Impact Of Social Media In Managing Brand Reputation In Crises

Impact Of Social Media In Managing Brand Reputation In Crises

Abstract

The study offers a conceptual and theoretical evaluation of the management implications of social media. Many businesses continue to view social media as a threat rather than as an important asset, despite the fact that it fosters a 24/7 world of cooperation and interaction. Therefore, it is crucial for organizations, especially marketers, to comprehend the strength and significance of social media. It has been established that many Nigerian businesses lack the skills and understanding necessary to interact with customers online. Brand reputation in crisis, social media crisis analysis, and social media’s role in crisis management are all discussed.

Chapiter 1

Introduction

Background information for the study

T Crisis situations on social media are a risk that we all face today. Everybody is susceptible to cyber attacks that could harm our brand’s reputation both online and off, as well as our financial standing.

More than simply keeping an eye on your brand on social media is needed to manage your online risk. It requires a strategy to counter them.A social media crisis is an online event that may have a detrimental and lasting effect on the reputation and/or financial health of your company or organization.Typically, social media crises feature intense, unfavorable feelings that are relevant and are readily:

Prevail above conventional sense

Incite customers, followers, employees, stakeholders, and others.

Encourage viral behavior

Social media crises run the potential of spreading swiftly, being wildly unpredictable, and frequently being unpredictably unpredictable. Social media crises run the potential of harming your brand’s reputation and financial health if they are not swiftly and appropriately handled.While a social media issue is not as serious as a social media crisis, it still needs to be addressed and resolved in a timely and appropriate manner.

Social media problems are problematic and possibly viral events that are happening online regarding your business, but they do not pose a serious threat to your brand’s reputation or financial health. Social media problems can take many different forms, such as, but not limited to:

Online debates or remarks that are critical of your brand

Inappropriate remarks made on your channels

Problems with poor customer service

Negative mediaSocial media problems run the potential of becoming more serious social media crises if not handled promptly and correctly.

However, social media problems define a special and advantageous PR chance for your brand when handled promptly and correctly. Assessing and comprehending the danger that social media and the online environment pose to your company or organization is the best approach to prepare your brand for both a social media crisis and a social media issue. Normally, a vulnerability audit or risk assessment is used to accomplish this. Take the required actions to reduce the danger that can be avoided. Create a social media crisis management strategy to safeguard your business from unavoidable danger.

Develop the skills of your entire team to quickly identify, address, and resolve a social media problem or issue.

Any business or organization can experience a social media crisis or problem. A social media crisis can strike at any time and from unexpected sources. It might be the start of a new campaign, a technical issue that annoys customers, an irate employee who uploads an unwelcome video online, or any number of other possibilities. The most that any brand can hope for is to be able to recognize and be ready for the early warning signals of a social media catastrophe. through the crisis, to successfully and immediately communicate with your market and your workforce. to quickly and effectively remedy the issue, while minimizing any long-term negative effects on your brand. Reputation is everything in life and business. However, reputation is extremely brittle, and it only takes one slip-up to permanently harm your company’s reputation. In the digital age, where extreme transparency and high client expectations are the norm, this is especially true. Strong public digital voices can no longer be disregarded. In the social media age, businesses must learn to listen carefully to social media buzz and respond in ways that are consistent with their brands and customers’ expectations.

A social media crisis management plan, or even better, a crisis prevention plan, is now essential for businesses of all sizes operating in the online era in case something goes wrong. There are a number of strategies to avert social media disasters, stop them from getting worse, or deal with situations when they go wrong, so it really is an issue of “when” rather than “if.”

Pay attention and listen

Due to the fact that they were not prepared to manage customer service difficulties via social media, businesses like The Gap have previously been accused of ignoring complaints from customers about faulty goods or refund issues. Unfortunately, not paying attention to social media or having a presence in social groups might negatively affect your company in the digital age. Even a brief response containing a link to the appropriate internet page is beneficial and demonstrates to your clients that you value their business.

Also, pay attention! Social listening technologies will occasionally pick up conversation about a subject you might not have expected, giving you the opportunity to address it before it becomes a social media firestorm. By listening to the early buzz and being ready to respond to it before it gets out of hand, the majority of brand disasters could have been avoided.

Set reasonable expectations

Set clear expectations up front regarding when customers can expect your answer if you run a small firm or have limited bandwidth to reply to customer inquiries instantly. 24, 48, 72 hours… To guarantee that an expectation is understood, be explicit and make it obvious. But consistently uphold it.

Be Open-Minded Certain businesses have been found guilty of deleting comments they didn’t like, ignoring those comments, or perhaps making the false claim that they had been hacked. Attempting to hide or delete justifiably critical comments can give the impression that you are ignoring an issue or, worse, don’t care about your consumers. It is imperative to be open and truthful about any problems you or your business may be experiencing. If you made a mistake, own up to it, say you’re sorry, and take steps to make it right. We all fall short because we are fallible beings. Your clients only demand openness and honesty from you and your staff, not perfection. They anticipate that you will treat them as members of your tribe, as family, and that you won’t violate their confidence by lying or fabricating events.

It takes 20 years to develop a reputation, but just 5 minutes to destroy one, according to Warren Buffet. You will act differently if you consider that.

Give thoughtful feedback

Writing a thoughtful response that addresses your consumers’ issues is worthwhile effort. A wonderful method to truly win over critics and convert them to fans is to demonstrate that you care about their experience and are prepared to address issues (or even go above and beyond). According to The Retail Consumer Report, which Right Now commissioned and which Harris Interactive conducted online in January 2011, among customers who received a reaction to a negative review, 33% later posted a good review and 34% later erased the original negative review. For a better customer experience, 85% of consumers said they would be willing to pay anywhere from 5-25% more than the going rate.

Genuine care pays off. It fosters relationships with your present consumers and helps you gain their trust. Word-of-mouth referrals from your satisfied current customers have a considerably greater impact on potential customers than your own brand communications.

Never, ever lose your composure.

You might occasionally disagree with your clients. But it is completely unacceptable to be impolite to them or attack them in public forums. Try your best to respond to each query and provide the best information you can. Simply ignore the consumer and walk on if nothing else works and they continue to be unpleasant and uncooperative; in those rare cases, nothing you do will likely be sufficient.

Additionally, avoid personalizing things. The buyer is frustrated with the item or a brand as a whole, not with you. Do not personalize these encounters. Just try your best to assist them, then leave.

Establish a crisis management team.

Returning to my first point…You have a fantastic opportunity to address a topic when you come across internet talk about it before it blows up in your face. But make sure you have a method to escalate the situation promptly and find a solution. This procedure ought to be covered in your comprehensive crisis management strategy. I propose creating a team made up of representatives from the PR, HR, legal, marketing, and other pertinent organizations who can work together swiftly to draft and submit a response that will quiet the conversation and assist address the current problem.

Take Care When Managing Access To Your Social Media Accounts

Employees have occasionally switched to the wrong account and posted personal updates to brand accounts without recognizing it. By ensuring that only knowledgeable community managers with the necessary training have access, you can prevent errors like this.

Then there is a procedure for controlling access when workers change positions or quit the business altogether. HMV, a chain of music stores, let off a sizable portion of its workforce in January 2013, but management wasn’t aware that the marketing team still had access to the company’s social media platforms. The crew took to Twitter to express their displeasure with how officials had handled the situation, saying things like, “There are over 60 of us being fired at once. Before they were finally shut down, the brand’s devoted employees were “Fired” in bulk.

Post Modification Rules

The majority of websites have their own Terms and Conditions, but you may also add your own moderating rules to your social media pages to make it clear what conduct is acceptable or unacceptable in your online communities. Knowing your “house rules” in advance makes it easier to remove inappropriate messages by citing your rules and pointing out where they were broken.

Employ knowledgeable community managers

Some companies still consider social media communities as an afterthought and rely on their interns to occasionally tweet. Hire experts since your social media presence is an integral component of your brand’s reputation and image. A community manager needs to be knowledgeable about your business, be familiar with its voice and personality, and, most importantly, care about your audience. Don’t undervalue the importance of your community manager role as a consumer advocate within your company. A seasoned community manager will also be able to handle social media takeover attempts, deal with irate customers, and know when to move the topic offline.

And always keep in mind: You Can’t Please Everyone.

You must occasionally be prepared to be misunderstood in order to succeed as a leader and as a brand. You must be prepared to stand by your decision if you firmly believe in what you are doing or in a particular point of view but some individuals don’t. You must be ready to express the reasoning behind your strong feelings about the matter, be open and honest about it, and be ready to respond calmly to any inquiries or criticism that may be directed at you in this situation. Your social networks then take on even greater significance because this is the chance for your followers and your tribe (individuals who share your opinions and share your vision) to weigh in and lend support to your cause. In situations like these, natural brand love and advocacy are strong partners in defending the reputation of the company and promoting the brand’s message.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PROBLEM

Any organization’s survival and expansion depend critically on maintaining its brand reputation. However, there are times when business and customer relations are strained, which can result in unhappy clients who criticize the goods or services of the company. If the situation is not appropriately controlled, the outcome could be disastrous. It can cause the company’s reputation and brand image to suffer.These issues are what this research is trying to solve by figuring out how social media affects handling a brand’s reputation during a crisis.

1.3 QUESTIONS FOR RESEARCH

What exactly is a crisis on social media?

What impact has the social media problem had?

What part does social media play in managing the reputation of a brand during a crisis?

1.4 THE STUDY’S OBJECTIVE

to ascertain the nature of the situation on social media

assessing the impact of the social media crisis

evaluating the role of social media in crisis management of brand reputation

1.5 RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER STUDIES

A study framework for crisis management of brand reputation will be provided by the research.

It will provide information about the social media situation.

1.6 HYPOTHESIS STATEMENT

H0: There is little social media crisis.

H1: The social media problem is at a high level.

H0: The social media problem has no impact

H1: Social media crises has a significant impact.

H0: Social media has a minimal effect on managing a brand’s reputation during a crisis.

H1: Social media has a significant impact on crisis management of brand reputation.