Question

Please answer the following question in two or three paragraphs (200+ words). The case study that relates to the question is listed below. This is for a public relations class. Thank you!

1.) Why do you think Berger says it is important to have a social media strategy before a crisis hits in order to have any credibility?

Case Study – General Motors Goes Social with a Financial Crisis:

General Motors used social media to help handle its bankruptcy financial crisis in May 2009. Despite hesitation from the legal and financial consultants advising GM, Christopher Berger convinced the CEO to use Twitter and Facebook to let shareholders know of the chapter 11 filing. Berger, director of global social media at GM, said that getting CEO Fritz Henderson on board with the idea was crucial. GM following a 20/80 policy on its social media posts – 20 percent was GM material posted to Facebook or Twitter or other places and 80 percent was responding to questions. “Even if they were venting and saying, ‘We hate you,’ we tried to respond,” Berger said. “During a crisis, you want to use social media as a tool to respond and make sure that consumers realized you are listening and you care.”

GM employed such social media tactics as posting blogs and live webcasts, playing a video interview on Facebook with Fritz Henderson, and putting the CEO on Twitter for an open conversation. “You cannot overcommunication during a crisis,” Berger said. “Go on every platform, every possible place somebody might be listening to you. The audience expects you to be there.”

During the first week of the crisis, GM engaged in direct conversations via Twitter, Facebook, and through various blogs with about 800 individual people. Berger noted that those 800 conversations were translated into communication with thousands more because followers to those sites would see the conversations. “Again, it’s not ‘Here’s GM’s message; here’s what they want us to know.’ It is real people interacting,” Berger added. “That was a particular benefit for us.”

In one particular effective strategy, GM even sought to engage its critics. GM invited a popular blogger and frequent GM critic, David Meerman Scott, to headquarters and gave him access to the CEO and anyone else he wanted to talk to. Within a week of the visit, Scott had posted four blogs about GM to his blog, Web Ink Now. Scott’s post were still critical of GM’s advertising strategy (something he had been critical of the motor company for previously), but were positive about the corporation overall. “You don’t engage everybody,” Berger noted, adding that critics not interested in a genuine conversation are not worth the time. “If somebody is giving good thought to their criticism, then you want to engage that person.”

To have an effective and credible social media presence during a crisis, it is important to establish a social media strategy before the crisis hits, Berger maintains. “There is no over. This is not a campaign. It is a commitment. This is a long-term way of doing business.”

Answer 1

Answer: The social media is an effective tool for the management of the public image of the companies. Social media enables a two way communication with the target audiences and helps the companies to exchange their views with their target audiences. During the time of crisis management interactive and two ways communication with the target audiences is important for the success of crisis management. In this case itself it is evident that how the social media communication during the bankruptcy helped GM to establish a two way communication with its stakeholders and manage the situation in an effective manner. This explains that how the social media can help in the effective management of crisis.

But it should be kept in mind that social media strategy cannot be developed in one single day. In this case also GM was able to manage this crisis through social media strategy because it was active on the social media platforms from a long time. Without having a social media strategy before the crisis, the companies will lack in managing and effectively using such strategies. With a prior social media strategy in place the companies can effectively mold it as per the new situation for managing the crisis. Having a social media strategy from before also enables the companies to develop a follower base which can be used during the time of crisis.