IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA IN MANAGING BRAND REPUTATION IN CRISIS
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IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA IN MANAGING BRAND REPUTATION IN CRISIS
Abstract
The study gives a conceptual and theoretical assessment of the use of social media in management. Many businesses continue to view social media as a threat rather than an influencing tool, despite the fact that it creates a 24/7 environment of collaboration and involvement.
As a result, organisations, particularly marketers, must comprehend social media’s power and influence. It has been demonstrated that many Nigerian businesses lack the ability and knowledge to communicate with customers through this digital medium. It examines the impact of social media on managing brand reputation in a crisis.
Chapter one
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study
T Social media crises are a reality and a threat that we all confront today. We are all subject to cyber attacks that threaten to have a long-term and negative influence on our brand’s reputation, both online and offline, as well as its bottom line.
Managing your online risk needs more than just watching your brand’s social media activity. It necessitates a strategy against them.A social media crisis is an online event that has the potential to have a negative and long-term impact on your company or organization’s reputation and/or bottom line.Social media disasters often trigger powerful, relatable negative feelings.
· Outweigh common sense.
· Get clients, fans, staff, stakeholders, and others excited.
· Promote viral behaviour.
Social media crises have the potential to go viral quickly, become very unpredictable, and, in many cases, unforeseeable. Social media crises, if not addressed swiftly and properly, may have a catastrophic and long-term negative influence on your brand’s reputation and bottom line.A social media issue is less serious than a social media crisis, but it must still be addressed and resolved in a timely and appropriate manner.
Social media issues are unfavourable and potentially viral circumstances that occur online regarding your brand, but they do not risk any major long-term negative repercussions on your brand’s reputation or bottom line. Examples of social media difficulties may include, but are not limited to:
Ø Negative internet remarks or discussions regarding your brand.
Ø Unacceptable comments on your channels.
Ø Negative customer service concerns
Ø Negative pressIf social media concerns are not addressed promptly and properly, they have the potential to escalate into more serious social media disasters.
Social media concerns, on the other hand, define a distinct and good PR potential for your business when addressed promptly and appropriately. To prepare for a social media crisis or issue, it’s important to assess and comprehend the risks associated with social media and the online world.
This is usually done through a vulnerability audit or risk assessment. Take the appropriate precautions to avoid the preventable risk. Create a social media crisis management plan to safeguard and prepare your firm for the unavoidable danger.
Train your staff to effectively detect, respond to, and resolve social media crises and issues.
A social media crisis, or any other issue, can affect any company or organisation. A social media catastrophe can strike at any time, without warning. It might be the debut of a new campaign, a technical failure that irritates customers, an enraged employee who posts an inappropriate video online, or a thousand other possibilities.
The greatest thing a brand can do is be able and prepared to recognise the warning signals of a social media disaster as soon as they appear. To interact efficiently and in real time with your market and employees throughout the crisis.
To settle the matter in the shortest period of time and with the least amount of long-term consequences for your brand. In life, like in business, reputation is crucial. However, reputation is extremely sensitive, and one mistake can inflict permanent damage to your company’s image.
This is especially true in the digital era, where extreme transparency and high customer expectations rule supreme. Ignoring strong public digital voices is no longer an option.
Companies must learn to not only communicate successfully in the social media age, but also to actually listen to social chatter and respond in a way that is consistent with both brand and customer expectations.
In the digital age, it is vital for businesses of all sizes to have a social media crisis management plan – or, better yet, a crisis prevention plan – in place for when things go wrong. And it truly is a matter of “when” vs. “if.”
Some of the strategies to avert social media disasters, prevent them from escalating, or address things if everything goes wrong include
Listen and be present.
Companies such as The Gap have previously been accused of failing to respond to customers’ concerns about faulty merchandise or refund issues, simply because their social media channels were not designed to address customer service issues.
Unfortunately, in the digital age, failing to respond to social chatter or maintain a presence in social groups can reflect negatively on your brand. Even responding with a simple link to the relevant internet page is beneficial and demonstrates to your clients that you value their feedback.
And listen! Sometimes social listening technologies will pick up on talk about an unexpected topic and give you time to address it before it goes viral. Most brand disasters may have been avoided simply by identifying early discussion and being prepared to address it before it escalated.
Set the right expectations.
If you are a small firm or have limited bandwidth to respond to client enquiries in real time, set clear expectations for when consumers can expect a response. Duration: 24, 48, 72 hours. Be specific and make your expectation visible to guarantee it is noticed. But always stick to it.
Be transparent. Certain companies have been accused of eliminating posts they disagreed with, ignoring those posts, or stating that they had been hacked when they clearly had not. Attempting to cover up or erase reasonable but unpleasant comments can make you appear to be ignoring a problem or, worse, unconcerned about your clients.
It is vital to be honest and open about any problems you or your company may be experiencing. If you’ve made a mistake, confess it, apologise, and do everything you can to fix it. We are all human, and we make mistakes.
Your clients do not expect you or your teams to be perfect, only upfront and honest. They expect you to treat them like family, as a member of your tribe, and that includes not violating their trust through back-peddling and cover-ups.
Warren Buffet once stated, “It takes 20 years to build a reputation, and five minutes to destroy it.” If you think about it, you’ll behave differently.”
Respond thoughtfully.
It’s worth making an effort to write a thoughtful response that addresses your consumers’ issues. Showing that you care about their experience and are prepared to solve problems (or even go above and above) is an excellent method to win over critics and convert them into fans.
According to The Retail Consumer Report, which was commissioned by Right Now and conducted online by Harris Interactive in January 2011, 33% of customers who received a response to their bad review went on to publish a good evaluation, while 34% removed their original negative review. 85% of consumers said they would be willing to spend 5-25% more than the regular price to ensure a better customer experience.
Caring truly pays off. It fosters trust and enables you to strengthen ties with your existing consumers. Word-of-mouth recommendations from your present delighted consumers are far more powerful than your own brand messages, and they will attract new clients.
Never lose your cool, ever.
There may be moments when you disagree with your clients. But being disrespectful or criticising someone on social media is completely inappropriate. Provide the most accurate information possible and make every effort to satisfy each query.
If nothing else works and a customer keeps on being unpleasant and uncooperative, simply ignore him/her and walk on; in those rare cases, no amount of effort will likely suffice.
Don’t take everything personally. The customer is not furious with you; rather, he or she is dissatisfied with the product or brand as a whole. Do not take these exchanges personally. Just do your best to help them and move on.
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