Preparing to Manage Social Media in a Crisis Social media has changed crisis management exponentially. It has become the primary source for news as it breaks, to maintain a connection to the crisis, and to reach out to ask questions, comment, or get support. Consumers flock to find the ‘official’ page of the business within search, and their official channels on Social Media. This presentation from Matt Lynch explores best practice across Search Engine Optimisation and Social Media for the Crisis Management Leaders Summit, Perth 2015 #gocrisis #voriantraining

1. Preparing to…
Manage Social Media in Crisis
GoCrisis: Crisis Management Leaders Summit, Perth
Thursday 8th
October, 2015 11:20am – 11:50am
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2. Matt Lynch
With over 23 years Online Marketing & Information
Technology experience, my primary speciality is
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO). I am an
experienced senior technical marketing specialist
working both within agency and in-house roles. I
am a certified Google AdWords Specialist, Bing
Ads Accredited Professional.
I enjoy keeping up with the 'bleeding edge' of
technology advancements and social media
evolvement to ensure current knowledge in an ever
changing landscape, leading to early adoption and
determination of opportunity for marketing
enhancement.
Vorian Agency - General Manager
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3. Slide: 3
Vorian Agency is a full service Digital Agency based in West Perth, that
provides customised marketing solutions including; search engine optimisation
(SEO), pay-per-click advertising (PPC), social media marketing (SMM), web
design and development, branding, print and graphic design, as well as video
and audio production services that are aimed at promoting your brand’s
products and services through a variety of results oriented strategies.
Vorian Agency is a Google Partner, Bing Ads Accredited Company,
Hootsuite Solutions Partner and a MailChimp Expert Company.
Vorian Agency delivers integrated online and offline marketing
solutions to business wrestling with how to market in today’s
changing environment.

4. Connect on Social Media…
LinkedIn: au.linkedin.com/in/mattlynchseo
Google+: plus.google.com/+MattLynchAU
Facebook: facebook.com/mattrlynch
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About Me: about.me/au.mattlynch
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Klout: klout.com/#/mattrlynch
Blogger: seo-matt-lynch.blogspot.com/
Ello: ello.co/mattrlynch
Tumblr: mattrlynch.tumblr.com/
Flickr: flickr.com/photos/au_mattlynch
TrueLocal: truelocal.com.au/member/mattlynch
Ocho: @mattrlynch
Snapchat: au.mattlynch
Everytrail: everytrail.com/profile.php?user_id=1460969
Email: matt.lynch@vorian.com.au
Twitter: @mattrlynch
Join today’s conversation online: #gocrisis

5. Manage Social Media in Crisis
Social media has changed crisis management exponentially. It
has become the primary source for news as it breaks, to
maintain a connection to the crisis, and to reach out to ask
questions, comment, or get support. Consumers flock to find the
‘official’ page of the business within search, and their official
channels on Social Media. This session explores best practice
across this broad, multifaceted, ever-changing and at times
confusing platform.
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6. Scout Motto 'Be Prepared'
"Be Prepared... the meaning of the motto is that a scout must
prepare himself by previous thinking out and practicing how to
act on any accident or emergency so that he is never taken by
surprise."
Robert Baden-Powell
How prepared is your business?...
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7. What’s your Marketing EDC? Slide: 7

8. We don’t go online.
We live online.
150x per day.
Slide: 8Kleiner Perkins Caufield Byers, May 2013

9. How many on Social Media?
• Facebook 1.49 Billion monthly users
• Twitter 316 Million monthly users
• Instagram 300 Million monthly users
• Google+ 300 Million monthly users
• LinkedIn 255 Million monthly users
• Pinterest 250 Million monthly users
• Tumblr 230 Million monthly users
• Snapchat 200 Million monthly users
• Flickr 65 Million monthly users
• Vine 42 Million monthly users
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10. Slide: 10

11. Search Engine Optimisation
• SEO is the active practice of optimising a web site by improving
internal and external aspects in order to increase the traffic the site
receives organically from search engines.
• If you business can’t be found, when and where it needs to be, you
don’t get the traffic…
• When we talk about “Organic” or “Natural” Search, these are the
results that appear in the main body of the Search Engine Results
Page, that aren’t paid for, and are determined by Google based on
an algorithm that considers the content of your website and
matches this to a consumer’s search query.
• SEO is considered the more technical part of internet marketing.
– 81% of internet users use search engines to find a website.
– 87% of users only look at the first page of results.
– 85% of clicks are organic clicks, as consumers trust these.
• For a ‘Dark Site’ or ‘Negative Brand Term’ site to be useful, it needs
to also be found at the time of need.
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12. Brand Consistency
• Research and do the due diligence, to determine a
consistent brand approach (name and logo) to avoid
confusion and conflict to the brand, as well as limit impact of
trademark infringement; business name, domain name,
social media accounts, abbreviations/acronyms used.
• NameChk: http://namechk.com/
• Knowem: http://knowem.com
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13. Secure Your Name(s)
• Proverb: Failing to plan is planning to fail
• You may not use them today, but secure them for tomorrow
and block competitors or disgruntled consumers using them
against you!
• By offering its own official social media accounts, a company
can ensure that customers looking for information online not
only will be able to find it from a direct source but also will be
able to engage directly with the company.
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14. Brand-negative Domain Names
• Consider SEO optimisation for brand-negative keywords with
domain names (your-company-sucks.com), and using these
as customer services portals for the brand, as well as for
reputation management control.
• Among the 500+ new, generic top-level domains (gTLDs)
that have been approved in 2015, few have generated as
much concern and consternation as .sucks.
• The company who won the ICANN auction for the .sucks
domain, is positioning the new gTLD as a platform for
conversation. Its website declares that the domain “is
designed to help consumers find their voices and allow
companies to find the value in criticism.”
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15. Domain Prospecting & Typos
• Domain name prospectors (cyber squatters) buy domains
that might be used by businesses that aren’t yet online, with
the intent to sell the domain for an inflated price. Competitors
do this to try to capture your traffic.
• Domain prospecting is an issue for you and your business
because typos happen all the time, leading less savvy
internet users to the wrong address.
• A quick and effective way to stop someone from squatting on
variations of your domain name is to register the most likely
variations yourself.
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16. Managing Online Reviews
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17. Monitoring Review Sites
• Online review sites can be tricky for businesses because
there is no opt-out option.
• Your business can be listed on a review site without your
knowledge.
• Reviews are important as seen as a sign of ‘trust’. Having a
strong online presence is key to maintaining a competitive
edge over your competitors. Positive online customer
reviews can not only help your company stand apart from
your competition, they can also impact your search engine
rankings, and strongly influence many buyers’ decision
making process through this form of 'social-proof'.
• Negative reviews after a crisis can have a lingering affect.
• Familiarise yourself with all the main review sites, set up
accounts, setup a monitoring process, and be prepared to
respond and address feedback.
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18. Negative SEO Attacks
• Competitors use of Negative SEO tactics, through
amplification of negative reviews, creating negative social
sentiment, can affect consumer perception.
• The creation of spammy backlinks can impact your website’s
link profile and result in Search Engine penalties.
• Regularly monitor for these types of activities.
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19. A Social Media Policy
• While detailed social media policies are recommended for all
organizations, they really should be considered an absolute
must for companies that maintain a social media presence.
• It is imperative that a company’s employees engage in the
use of social media in a uniform and approved manner,
consistent to the brand values.
• Social media policies may address a variety of topics,
including guidelines for all employees (e.g., whether they are
authorised to speak on behalf of the company), strategies for
engaging with customers who offer feedback (e.g., how to
personalise a response), and use of intellectual property
(e.g., whether logos can be used in tweets).
• Create and publicise your internal crisis communication plan
before it’s needed.
Slide: 19Brian J. Winterfeldt and Diana Moltrup et al.
Brand Protection on the Internet: Domain Names, Social Media, and Beyond, 2015

20. A Social Media Policy
• To maintain our company's open, honest and transparent approach, and our genuine personality,
we’ve set out a few Guidelines and Policies to follow. They should be read and followed by all staff,
and especially anyone who updates a Social Media profile for our company.
• Our Social Media objectives
– Have fun. If you enjoy what you do, they will too!
– Respect the audience. Even if their opinions differ.
– Handle Consumer posts in a timely manner. Social Media is about NOW.
– Don't delete comments, take the conversation offline to customer service.
– Know when and what to post. Right message, right time. Be mindful of situations where you
need approval signoff before responding or posting.
– Leave competitors to it. They may talk about us, but the best response is no response.
– Act responsibly. Do us proud and keep it honest. Don’t post negative comments, avoid inflating
feedback with other profiles and importantly never leak confidential business information
• Remember to follow these policies
– Keep it quiet – never discuss company or customer details. This includes subjects like sales
figures, customer details, internal policies, complaints, staff members or incidents.
– Keep it nice – Never refer to our company or others in a way that is defamatory, harassing or
indecent.
– Keep it private – Never reference any clients, customers or trade partners without obtaining
their permission to do so.
– Keep it real – Never post online on behalf of the company or competitors (under your own name
or anonymously) unless it’s part of your job role or you’ve been given permission to do so.
– Keep it calm – if you’re in a bad mood, or someone riles you, take a step back and come back
to it later.
– And finally, remember to keep it cool – We know you love social media as much as we do, but
remember your social media usage shouldn’t interfere with your job. Usage may be reviewed
and monitored by your Manager. Slide: 20

21. Staff & Company Accounts
• In the era of Integrated Search Marketing, we encourage the
creation of staff social media accounts, from ‘C’ level
executives, BDMs, Sales Team Members through all levels
of the company, to support the brand activities, and amplify
the company’s social media posts and engagement.
• Consumers (both in B2B and B2C markets) follow leaders of
companies, as they are considered influencers of interest.
• 82% of LinkedIn users will use LinkedIn to research, reach-
out and connect either before or immediately after meeting
someone new, and this is to their personal account not the
company account!
• In time of crisis, companies need to have a policy in place,
coordinating communications, and monitoring of these
accounts as consumers may reach out to them directly.
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22. Brand Mention Alerts
• Google Alerts are email updates of
the latest relevant Google results
(web, news, etc.) based on your
keyword search queries.
– monitor a developing news story
or crisis situation
– keeping current on a competitor or
industry
– managing your own company or
personal brand reputation
• Another free alert solution is Talk
Walker Alerts
– www.talkwalker.com
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23. • Hootsuite is the world’s most widely used social media relationship platform.
More than 10 million users, including 744 of the Fortune 1,000 companies,
trust Hootsuite to manage their social media programs across multiple social
networks from one integrated dashboard.
• Pioneered social media management when it launched in 2008.
• Preferred, certified partner of Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Google+
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Social Media Management

24. Slide: 24
Why Hootsuite?

25. • There are different Stream types depending on which Social Media channel
is selected.
• Create a stream for each social media channel, and account, to monitor your
brand #hashtags, keywords, mentions, competitors, staff accounts or other
focus areas.
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Hootsuite Search Streams

26. • Save approved messages as templates, that can be used as canned
responses for quick consistent replies by the Customer Service teams.
• Companies can buy time by being prepared to meet the press with
statements that are appropriate but are relatively vague until there’s time to
formulate more specific responses. “Our hearts and minds are with the
families,” and “We’ve implemented our crisis plan, which is designed with
the utmost priority on our staff and customers.”
Slide: 26
Canned Messages

27. • During Hurricane Isaac August 28th, 2012 it wreaked havoc on the US Gulf
Coast, claiming forty-three lives.
• In the wake of the crisis, the region’s largest energy company Entergy was
left with the challenge of communicating with hundreds of thousands of
customers without power in their homes and businesses. Entergy, enacted
an emergency social media plan to keep communication open during the
crisis.
• Entergy’s Manager of Social Media & Digital Communications Strategy, Alex
Schott, chose Hootsuite for this purpose:
1. Leverage the real-time nature of social media.
2. Be prepared. Centralise your social media monitoring in advance for
best results.
3. Don’t be tied to a single location. Take advantage of mobility.
4. Keep your plan simple. The only predictable thing about a disaster is
unpredictability.
• Make sure your crisis response plan is maintained and up-to-date, with all
stakeholders, PR team, Agency Support personnel added to Hootsuite to
expedite information sharing, collaboration and approval processes in the
event of a situation should it arise.
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Hootsuite Case Study

28. Social Media use in a Crisis
Out of a group of crisis survivors in the United States:
•37% use information on social media to buy supplies and find
shelter.
•25% download disaster-related apps in preparation and for
support.
•76% use social media to contact friends and family to make
sure they are safe.
•24% use social media to let loved ones know they are safe.
Slide: 28Hootsuite - Using Social Media Command Centers in a Crisis, 2013

29. Social Media news distribution
During disasters and crises, news now spreads as follows:
•Citizen journalists, news outlets and authorities share the news
on social channels.
•News is picked up and amplified across Twitter and other major
social channels.
•Amplified sharing to spread hope and concern for the affected
areas.
Slide: 29Hootsuite - Using Social Media Command Centers in a Crisis, 2013

30. #Hashtags
• Hashtags (#) are used to focus tweets/posts on topical
keywords, or brand name, across the majority of social
media channels.
• Hashtags are powerful tools in crisis communications. When
used correctly, hashtags, unify all communications during a
crisis and position a company as the true source of accurate
information.
• Currently trending topics can be seen on most social media
channels or at http://www.hashtags.org/
• By visualizing regional hashtags or keywords, such as
#Japan or #Fukushima, newsrooms can track Twitter
mentions to get facts, figures, rich media straight from the
source and other important real-time information.
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31. #Hashtag Tips during a Crisis
• During a Crisis, use a single #Hashtag to unify all posts.
• Keep #Hashtags short and easy to spell.
• Create a #Hashtag that is incident related and avoid
marketing campaign related #Hashtags.
• Use capitalisation for each word in a multi-word
#MultiWordHashtag
• Keep an eye on trending topics and particular #tags, and
blend these into your social media content posts.
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32. #BostonMarathonBombing
• During the Boston Marathon Bombings, the Boston Police
Department made terrific use of hashtags. They clearly had a
hashtag strategic plan in place, and used social media for
media alerts, news conferences, as well as information
request from the Boston community.
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33. How not to use #Hashtags
• American fashion house Kenneth Cole, known for its socially
conscious advertising, created a Twitter storm when, during
the height of Cairo protests for democracy, on a day in which
it was estimated that thirteen protestors were killed and
hundreds more injured in Cairo, the erstwhile social media-
savvy Kenneth Cole sent a message from its Twitter account
that plainly aimed to use the Twitter trending topic to
shamelessly promote its spring collection.
Slide: 33Glen Gilmore, SocialMediaVoice.com How NOT to Use Hashtags & RTs in a Crisis, 2011

34. Respond to Questions
• Fewer than 30% of questions to brands on Twitter were
answered in Q2 of 2015
• Consumers are expecting immediate answers, and actually
want a conversation!
• Twitter has published a free 122-Page Customer Service
Playbook For Brands
• The playbook, includes best practices and ‘real world
examples’ from companies such as Hilton @HiltonSuggests,
Best Buy @BestBuySupport, Comcast @ComcastCares,
Spotify @SpotifyCares, T-Mobile @TMobileHelp and
Microsoft @LumiaHelp.
• https://twitter.app.box.com/customer-service-on-twitter
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35. Check what's Scheduled
• At the ‘outbreak’ of a crisis situation,
check with the marketing department
as to what campaigns are scheduled
across all media.
• With Social Media management tools
enabling scheduling well in advance,
you want to avoid any
embarrassment.
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36. Reputation Reporting
• Klout - klout.com/home
• Kred - kred.com
• Naymz - naymz.com
• PeerIndex - peerindex.com
• TrustCloud - trustcloud.com
• Trackur - trackur.com
• Thinkup - thinkup.com
• TweetReach - tweetreach.com
• Sumall - sumall.com
• Mentionmapp - mentionmapp.com
• Social Mention – socialmention.com
• Xefer - xefer.com
• Unfollowers - unfollowers.com
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37. Matt Lynch
Thank you – I look forward to connecting with you
on Social Media, networking together during lunch
and at the end of the conference.
Twitter: @mattrlynch
#gocrisis #vorianagency
Vorian Agency - General Manager
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