Seven Ways To Fix A Social Media Mistake

Editor's Note: The following is a guest Marketing Mulligans post written by Dan Himmon, the principal at Hive Strategies, an Oregon-based social media consulting firm which works exclusively with hospitals and healthcare systems to engage patients on different levels. This piece originally appeared on the Hive Strategies blog, and later reprinted on Ragan.com. In today's day and age, social media mistakes are exceedingly common, both among small and mid-sized businesses and major, high-profile brands. So when a critical error in judgment or execution arises, what are the best ways to fix it, swiftly and efficiently? Himmon, who can be followed on Twitter at @hivedan, offers some excellent suggestion for mitigating social media gaffes of all varieties.

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In the fast-paced world of social media, it's bound to happen. You send a personal tweet from your company's Twitter account instead of your own. Or you post something on Facebook that you later realize was short-sighted or easy to misinterpret. Or there's always that unfortunate typo.

How do you fix a social media mistake?

Obviously, the best solution is not to make a mistake in the first place. But the fact is that, in spite of our best efforts, mistakes are going to happen. By planning ahead for the inevitable, you'll be able to act responsibly and move ahead.

A recent Mashable article by Zachary Sideman gives some excellent pointers. I've adapted some of his ideas and added a few of my own to provide some solid tips when you're faced with a social media mistake.

1. Respond As Quickly As Possible

In social media, particularly on Twitter, an hour or two is an eternity. Even if you're able to remove the content from your own Facebook page, it's still out there. If you realize you've made a mistake, respond as soon as possible.

2. Monitor The Response

By following your Twitter feed or Facebook posts, you'll see if people are reacting negatively and how seriously they are reacting. Take a few minutes to see how people are responding before framing your response.

3. Be Honest

Clearly, Anthony Weiner's claim that his Twitter account had been hacked was a sham, and it didn't take long for everyone to figure that out. Be honest. "I made a mistake when…" People always appreciate the truth and, as a bonus, it builds trust.

4. Apologize Appropriately

Some mistakes are much more serious than others, and as a result, some mistakes require a much more serious response than others. The problem is, when the mistake is ours, it always feels terrible. Take a moment to bounce the mistake off someone you trust for perspective, and then frame your apology with the right level of seriousness.

5. Repair The Mistake

If your mistake impacts someone else, take the right steps to repair the error, and then let your followers and fans know what you've done.

6. Move On

Once you've acknowledged the error, apologized, and repaired any damage, it's time to let it go and move ahead. In 99.9 percent of the cases, people will accept this and forget about it. It doesn't do any good to beat yourself up.

7. A Bonus Tip

A Twitter mistake is most likely to happen when you combine your personal and professional Twitter accounts on the same application. Consider separating them. For instance, you might want to manage your personal Twitter account on Hootsuite and your professional (hospital) account on TweetDeck. That way you're forced to navigate from one application to the other when you change feeds. It's an extra step, but one that could save you a lot of embarrassment.

The lesson in a nutshell:  Mistakes will happen. Fix them quickly and get over them.

© Copyright 2011 Ragan Communications, Inc. | Hive Strategies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

The Three Immutable Laws Of Crisis Communications

Editor's Note:  The following is a guest Marketing Mulligans post by Dan Harvey, a former BBC and ITN journalist, and now director of marketing and client relations at HarveyLeach Media Training, a U.K.-based media training firm which prepares executives for conducting speaking engagements and handling print, online, and broadcast interviews. Crisis communications is one of the most challenging public relations disciplines for many reasons, and certain crises, such as the BP oil spill, can be overwhelming and beyond difficult to manage. However, regardless of the situation, there are certain dynamics which NEVER change, and should be readily adopted by all companies working through such scenarios in order to safeguard their respective brands and reputations. This is excellent advice for any firm, no matter the size, in preparing for a crisis. Harvey explains below.

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Although social media may have added a whole new dimension to the discipline of media relations, it's interesting to note that many of the key principles haven't really changed at all. This is particularly true in the field of crisis communications.

Three of the most important rules of crisis communications for traditional press and broadcast media are just as relevant to social media. They are:

1. Be Quick

It has always been vital to respond to a crisis proactively rather than reactively. This means getting your message out there either before the story breaks or as soon as possible afterward.

When there were just daily newspapers and scheduled news programs, your deadlines were clearly defined, but with the advent of rolling news and citizen journalism, the faster you can be, the better. It may be tempting to delay things by saying "no comment" or just staying silent, but this makes it much easier for the media and public to assume the worst.

It can also be tempting to spend valuable time refining your message, running it through committees and approval processes. Don't. The most important thing is that you put your head above the parapet and give a reasonable response.

2. Be Helpful

It is vital to keep the media and public on your side. Ideally, this process will have started before any crisis occurs, through fostering relationships with journalists, bloggers and, of course, your customers.

Once the crisis has occurred, you keep them on your side by being helpful and giving them the information for which they ask. Let them know what you are doing to fix the situation and how long it will take.

Issuing regular statements and calling press conferences have traditionally been the way to do this. Now, social media platforms such as Twitter and YouTube enable you to be proactive in getting this information out to the widest possible audience.

3. Be Open

Don't try to put a positive spin on a crisis situation or deny responsibility when your organization is clearly at fault. Even the slightest hint that you might be hiding the truth will greatly damage your credibility.

The public has always been expert at spotting dishonesty. The difference now with social media is that your dishonesty will be discussed in great detail by thousands of people.

In addition, don't be afraid to let your emotions show. If you are genuinely upset by a crisis, let people see that. It is always a good thing to show that you are human, too.

© 2011 Ragan Communications, Inc.

How To Restore Confidence In Your Customers When You’ve Failed

Editor's Note: The following is another guest Marketing Mulligans post written by Mickie Kennedy, founder and president of eReleases, a cost-effective electronic press release distribution service, and a widely-regarded and well-respected PR professional who maintains the company's popular PR Fuel blog. How do you recover when you've made a mistake of some sort that has obviously angered your customers? It's a very important question that few businesses know how to address effectively. Find out here.

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But is there any coming back from a huge faux pas like the one you’ve committed? Your customers are likely cursing your name and are unlikely to forgive you anytime soon. How do you go about restoring confidence in your company and brand?Well, you goofed. Big time. The Twitterverse is ablaze with anger, your Facebook feed is filled with seething rage, and the national news has even given the story airtime. Your face is red and soon your profit margins will be, too! Unless you do something.

Time

For one, it’s best to remember that “anytime soon” mentioned above. Just because they may not be willing to give you a second (or third) chance right now, this may change in the future. So don’t lose your mind trying to bring them back over as soon as possible.

Right now, what you should be focusing on is getting your name back into good standing. This involves buckling down and getting to work figuring out ways to build goodwill. One way to get about this is to take into consideration what went wrong in the first place.

Was your big mistake lying to your customers? Then you need to find ways to show the world that you’re actually honest. Make sure to take the full blame for the lie first of all then go about orchestrating a campaign around “keeping promises.”

Did your product cause harm to some of your customers? Go out of your way to fix the situation, and then find some nonprofits to align yourself with to show you’re concerned with human interests.

Next Steps

When you feel the world has calmed down enough about your big goof (and it may not take long…the world moves fast these days), it’s time to start winning your old customers back. Assuming you’ve done everything in the previous step, your company’s name should be losing its tarnish.

Those old customers will remember when they were wronged, though. This won’t just go away with time. This is especially true if a rival company has already snatched them up. You’ll need something special to win those folks back.

One way to do this, depending on the age of your company, is to instill a feeling of “nostalgia” in those former customers. Remind them all the good things about your business and what you can do for them. Also, tell them what the plan is for your business in the future if they switch over.

The main thing, though, is to let everyone know that your big error will never happen again! Above all else they want to feel like you have their best interests in mind. At all times keep in mind they may be looking for ways you’re messing up again – don’t give them that reason. Mind everything you do and every word you say and you may just be able to win most of your formerly offended customers back into your confidence.

How would you go about restoring your customers’ confidence during a crisis?

© 1998-2011 eReleases® (MEK Enterprises LLC) All Rights Reserved.

Tiger Woods Joins Twitter...Finally...In Effort To Boost Image

As widely reported today in this story by the Associated Press, this item in SportsNewser, and countless other mainstream consumer, sports, and golf media outlets today, former world No. 1 golfer and internationally-disgraced superstar Tiger Woods has officially begun using Twitter under his own handle, @TigerWoods. The account, as of this afternoon, already has well over 150,000 followers.

According to AP golf writer Doug Ferguson, who has a long-standing relationship with the star, Woods has been using his Twitter account since June of 2009, although the handle was secured and set up approximately one year prior, and the only tweets, before today, were to announce his Twitter stream, Facebook page, and redesign of his Website. You can see Woods' brief tweet history below:

Ironically, Woods is just launching this effort now, almost one year after news first broke of the now-infamous, Thanksgiving Day car crash in the driveway of his Isleworth home and his unbelievable series of infidelities with as many as a dozen women, even though he has long eschewed mainstream media in favor of making announcements exclusively through his cutting-edge Website. In the wake of his recently-finalized painful divorce, and his first season without a victory since turning professional in 1996, Woods is using Twitter and other media platforms to slowly begin rebuilding his damaged reputation. The key question related to all of this: will it work?

In addition to posting his first tweet, Newsweek posted an op-ed piece by Woods today titled, “How I’ve Redefined Victory,” and he is scheduled to be a guest for two segments on Thursday, November 17 on ESPN Radio’s “Mike & Mike in the Morning.” And Woods may make one or more television appearances in the next several weeks, according to his agent, Mark Steinberg, leading up to the golfer's annual invitation-only, end-of-season tournament, the Chevron World Challenge.

In the final analysis, it will take far more than a few tweets, op-eds, and media appearances to overhaul Woods' image as a liar and philanderer. However, based on fan and media reception at tournaments this year in which he's participated, it's readily apparent the tide is turning in Woods' favor, although he still has many skeptics and detractors. Above all, the most important ingredient in this equation is time; it takes time for people to forget about the past, and to recognize positive behaviors in the present which definitively prove that he has changed...as a golfer, as a husband, as a parent, and as one of the world's most recognizable athletes. There is no reason to believe that, if he stays on this path of growth and development, most people will eventually forget about the past. That's human nature, and it's a pattern we've seen repeated over and over with sports and entertainment personalities who've stumbled along the way and disappointed their fans and colleagues. Kobe Bryant...Pete Rose...Britney Spears...Bill Clinton...the list goes on and on of celebs who've redeemen themselves.

Regardless of what happens to Woods and his reputation, it will be interesting to see precisely how long, and through what tactics and channels, it will take for all of this damage to be repaired. Stay tuned...

Picture This: Yet Another PR Embarrassment, Black Eye For Beleaguered BP

The hits just keep on coming for beleagured BP, which continues to fumble its management of the public relations fallout from the ongoing oil spill crisis in the Gulf of Mexico. And it only has itself to blame for these ridiculous blunders, which look they they're coming from some novice, early-stage start-up rather than a huge multinational, billion-dollar corporation with seemingly endless resources.

In its latest gaffe, and as first reported by AMERICAblog, and then subsquently picked up by MSNBC, the Washington Post, Gizmodo, and other blogs, BP deliberately, and rather amateurishly, used PhotoShop to digitally alter a July 16 image of its Houston command center, and then released the modified photo to media outlets worldwide without proper disclosure.

According to Washington Post reporter Steve Mufson, "A blogger...noticed that the oil giant altered a photograph of its Houston crisis room, cutting and pasting three underwater images into a wall of video feeds from remotely operated undersea vehicles." The Gizmodo story actually reveals specifically where the alterations were made, and even more disturbingly, that its metadata clearly show the original image was captured all the way back in 2001. Here is a composite of the altered and unaltered image:

As if this is not enough, AMERICAblog further reported today in a follow-up that BP has faked ANOTHER photo on its Web site, this one of its "top kill" initiative last month to stop the spill. Check out the story here. The lead on this story sums it all up: "It's starting to look like Capricorn One over at BP," a humorous reference to the famous 1978 film starrring Elliott Gould and James Brolin about a Mars landing hoax.

Mufson hits the nail on the head in his lead, "Apparently BP is no more adept at doctoring photos than it is at plugging deep-sea oil leaks." And adding perspective, as well as accurate insult to injury in his piece on MSNBC, Wilson Rothman writes:

Though the command center alteration doesn't seem to be an attempt to hide facts or confuse the public, it heightens skepticism for the company at a time when it should be trying to build trust. As the AMERICAblog reporter John Aravosis wrote, 'I guess if you're doing fake crisis response, you might as well fake a photo of the crisis response center.'