How engaging in social media now can help crisis communications in the future

Prior to the 1990’s there was very little academic research into crisis management, but as more and more organizations have experienced devastating crises the importance of the field has become more apparent. Today, crisis management is a rapidly changing field with a number of emerging trends for the way in which an organization reacts, both internally and externally.

The development and frequent use of social media tools (i.e. Facebook, Twitter, and blogs) has played a large role in the way stakeholders and publics are being delivered news. Social media allows anyone the freedom to be a gatekeeper and as a result, information on crises is being delivered much quicker and to a much larger audience than before. In addition to information being available quicker and to a larger audience, there is also less fact checking. With less fact checking it becomes difficult for PR pros to control the flow of information and ensure that all publics are being given the most accurate updates on a crisis.

The best way to monitor what publics and social media gatekeepers are saying is to set up accounts on various social media platforms. An organization should have a Twitter account, a Facebook account, a company blog, and Google Alerts set up for anything being said about the company. Pfizer has a Twitter account (@Pfizer_News), a Facebook fan page, and an official company blog. Having these accounts is a great foundation to have lain in the event of a crisis, but the primary purpose of these accounts is disseminating news rather than interacting with its various publics and stakeholders.

Should a crisis hit, Pfizer’s social media accounts will only be useful if they have already built relationships with Twitter, Facebook, and blog users. Communicating with social media gatekeepers is the same as communicating with traditional media. Relationships must be built before an organization can ask a stakeholder or public to do something for them. Pfizer needs to take the time to interact with their followers on Twitter and Facebook and fellow bloggers so they can use these gatekeepers to their best advantage should a crisis hit.