With digital communication now at the forefront, there has never been a more crucial time for your business or organization to have a solid social media presence. Amidst the current crisis, many businesses are struggling to find their voice on social media and to connect with their customers. It is the moment when you put your KPIs aside and show empathy, commitment and truly embrace a human first mentality.
Up till now, crisis communication has mostly been limited to a single day or week. During that time all communication gets shut down or replaced with messages of hope or grief. We’ve all seen the posts on our feeds during the last decade. But now we are facing a crisis that will last for months to come and many are struggling with the question of what, why and whether to post during the Corona crisis.
first steps for your Social Media crisis Communication
Facing a crisis like Corona you can’t just go dark (not post anything) for a few days and continue business as usual. You need to completely switch your mindset. This is the moment to connect with your audience in ways you could have never imagined before. To do that, ask yourself the following questions:
What does my audience need to hear/read right now? What are they asking for?
Can I provide significant value for them? What are others already doing? Is there a gap to be filled?
Can I stay true to my voice? Is it authentic to my brand?
Let’s say you are selling craft beer and your brand persona is laid back surfer guy who values freedom and honesty. You wouldn’t share content that is causing uncertainty or stress, instead, you try to provide value in the form of calmness, like enjoying the simple things in life. If your brand is an airline and you have thousands of customers reaching out to you asking for answers you wouldn’t share that everything is going to be alright but provide tangible, service-oriented content. For example, where to get information on cancellation and the latest update on government restrictions.
Here are some examples of brands who Nailed it:
The Vienna Tourism Board reacted to the crisis in a more creative way and was one of the first brands who challenged their audience to share a picture of their window view.
Austrian Airlines was among the first ones who addressed the situation with a personal video from their CEO. They reacted quickly and highly professional.
Another nice example how you can stay true to your brand voice, creative and on point during a social media crisis is by Lush Germany.
If your brand can’t provide any sort of positive impact, it is not the time to push your content out into the world. If you are still not sure about your crisis communication, have a look at your brand values and tone of voice. You may already have a Social Media brand persona that can help you develop your crisis communication strategy. Creating a Social Media Persona for your business is essential to connect with your audience. It helps you to build trust and connect with your customers in a meaningful way. If you have not created a Social Persona yet, we highly recommend investing 10 minutes and answer the following questions to get you started:
What are 3 positive and 3 negative character traits of my brand persona?
What positive impact can my brand persona provide?
How does my brand persona react to a difficult situation?
A Social Media Persona for your brand or organization is like a roadmap, especially during crisis communication. You don’t only know when to react, but also why. It ensures to stay on track and true to your brand. It provides you with the necessary guidelines you need during challenging times.
If you need help with your social media persona, feel free to drop us an e-mail and we can schedule a digital workshop to help you develop your social media tone of voice.