During the many sessions at GSMCON, several questions were raised about how to best communicate in challenging circumstances: What do you say when a crisis such as a natural disaster or a mass shooting arises? How do you respond to a controversial topic going viral on your watch? And what do you do with that nagging troll who just won’t quit?
Here are four tips to help guide your strategy in these more difficult circumstances.
1. Respond immediately
It’s customer service 101: When a new concern is raised, it is critical that you immediately join the conversation to demonstrate that you are listening and you care. You may not have all the facts yet, and that’s perfectly fine — just admit it. Be willing to have the conversation!2. Coordinate your response
Most cities and counties are active on multiple social networks and even multiple pages on the same network. When a situation erupts, there may be multiple staff members who need to communicate across these channels, and it’s important to stay consistent. One way to ensure consistency is to predefine messages for situations that you anticipate and share that messaging with your different departments ahead of time. Staff members can learn from and utilize these messages when needed.3. Consider a rumor page
Most rumors are born online, so it’s important that you utilize your online presence to combat misinformation. If you are experiencing a long-running situation, or a situation that has generated significant confusion, a rumor page on your website allows you to consolidate all of the facts and fact-corrections in one place for both citizens and the media. You can then utilize social media to amplify traffic to your rumor page.4. Overcommunicate
A sure way to come up short in a conversation is for your voice to not be heard. As a situation develops, it is critical that you respond quickly and frequently. Your agency must maintain control and ensure that your official message is being heard by everyone listening in.Finally, regardless of how well you communicate across social media, there is always the potential for public records requests and litigation involving your social media response.
These risks exist day-to-day and are magnified in a crisis, so as CEO of ArchiveSocial, I’m excited to announce a new initiative called ArchiveSocial Crisis Support, which provides free access to archiving and risk management technology if and when your agency experiences a social media crisis. You can learn more about it at http://govcrisis.social.
