for its role and part in crisis communication and response strategies. First, there was the rescue operation for two UK snowboarders in the Swiss Alps, and how those that were part of the operation were using Twitter to communicate with each other about what was going on. The other incident where Twitter was used was in a crisis prevention type of situation- Twitter was used to prevent a death threat at a school in St. Louis just yesterday.
What is next for Twitter it seems? At a recent PRSA conference, PIER Founder Gerald Baron made the following comment about the role of social media has on crisis communication:
“Social media affects crisis communication in two different ways. It creates new risks and vulnerabilities such as employees freely stating their opinions and gripes on social media sites where they can be spread like a bad virus. But social media also creates new opportunities to engage with key influencers and audiences quickly and directly.”
Baron makes some excellent points about this situation regarding social media and crisis communication. It is a very useful tool for public relations professionals that do practice and study crisis communication, crisis prevention, and risk communication – but it is only useful if those audiences being targeted have access to Twitter and this type of new social media technology.
Hope you all are having a great day! 🙂
Best Wishes,
Karen
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