Social media for crisis communications !

Gaurav Mishra | Gauravonomics! Asia Director of Social Media, MSLGROUP!

Social media and the news cycle !

06.29.2010 | P2

The news cycle !

The news cycle has four stages: breaking news, context, analysis and archival.!

Attention!

2!

Context!

3!

Analysis!

1! Breaking news!

4!

Archival!

mslgroup.com | gauravonomics.com!

Time!

The news cycle !

The news cycle is becoming shorter in the breaking news and context stages, but longer in the analysis and archival stages.!

Attention!

2!

Context!

3!

Analysis!

More fragmented, but more viral! 1! Breaking news! 4! Archival!

mslgroup.com | gauravonomics.com! Shorter head!

Time! Longer tail!

Social media and the news cycle !

Social media and search are playing an important role in re-shaping the news cycle, across the four stages.!

Attention!

2!

Context!

3!

Analysis!

Sharing links via hashtags!

Sharing opinions via blog posts!

1! Breaking news! Sharing stories via retweets! mslgroup.com | gauravonomics.com!

4!

Archival!

Searching for stories via Google! Time!

Case study: 26/11 Mumbai Terror Attack !

During the 2009 Mumbai terrorist attack, Twitter, Flickr and blogs became important tools for citizen journalism for sharing original reporting, news, and opinions.! Social media, especially Twitter, played an important role in shaping the mainstream media narrative during the crisis, both in India and internationally.!

Source: Gauravonomics on Flickr!

Social media and the crisis curve !

06.29.2010 | P7

The crisis curve !

The four stages in the crisis curve correspond to the four stages in the news cycle, and social media plays an important role in shaping them, making it more difcult to control a crisis.!

Attention!

2!

Spotlight!

3!

Blame Game!

Sharing links via hashtags!

Sharing opinions via blog posts! More fragmented, but more viral!

1! Flash Point! Sharing stories via retweets!

4!

Resolution!

Searching for stories via Google! Time! Longer tail!

mslgroup.com | gauravonomics.com! Shorter head!

Three types of crises !

There are three types of crisis situations, based on the interplay between social media and mainstream media in the run up to the crisis ash point. Each needs a different approach.!

1! Real world! 2! Slow burn! 3! Flash mob!

Attention!

2!

3!

1!

4!

mslgroup.com | gauravonomics.com! Newspapers/ Television! Blogs/ YouTube! Twitter/ Facebook!

Time!

The real world crisis !

A real world incident (oil spill, nancial scam, sex scandal) precipitates the crisis. Mainstream media puts a spotlight on the crisis while social media amplies the crisis.!

Attention!

2!

3!

- Triggered by real world incident! ! - Driven by mainstream media!

1!

4!

mslgroup.com | gauravonomics.com! Newspapers/ Television! Blogs/ YouTube! Twitter/ Facebook!

Time!

Case study: BP Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill !

During the protracted BP Gulf of Mexico crisis in 2010, the ash point was the oil spill itself, but social media played a critical role in the spotlight, blame game and resolution stages.!

Source: Graphic.is!

The slow burn crisis !

Social media conversations (product quality, customer support, employee discontent) build up into a crisis and are picked up by mainstream media.!

Attention!

- Triggered by social media meme! ! - Driven by social media conversations!

2!

3!

1!

4!

mslgroup.com | gauravonomics.com! Newspapers/ Television! Blogs/ YouTube! Twitter/ Facebook!

Time!

Case study: Dell Hell !

In 2005, inuential blogger Jeff Jarvis blogged about a series of bad customer service experiences with Dell, and became the focal point of the Dell Hell crisis.! Dell Hell forced Dell to recommit to creating a positive customer experience and led to several remarkable social media initiatives including the Direct2Dell blog. !

Source: BuzzMachine!

The ash mob crisis !

A social media meme (Greenpeace video, anti-brand hashtag, antibrand video) creates a ash mob, turns into a crisis, and is picked up by mainstream media.!

Attention!

- Triggered by social media meme! ! - Driven by social media conversations!

2!

3!

1!

4!

mslgroup.com | gauravonomics.com! Newspapers/ Television! Blogs/ YouTube! Twitter/ Facebook!

Time!

Case study: Greenpeace vs. Nestle Kit Kat !

In 2010, Greenpeace created a viral video led campaign to protest against Nestle procuring palm oil from Indonesian rainforests and pushing orangutans towards extinction.! After a series of missteps from Nestle, protestors hijacked Nestles Facebook page and lled it with abusive comments and Nestle Killer prole pics.!

Source: Greenpeace!

Social media for crisis communications !

06.29.2010 | P16

Social media and crisis comms !

Social media has a specic role to play at each stage of the crisis curve. MSLGROUP has created a crisis management toolkit that includes tools and best practices for each stage in the crisis cycle.!

Attention!

2! Spotlight! Plot heat map of crisis ows!

3! Blame Game! Shape narrative via owned media!

1! Flash Point! Track early warning signals! mslgroup.com | gauravonomics.com! 0! Before Crisis! Plan for crisis scenarios!

4! Resolution! Optimize for search results! Time!

Track early warning signals !

Social media conversations (product quality, customer support, employee discontent) build up into a crisis and are picked up by mainstream media.!

Attention!

Identifying negative social media chatter early can help plan for and even prevent the crisis.!

2!

3!

1!

4!

mslgroup.com | gauravonomics.com! Negative! Neutral! Positive!

Time!

Plot heat map of crisis ows !

In the spotlight stage, social media can be used to plot a heat map of the crisis ows between social media and mainstream media and identify inuencers who are acting as hubs driving these ows.!

Identifying inuencer hubs can help change the crisis ows between mainstream media and social media.!

Attention!

2!

3!

1!

4!

mslgroup.com | gauravonomics.com! Newspapers/ Television! Blogs/ YouTube! Twitter/ Facebook!

Time!

Shape narrative via owned media !

In the blame game stage, social media can be used to shape the narrative, especially by leveraging owned media channels like blog and YouTube to highlight neutral or positive aspects.!

Sharing a new perspective via owned media at the right time can help shape the narrative of the crisis and avert direct blame.!

Attention!

2!

3!

1!

4!

mslgroup.com | gauravonomics.com! Negative! Neutral! Owned ! Neutral! Positive! Owned Positive!

Time!

Optimize for search results !

In the blame game stage, social media can be used to create new contexts for positive stories, so that the negative stories arent the most prominent in search results.!

Proactively creating opportunities for positive stories at the tail of the crisis curve can help close the crisis in a way that minimizes ongoing damage. !

Attention!

2!

3!

1!

4!

mslgroup.com | gauravonomics.com! Negative! Neutral! Owned Neutral! Positive! Owned Positive!

Time!

Plan for crisis scenarios !

Its critical to map out and plan for crisis scenarios in advance, in order to respond to them effectively. MSLGROUP has created a toolkit, including a workshop, for crisis mapping and planning.!

Mapping out and planning for the best, worst and most likely cases of alternate crisis scenarios can help respond to them effectively.!

Worst Case!

Most Likely!

Best Case! Negative! Neutral! Positive!

Lets stay in touch !

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