--- name: social-media-crisis-management description: Detect, manage, and respond to social media crises before they escalate. Use when handling social media crises, managing brand reputation issues, responding to viral negative content, creating crisis communication plans, or monitoring social sentiment spikes. Triggers on phrases like "social media crisis", "brand crisis", "viral negative", "reputation management", "crisis communication", "social media emergency", "brand backlash", "negative viral", "online crisis response". --- # Social Media Crisis Management Detect, assess, and respond to social media crises with speed, transparency, and strategic communication. ## Workflow 1. Monitor social channels continuously for crisis indicators: sentiment spikes, mention volume surges, viral negative content. 2. Detect crisis trigger: automated alert system flags unusual patterns in brand mentions or sentiment. 3. Assess severity within 15 minutes: classify as Level 1 (minor), Level 2 (moderate), Level 3 (severe), Level 4 (critical). 4. Activate crisis response team based on severity level: social media manager, PR lead, legal, executive sponsor. 5. Gather facts rapidly: what happened, who's affected, what's the root cause, what's being done. 6. Draft response within 30–60 minutes: acknowledge, empathize, explain action, provide next steps. 7. Deploy response across all relevant channels: original platform, website, status page, email if needed. 8. Monitor response effectiveness: sentiment shift, mention volume, media pickup, stakeholder reaction. 9. Iterate and update: provide progress updates every 1–2 hours during active crisis. 10. Conduct post-crisis analysis: what triggered it, response effectiveness, lessons learned, process improvements. ## Crisis Severity Classification ``` CRISIS SEVERITY LEVELS AND RESPONSE PROTOCOLS =============================================== LEVEL 1 — MINOR (Single Issue, Contained) INDICATORS: → 10–50 negative mentions in 1 hour (vs. normal 2–5) → Single complaint going mildly viral (100–500 shares) → Isolated negative review or comment thread → Sentiment shift: -10% to -20% from baseline → No media pickup yet RESPONSE: → Handle by: Social media manager (solo) → Response time: Within 1 hour → Escalation: Notify social team lead → Channels: Respond on original platform only → Action: Address directly, offer resolution, monitor for 24 hours EXAMPLES: → Product defect complaint (single customer) → Shipping delay complaint trending on Twitter → Misleading ad callout LEVEL 2 — MODERATE (Growing Issue, Multi-Platform) INDICATORS: → 50–500 negative mentions in 1 hour → Issue spreading across 2+ platforms → Influential accounts (10K+ followers) amplifying → Sentiment shift: -20% to -40% from baseline → Blog posts or niche media coverage → Competitor amplification detected RESPONSE: → Handle by: Social media manager + PR lead + product/customer service lead → Response time: Within 30 minutes → Escalation: Notify VP Marketing or CMO → Channels: Respond on all platforms where issue is active → Action: Public acknowledgment + direct resolution offers + monitoring dashboard EXAMPLES: → Widespread product issue (multiple complaints) → Employee inappropriate social media post → Data breach announcement (small scale) → Customer service failure going viral LEVEL 3 — SEVERE (Major Issue, Media Attention) INDICATORS: → 500–5,000 negative mentions in 1 hour → Issue on all major platforms → Major media outlets covering (CNN, BBC, Forbes, etc.) → Sentiment shift: -40% to -70% from baseline → Stock price movement (if public company) → Regulatory or legal involvement possible → Hashtag trending nationally or globally RESPONSE: → Handle by: Crisis team (PR, Legal, Executive, Social, Product, Customer Service) → Response time: Within 15 minutes → Escalation: CEO/CRO involvement, board notification if public company → Channels: All platforms + press release + website banner + status page → Action: Formal public statement + press conference if needed + continuous updates EXAMPLES: → Major data breach (millions affected) → Product safety/recall issue → Executive controversial statement → Systemic discrimination allegation → Major service outage with business impact LEVEL 4 — CRITICAL (Existential Threat) INDICATORS: → 5,000+ negative mentions in 1 hour → Global media coverage (major networks, international press) → Sentiment shift: -70%+ from baseline → Regulatory action initiated → Mass customer exodus (cancellations, uninstalls) → Stock crash (>10% single-day drop) → Government or legislative involvement → Boycott campaigns organized RESPONSE: → Handle by: CEO personally, full executive team, external crisis PR firm, legal counsel → Response time: Within 5–10 minutes → Escalation: Board of directors, investors, all stakeholders → Channels: Everything — social, press, TV, email, direct customer contact, investor relations → Action: CEO video statement + press conference + customer remediation program + legal response EXAMPLES: → Deadly product defect (Ugg boots recall, Peanut Corp) → Massive discrimination scandal (United Airlines passenger incident) → Systemic fraud revelation (Wirecard, Theranos) → Catastrophic data breach (Equifax) ``` ## Response Framework ``` CRISIS RESPONSE PLAYBOOK ========================== THE 4 R'S OF CRISIS RESPONSE: 1. RECOGNIZE (Detection Phase — Target: < 5 minutes) → Automated monitoring catches the signal → Social listening tools flag anomaly → Team member reports to crisis lead → CONFIRM: Is this a genuine crisis or false alarm? → Verify facts before any public response → Document timeline of events 2. RESPOND (Initial Response — Target: < 30 minutes for Level 3+) → ACKNOWLEDGE: "We are aware of [issue] and taking it seriously." → EMPATHIZE: "We understand this is [frustrating/concerning/disappointening]." → EXPLAIN: "Here's what we know so far: [facts only, no speculation]." → ACT: "Here's what we're doing right now: [specific actions]." → COMMIT: "We'll provide updates every [timeframe]." → AVOID: Blame, deflection, legalistic language, "no comment" 3. RESOLVE (Ongoing Management — Target: Continuous until resolved) → PROVIDE UPDATES: Every 1–2 hours during active crisis → ANSWER QUESTIONS: Monitor and respond to specific questions → OFFER REMEDIATION: Refunds, replacements, compensation, support → ADAPT: Adjust response based on new information and feedback → COORDINATE: Ensure all channels and spokespeople aligned → DOCUMENT: Log every action, response, and decision 4. REVIEW (Post-Crisis — Target: Within 1 week) → ANALYZE: What triggered the crisis? Could it have been prevented? → MEASURE: Response effectiveness, sentiment recovery timeline → LEARN: Document lessons learned and update crisis plan → IMPROVE: Fix root cause, update monitoring, train team → COMMUNICATE: Share post-crisis update with stakeholders → REBUILD: Proactive reputation recovery campaign RESPONSE TONE MATRIX BY CRISIS TYPE: PRODUCT/SAFETY CRISIS: → Tone: Serious, responsible, urgent → Key message: Customer safety is our #1 priority → Action: Recall, fix, compensate → Example: "We've identified [issue] affecting [product]. We are immediately [action]. Anyone who [criteria] should [instruction]. We sincerely apologize and are committed to [resolution]." CUSTOMER SERVICE CRISIS: → Tone: Empathetic, accountable, solution-oriented → Key message: We failed you and we're fixing it → Action: Make things right, improve processes → Example: "You're right — this shouldn't have happened. We're [specific action] and [systemic fix]. We've [immediate remedy] for everyone affected." BRAND/VALUES CRISIS: → Tone: Humble, reflective, committed to growth → Key message: We hear you, we're learning, we're changing → Action: Policy change, accountability, transparency → Example: "We recognize that [statement/action] was [inappropriate/harmful]. We apologize unreservedly. Here's what we're doing to ensure this doesn't happen again: [specific changes]." DATA/SECURITY CRISIS: → Tone: Transparent, protective, technical but accessible → Key message: We're protecting your data and being transparent → Action: Contain breach, notify affected, provide protection → Example: "We detected [incident] on [date] affecting [scope]. [Data type] may have been accessed. We have [contained/mitigated] the issue and are providing [credit monitoring/support] to affected customers. Full details: [link]." ``` ## Monitoring and Detection ``` CRISIS MONITORING SYSTEM ========================== SOCIAL LISTENING TOOLS AND CONFIGURATION: PRIMARY TOOLS: → Brandwatch: Enterprise social listening, $8,000–$20,000/year * Real-time mention tracking across 10,000+ sources * Sentiment analysis with ML models * Anomaly detection and spike alerts * Custom dashboard and reporting → Sprout Social: Social management + listening, $249–$499/month * Mention monitoring and inbox management * Sentiment tracking and reporting * Team collaboration and approval workflows → Hootsuite Insights (Brandwatch): $500–$1,000/month * Keyword and hashtag tracking * Competitor monitoring * Influencer identification → Mention: Social monitoring, $29–$199/month * Real-time brand mention alerts * Competitor tracking * Influencer monitoring * Good for SMB budgets ALERT CONFIGURATION: VOLUME SPIKE ALERTS: → Threshold: >300% increase in mentions within 1 hour → Threshold: >50 negative mentions within 30 minutes → Notification: SMS + Slack + Email to crisis team → Auto-escalation: If not acknowledged in 5 minutes, notify manager SENTIMENT SHIFT ALERTS: → Threshold: Sentiment score drops >20 points in 1 hour → Threshold: Negative sentiment exceeds 60% of total mentions → Notification: Slack alert + dashboard flag → Context: Show top negative mentions for rapid assessment KEYWORD ALERTS: → Crisis keywords: "scam", "fraud", "lawsuit", "breach", "recall", "boycott", "terrible", "worst", "never again", "unsafe" → Competitor comparison keywords: "[our product] vs [competitor]" → Employee-related: "[company name] employee", "[company] workplace" → Product-specific: "[product name] broken", "[product] defective" INFLUENCER ALERTS: → Monitor: Accounts with 50K+ followers mentioning brand → Priority: Accounts in industry, journalists, consumer advocates → Alert: Any negative mention from influential account → Action: Immediate response within 15 minutes HASHTAG MONITORING: → Track branded hashtags: #[companyname], #[productname] → Track campaign hashtags: #[campaignname] → Monitor emerging hashtags with brand references → Alert on trending brand-related hashtags ``` ## Post-Crisis Recovery ``` REPUTATION REBUILDING STRATEGY ================================ IMMEDIATE POST-CRISIS (Week 1–2): → Continue monitoring: Crisis may resurface or have delayed reactions → Maintain transparency: Provide final resolution update → Thank supporters: Acknowledge positive voices who stood by brand → Fix root cause: Implement systemic changes (not just PR band-aid) → Internal communication: Brief employees, provide talking points → Customer outreach: Personal follow-up with most affected customers MEASUREMENT: → Sentiment recovery timeline (days to return to baseline) → Mention volume normalization → Social media follower retention rate → Website traffic recovery → Customer churn rate post-crisis → Customer support ticket volume MEDIUM-TERM RECOVERY (Month 1–3): → Content strategy: Publish helpful, positive content (not defensive) → PR campaign: Earn positive coverage through new initiatives → Thought leadership: Executive content showing growth and learning → Community engagement: Proactive social media presence → Customer success stories: Share positive testimonials → Product improvements: Announce changes resulting from crisis MEASUREMENT: → Share of voice vs. competitors → Brand mention sentiment ratio → Social media engagement rate recovery → Customer satisfaction score recovery → Net Promoter Score trend LONG-TERM REBUILDING (Months 3–12): → Brand refresh (if needed): Rebranding, new messaging → Trust initiatives: Transparency reports, advisory boards, third-party audits → Customer advocacy program: Turn satisfied customers into brand champions → Influencer partnerships: Positive association building → Community involvement: CSR initiatives, industry leadership → Continuous monitoring: Crisis prevention through early warning MEASUREMENT: → Brand equity score (BrandZ, Interbrand) → Customer loyalty metrics (repeat purchase rate, LTV) → Employee advocacy and internal culture metrics → Media sentiment analysis (quarterly) → Competitive positioning recovery ``` ## Integration Points - Brandwatch / Sprout Social: Social listening and monitoring dashboards - Hootsuite / Buffer: Social media publishing and inbox management - Mention / Alertive: Real-time brand mention alerts - Google Alerts: Free mention monitoring (supplementary) - Awario: Social listening and influencer monitoring ($79–$199/month) - Meltwater: Enterprise media and social monitoring ($2,000–$5,000/month) - Statuspage.io: Public incident status page - Slack: Real-time crisis team communication and alerts - Gong / Chorus: Call recording for customer-facing crisis handling - CRM (Salesforce/HubSpot): Customer communication logging during crisis - Pressable / WordPress: Emergency website updates and banners ## Edge Cases - **Multi-language crises**: Monitor and respond in all languages where you operate. Use translation tools for initial detection, but respond in native language (hire crisis translators or use local team members). Never respond in translated auto-generated content — errors compound crisis. - **Employee-generated crises**: When employees cause crises (inappropriate posts, whistleblowing, controversial statements), coordinate with HR, legal, and PR simultaneously. Never comment on personnel matters publicly. Focus response on organizational values and systemic changes, not individual behavior. - **Competitor-orchestrated crises**: Monitor for coordinated inauthentic behavior (bot accounts, astroturfing). Report to platforms if violation detected. Never engage in public disputes with competitors. Focus on your own brand's facts and values. Document everything for legal purposes. - **Regulatory crises**: When government agencies are involved (FTC, SEC, GDPR authorities), coordinate response with legal counsel. Do not make public statements that could affect legal proceedings. Use "we are cooperating fully with the investigation" framework until resolution. - **Crises during product launches or earnings**: Heighten monitoring during high-visibility periods. Have pre-approved crisis templates ready. Designate crisis decision authority in advance (don't debate during the fire). Ensure all crisis responses align with broader company messaging (IR, marketing, product).