Social media’s lightning speed: good or bad?

“The speed of communications is wondrous to behold. It is also true that speed can multiply the distribution of information that we know to be untrue.” ― Edward R. Murrow

Anyone who’s dealt with negative social media knows harmful comments can travel at lightning speed. Years of building a good name can sour in minutes following a damaging post or tweet that catches the public’s interest.

Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and other social media platforms are, technically, just communication channels, like radio, TV and print media. But the omnipresence of social media means comments – good and bad – spread at a truly alarming rate. If a negative issue goes viral, it can quickly become “news” across multiple communications channels. Cue the Taco Bell employee who posted a selfie licking a stack of taco shells. Every major TV network and newspaper covered it.

Too often, social media comments lack thorough review or fact-checking by the media and can quickly derail a company’s reputation. In our own industry, it would be easy for someone to type in the wrong number on a post about a new loan program and hit send before realizing the special rate was quoted incorrectly.

Given these issues, should credit unions avoid social media altogether?

Some have made that decision, but they’re letting great opportunities pass them by – and risk being seen as outdated. A better approach is to effectively harness the power of social media. Used properly, social media can strengthen your message – and give you an opportunity to correct misperceptions.

A strong social media plan requires both monitoring communication channels and quickly responding to comments that are false or misleading.

Monitoring
Use a social media monitoring platform, like Brandwatch, HootSuite, Meltwater or Social Mention, to track what’s being said about your organization. Assign a staff member to receive alerts any time your credit union is mentioned and determine what action (if any) to take.

When your organization is facing a major issue, physical disaster or full-on business crisis, it’s critical to monitor social media more frequently. This allows you to evaluate how messages are being received by your various publics and gives time to adjust or fine-tune your content.

Responding
Before it’s needed, develop a plan to evaluate negative comments about your credit union and lay out a strategy for responding. Some things to keep in mind:

• Determine the consequences of the post. Is there likely to be a strong, emotional response to the comment that could take it viral? Though not often recommended, sometimes the best course of action is simply to ignore a post. Or, if you can identify the commenter, attempt to resolve the issue offline.
• Acknowledge most comments right away. Conversely, if a post is likely to gain momentum, prepare to respond. Speed is critical in today’s digital world, even if you don’t know why the comment was posted. The longer a comment is allowed to stand unanswered, the greater the likelihood it will spawn a chain of harmful responses.
• Minimize where possible. Many times, a simple statement explaining a policy decision is all that’s needed. It can even provide an opportunity to highlight a service benefit, like the credit union’s commitment to fraud prevention in response to a complaint about security questions.
• Acknowledge valid issues. When several commenters report the same concern, assure them that the problem is being investigated and provide a staff person’s contact information if further communication is necessary. Then, post status updates until the problem is resolved.
• Respond to negative posts using the same channel. If a comment is confined to a Facebook post, don’t expand the issue by responding via Twitter or other channels. But if the issue attracts wide-spread attention, responses should be coordinated across all channels.
• Don’t argue or be defensive. Always respond politely to a social media post, just as you would to a complaint by mail or in person. When a commenter prefers to publicly grumble rather than talk one-on-one with someone who can help, don’t respond further. Consider blocking the commenter from your social media sites if the situation continues.

Social media is a powerful tool, but it must be managed effectively. Failure to monitor issues and respond quickly can make it challenging to gain and keep control of negative situations. But don’t let that sway you. Today’s social media, with its speed and broad appeal, provides an excellent opportunity for credit unions to communicate and build relationships with their key publics.

Margaret Blankers is President of Margaret J. Blankers Public Relations Group (MJB PR Group), which she founded in 2002 after more than 20 years’ experience in credit union public relations. The firm works with credit unions, trade groups, CUSOs and other vendors nationwide to provide strategic public relations and crisis communication services. Contact MJB PR Group at 866.714.7041 or www.mjbpr.com.