In this video, you’ll learn about the world of crisis communications and how social media plays a significant role in this specialized area of communications and marketing.
What is a crisis? Crises have been defined as events that either cause harm or the potential for harm to an individual or organization. Whether the harm produces physical, emotional, or environmental damage to individuals and communities involved in the crisis, or damage to the corporate reputation or financial standing of an organization, the range of harm is different in each unique situation.
Full understanding of a crisis encompasses not only the actual event but also the process or time leading from a event, including the subsequent perceptions of the crisis by various stakeholders. While most research has been dedicated to focus on traditional crises, social media crises are quite different due to where they start.
Advances in social media have opened a world of opportunity for sharing information across public and private sectors and disseminating necessary information about a crisis among stakeholder groups. Emerging communication platforms are transforming how crisis communicators reach their audiences and partner with agencies in a variety of situations.
These transformations and adoptions not only change how individuals and organizations communicate during a crisis but also how others perceive their actions and behaviors and the overall reputation of brands or corporations involved in the situation.