How To Use Social Media in Times of Corporate Crisis

  
     
  By: Hector V. Herrera  
 

Whether your company is facing a manufacturer's product recall or you find yourself in full on legal battle with the FDA regarding the quality of your produce, one thing is certain, managing corporate crisis in the world of web 2.0+ can be a complicated minefield. However, with some sound social media marketing strategies and effective PR tactics, your company can not only move past the bad news, but move into a whole new level of relationship building with your core customers.
This article is about recognizing the power of social media to develop closer more meaningful relationships with your customers. The article is presented as a case study and should be used to gain insight into the use of social media marketing in times of corporate crisis. Social Media Marketing can be an important weapon in your company's media arsenal when it comes to facing times of corporate crisis.
Let me tell you, as a marketing strategist and independent contractor, you run up against all types of scenarios in the business world. This assignment was by far, no exception! I recently worked as an independent marketing consultant, for a client in South Florida. The client was looking to move out of the shadows of the negative publicity surrounding the owner and namesake's of the business.
The Charge: Increase Traffic and Online Sales for The Client's business, while improving the company's image, which was tarnished by the owner and namesake's earlier criminal convictions.
The Challenge: Launch SEO tactics that would push a negative blog posting about the owner's legal troubles, which was showing up in the number 2 & 3 spots for Google Keyword searches of the Company's Name, while remerchandising the company online and across all social media channels.
The Solution Rx: Develop and launch a bespoke social network that would highlight the strongest business features and help establish a closer and more intimate engagement with the company's customers.
At the time of the initial engagement, the business had started to use Social Media as their primary source of marketing and promotions. They had established a foothold on facebook and managed to dip their feet into the video world of Youtube video marketing. The company was beginning to move along at a great pace despite all of the negative publicity. However, the looming negative outcome of the company's name on all Google name searches was a pestering problem.

Focusing on moving past the negative publicity, the company decided to get involved in social causes and launched a low key PR campaign to raise money for local schoolkids by breaking a world culinary record. They also actively looked for ways to help the community by working with other local farmers to draw attention to the unique area they were located in.
There was little doubt that Social Media Marketing needed to play an important role in the reinvention of the business. From Facebook to Myspace, Twitter, YouTube, and Flickr. The right brand message needed to go out to the company's loyal client base on a regular basis. The idea was to divert attention from what was in the past and focus in on a genuine and renewed dedication by the business owners to repent and reposition themselves as community advocates.
Throughout the engagement a couple of very sound Social Media Marketing techniques, were employed including the following techniques, including...
1. The company's main website was redesigned to showcase up to date news and information on the company's community outreach efforts while better showcasing its core products.
2.Positive news was made more readily accessible to customers: - An aggressive online marketing campaign included regular weekly postings across all social media networks as well as weekly email blasts to all 10K subscribers about events, happenings and community outreach initiatives spearheaded by the company. The weekly postings on the company's social network profiles, really helped position the company in a much more favorable light.
3. A custom social network was developed to integrate news and promotions with product and event sales. The custom social network truly helped the business communicate more completely and directly with its customers. It also helped create a feeling of a family business the customers could relate to. Without ever acknowledging the past, the company was able to paint itself in a more favorable light as it moved into the future.
The Final Outcome:
The end result was a successful three-month campaign that yielded a net increase of 100% in the company's monthly unique visitors to its site, 120% in its facebook fanbase, Record Online Sales for each month the campaign ran, and a brand new custom social network with over 500 new fans registered in 12 weeks. The company still faces some potential problems due to the negative Google company name searches, but the bad publicity surrounding the owners, doesn't seem to be slowing the rate of growth and the customers are genuinely more tolerant of mistakes by the owners because of the close relationship established by the company's social media marketing efforts.
  
  Article Source: http://business2u.co.za   
     
 
About The Author
Sign Up socialmogul2000.ning.com/page/mailing-list to receive three Social media Marketing Reports, every small business owner should have. Be sure to also Check us out online at: www.socialmediamogul.net Hector V. Herrera, founder of Social Media Moguls, is a graduate of Georgia State University, and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications. Hector is recognized as a visionary brand strategist. Get a Unique Version of this Article Article Marketing
 		  
     
 
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