It's a Crisis!

Before taking my social media class with professor Karen Freberg, I had never heard of crisis communication, let alone that there are actually special employees who are paid to handle these “crises”. Crisis communication can be defined as the unplanned mishaps and unpredictable events that occur for a company or person on social media that threaten the company or brand’s success.  Most examples of this include Tweets that are sent out that are either insensitive or inappropriate and not thought out. Usually these Tweets go viral and cause an uproar by the public; which often can be detrimental to the company’s reputation if they go unhandled.

One major example of a social media crisis occurred after the Boston Bombings last spring. Epicurious, a social media sight for recipes and cooking, posted two thoughtless and tasteless tweets that went viral and caused followers to question the integrity of the business.

The first tweet read, “Boston our hearts are with you. Here’s a bowl of breakfast energy we could all use to start today: (insert link)”

Then, a half hour later they still hadn’t realized the inappropriate nature of their first Tweet and decided to post another:

“In honor of Boston and New England, may we suggest: whole-grain cranberry scones!”

There is a fine line that can easily be crossed between taking advantage of major events for personal business gain, and just being completely thoughtless. If your company or brand’s social media decisions are placed in the wrong hands, mistakes like these can be made and are extremely damaging to not only your business but to the victims of the bombings, or other events, as well.

Fortunately, after much backlash, Epicurious sent out apology Tweet’s that expressed regret for their insensitivity. This is just one of many communication crises that have happened over the recent years as social media has gained popularity as a business tool.