How to: Recover from a Social Media PR Disaster - Essay Example

How Recover from a Social Media PR Disaster How Recover from a Social Media PR Disaster Social media has emerged as one ofthe most used modes of communication on the Internet today. Individuals use social media for connecting with friends and family. Many corporations have also taken advantage of social media and use it as a tool for advertising their services and products. While this is the case, social media can prove disastrous if used inappropriately. In this article, Zachary Sneiderman explores the various social media PR disasters that affect individuals and corporations as well as measures that can be taken to recover from such disasters when they occur.

Sneiderman (2011) begins by saying that a social media PR disaster can simply originate from just posting a message, which appears harmless to the person doing the posting but later turns out to be offensive to the audience based on their own interpretations. However, Sneiderman (2011) suggests that there is no cause for alarm for such errors because they do not pose a serious challenge, therefore, can be corrected easily in case proper measures are taken. Apart from the simple slips, Sneiderman also notes that some are more serious and has the potential of ruining the corporate image of a company.

In this regard, Sneiderman (2011) grouped the serious slips into five major categories from which he attempts to provide the most effective strategies that can be used to recover from such social media catastrophes. The groups include inappropriate opinion, hackings, early release, the insensitive statement, and false reward. Sneiderman (2011) explains that the inappropriate opinion is that which occurs when an organization leaks wrong information that is likely to injure the corporate image or format organization.

He noted that such errors mainly occur when one posts information on the social media before editing or proofreading the work. Secondly, the insensitive statements according to Sneiderman (2011) also have the potential of damaging the company’s brand ethos. According to him, making insensitive statements on the social media is likely to make audience perceive a company as reckless and complacent. With regards to early release disaster, Sneiderman (2011) argues that such disasters occur when sensitive and confidential information of a company is leaked to the public earlier than intended.

Sneiderman (2011) argues that this can be very disastrous since it can affect the operations the company. False reward, on the other hand, takes place when a company misleads its customers by offering a deal, which it is incapable of delivering. Sneiderman (2011) noted that such most of these deals may be made accidentally in the social media but doing so can be so disastrous to the company. Finally, Sneiderman (2011) argues that the hack occurs since it is done maliciously and is the most disastrous of all, but also the easiest to correct.

Indeed, most of the observations and assertions made by Sneiderman are true. There are many organizations whose corporate image get tarnished by inappropriate posting of information on social media – information which appears very offensive to the audience. Despite the reality that most of these errors are made unintentionally, proper care needs to be taken to ensure that everything posted on the social media are thorough checked to avoid tarnishing the company’s brand image. This is because when posting is done on the social media, the public tend to assume that it is the position of the company.

However, even if information is erroneously posted on the social media, a company should have a proper recovery strategy aimed at convicting the audience that the posting was done erroneously so as to avoid creating a PR disaster. Sneiderman’s observation that recovering from social media PR disasters are dependent on the strategy used by an individual or company is also true. However, regardless of the strategy used, it is important for an organization to keep its brand image strong since it affects how the audience will relate to the organization after a slip.

Sneiderman (2011) advises that, in the event of a social media disaster, an organization needs to act quickly and honestly so as to correct the error (Sniderman, 2011). This strategy is good because correcting a mistake starts by accepting that a problem has occurred. This is because it is only through accepting that a mistake was made that the audience will have faith on the company. As such, after accepting that a problem did occur, the next step is to act quickly to prevent the audience from forming an opinion that the error made on the social media might have been deliberate.

Acting in time will make the audience feel that the PR is concerned about their welfare, thereby making it easier to convince them of the error. In the article, Sneiderman also advises that in order to make up for the speed, it is essential to listen to the audience (Sniderman, 2011). This advice is right because listening to the audience will assist in understating how they perceived the message posted and impacts the message has had on them. This is important because for the audience to remain loyal to the company, then the company must demonstrate that it cares and listens to their views.

References Sniderman, Z. (2011). HOW TO: recover from a social media pr disaster. Retrieved from http://mashable.com/2011/08/24/pr-disaster-recovery/