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In which ways can social media be deployed to implement crisis communication? Based on this research, we hope to provide you some guidance which can be extended to any crisis. Figures tells us that 96% of the Dutch inhabitants have Internet access and a mayor part of this group makes use of social media (CBS, 2012). However, still there is a lot of discussion regarding the right use of social media. Especially with crisis communication the right use of social media can be very crucial. From this we hope to make a recommendation to improve, facilitate and accelerate crisis communication in the future.
Table of content Introduction 2 Sub-questions 2 Example 3 1. What is social media? 5 2. What is crisis communication and in which ways do you use crisis communication? 6 3. What are the trends and developments in the field of crisis communication? 7 4. In which ways can social media be deployed to Implement crisis communication? 8 Conclusion / Mean question 9 List of sources Example To start the survey we have chosen an example crisis. We choose KILL and the eruption of the volcano on Iceland. At that time all the air traffic was taken down, because of the smoke, caused by the eruption.
Many travelers got stuck on their holidays. KILL was also affected by this crawls situation. They made personal contact everybody via a personal video on Youths. He informed everybody about the situation and about the precautions they were going to take to make sure every traveler with KILL would have a place to stay and got back home as soon as possible. Their strategy was to inform everybody and explained the situation. They had an open attitude and by have the CEO in the video, they showed KILL was taking the crisis serious and they took enough afford to solve the problems.
The image of KILL got much better with this way of crisis management. What is social media? Social media are interactive online platforms where the user is connected to others and they create the content by sharing information. The latter is also called ‘user generated content’. That information may be in the form of text, image and sound. Since the advent of Web 2. 0, where usability and underlying technologies on the web interaction easier, it Just grows faster. The concepts of social media and Web 2. 0 go hand in hand, although some believe that social media exists before that time.
The most popular social media channel An example of social media is the most popular social media channel: Backbone, which recently has one billion monthly active users (Backbone, 2012). In the Netherlands, Backbone is third of the most visited websites and is actively used by 4. 8 million Dutch people. As in many other social media channels, anyone can own a profile and provide formatting information, such as interests or work experience. In this way it is more easily to find your online friends. On Backbone and other social media you can also use groups (communities).
Within this group you’re able to send messages to a selected group of Backbone users. Also you can choose the degree of privacy (public or private). Other examples of social media, in order of popularity in the Netherlands are, Youths (video sharing worldwide), Linked (business social network), Twitter (microbiological) and Hyena’s (Dutch social network). (Marketing’s, 2012) Social media and marketing Social media have an important role in marketing. Given the displacement in the use of traditional media (TV, radio and newspapers) to the Internet, the value of the use of social media by businesses increased.
Moreover, Social Media for businesses are an inexpensive way to connect people to your brand, by example to generate “Likes” ND to keep people informed of developments (Carmela, 2010). What is crisis communication and in which ways can you implement crisis communication? “Crisis is offering information from transmitters to receivers with the aim escalation of a crisis situation and bring tangible and intangible effects to a minimum. Communication is vital to provide all concerned as soon as possible of the correct and complete information, before or as soon as a crisis emerges” (Stamina]deer, 2002).
If a crisis occurs or is going to occur, the media is often already informed and immediately starts firing with questions, whether a company itself already knows here the crisis passes. Then forms a viral and other stakeholders will wonder what it is with this crisis. It is therefore important that the company provides more clear information about the crisis as soon as possible. “No comment” means that you have the situation under control. It must therefore be determined beforehand what is being communicated (message) to limit the consequences. Depending on the target group the company has to choose from various means of communication.
Timing, message and audience are three things to take into account. It is important that all the decisions are well thought, so the company has a clear strategy. Examples In a crisis, with major impact for many people, very often a press conference is used which is broadcasted on TV. Nowadays, with the advent of Internet and social media, there are also opportunities to spread the message online as soon as possible. This will be discussed later. More frequently used communication means during a crisis are phones, press releases in the newspaper or on the website, posters, radio and commercials.
Everything can therefore be used. There only should be a good look at what is right for the crisis, when and for whom intended. What are the trends and developments n the field of online communication? When you communicate you’ve got a transmitter and a receiver who take turns to tell each other a message through a medium. By in this way, there is often a communication dialogue. With the advent of the Internet medium, in the beginning, however, people forgot the meaning of communication. It was rather a way to inform than to run a dialogue. Gradually both the Internet as the communication developed itself.
In this sub-question we therefore took a look at the trends and developments in the field of online communication. Web I. O- web 3. 0 Internet has a long history. But we look back at the last 20 years, where the Internet for the individual became affordable and accessible. It started with Web 1. 0. Hereby Internet was also called the web of the documents. Internet became a new source of information, but not more than that. Soon the Internet grew along with the needs of the user to Web 2. 0. In Web 2. 0 users may also place content on the Internet and this leads to a growing form of interaction. Web 2. Became like a parallel online world to the real world. Blobbing is the new form of Journalism, Youths is like watching television and instead of reading thick encyclopedia’s, we learn everything from our self-made Wisped. But this is not all. The human needs changed and as always we want more. At the moment we are in Web 3. 0. The Internet as one of the components: the semantic web. Within this but also photos, video and audio. It is also possible that you are using a surname and password to access several different applications of the Internet, such as Google already does with the search engine, Gamma, Google Docs, Youths, etc.
Applications The market for applications is a large and growing market. People are living with their applications. The tools are made to make life easier and fun. Since June 2012, there are 2. 8 million tablet owners and 6 million smartened owners (Mate, 2012) and this number is growing by the day. Through these means we mostly use applications. There are an average of 25 applications per tablet and 15 applications per smartened downloaded. Through free applications, advertising is widely used in the application itself. Also, there are more and more opportunities to respond or comment on or about the applications.
The power of the consumer The opinion of the consumer is getting stronger and stronger. The consumer is more involved, wants influence and is seeking for cooperation. Organizations need to think this through to get used to this new development. Previously, companies and organizations do what they wanted without to much fuss. But with the advent of the Internet, organizations are taking into account what consumers want in the total package. Bit by bit we are looking to going to total corporate transparency. These facilities are no longer about whether the medium Internet works, but on the strategic deployment.
An example is the Arab Spring. As one person put movies as purporting material for his story, tens of thousands of people revolt against their government. Keep the consumer satisfied and be transparent, is the message that the powerful consumer himself brings out to the world. Len which ways can social media be deployed to implement crisis communication? If we look at how social media can be used during crisis, it is first important to know why this is important. By this view we look at the effect of social media. Nowadays, it is normal that when people look for information that they quickly focus on the all-knowing source named ‘web’.
They do this because information on the Internet is regarded as credible. If something positive or negative is found about the information, it is quickly shared within one of the many communities at this moment. Once the ball has started rolling, it rapidly spread through the existing networks. The so-called snowball effect. Something you need to watch. Why social media is important As mentioned above, more and more people orient on the internet. There has never been so much information through a click away. In addition, it takes also rather little to gain access to this information.
It is a social evolution. Notification is increasingly important because the consumer can play a role in responding to it. Notification is not Just unlocking information, but also revolves around perception and emotion. These two needs to be fed in a positive way. The use of communication for any business is almost always done in a strategic manner. There is research done and there is budget for free. But this applies only to the traditional means. If we look at the online communication, the half of the companies in the Netherlands are using social media, but 90% has no budget. 5% of these companies put the different social media in any way. There is no strategy for it. Finally, there is the 60% who do not evaluate the results of the use of social media (Urban. 2011). Which social media do you use When using social media, it is important to look at your audience and you have the following two things to ask: “Which social media are the most used by my target audience? ” , “What social media have the most impact on my audience? “It is also important to be aware of what social media is growing and decrease. This is not something that Just should be taken when a crisis occurs, but rather all before.
By studying the use of social media the deployment of the media will become more easer. Conclusion Social media is currently already deployed in crisis communication but not nearly enough. This while social media is a cheap and fast way to connect people to your brand. Crisis communication is about to offer information between senders and receivers to prevent escalation of a crisis. As more and more people explore on the internet, social media is a good way to bet in crisis. The power of the consumer is something where you as a company or organization to be reckoned with.