On February 20 we’ll be hosting our Social Media Week event at APCO Worldwide where we will be discussing crisis management. To preview the event and the type of interactions you can plan on gaining from our breakout sessions, we hosted a Twitter chat last week to discuss Applebee’s social media fiasco. Below is a highlight of the chat, but to find the rest of the conversation and tweets, use the hashtag #smwcrisis (we’ll be using this for the event as well). The event is full, but you can find the details here.
To get a glimpse of what has been occurring, take a look at this photo essay, and the original thread on reddit.
[View the story "SMW Crisis Management Twitter Chat - The Applebee's Fiasco" on Storify ]
SMW Crisis Management Twitter Chat – The Applebee’s Fiasco
On Thursday, February 7, the DC Social Media Club hosted a Twitter chat to discuss social media and crisis management as a preview to our Social Media Week event on the 20. We focused on one particular situation of note, as it was getting the most attention at the time.
Storified by Elliot S. Volkman· Mon, Feb 11 2013 06:07:16
With our #SMWCrisis event coming up on the 20th, we felt Applebee’s current situation would be ideal to highlight https://socialmediaclubdc.org/2013/02/crisis-management-twitter-chat-thursday-discussing-applebees-fiasco/Social Media Club DC
Q1 How can a business prepare for the negative social media repercussions after making an unfavorable choice #SMWCrisisSocial Media Club DC
A1 Having a crisis management plan is always a good place to start. Identify scenarios that are likely to occur #SMWCrisisElliot S. Volkman
@SMCDC Have the right people in place who understand how to respond (or not respond) to a situation. #SMWCrisisMatthew Razak
A1. Learn from what others have done before you. If you can turn the situation around like the red cross did, do it! #smwcrisisAlex Stevens
A1 Run through different scenarios and practice responding to them. A media crisis fire drill. #SMWCrisisMykl
Q2 What could Applebee’s have done to reduce this SM Crisis, besides not firing the waitress? #SMWCrisisSocial Media Club DC
A1 Monitor all channels. Own situation. Respond to all comments. Post crisis: Recap lessons learned in blog post/other channel #SMWCrisisMaurene Caplan Grey
@SMCDC A1 Important to understand style of response that works for your brand. Witty/#gettingslizzerd response won’t work for all #smwcrisisLacy Baugher
@AlexKStevens @RedCross Great point. Mistakes happen. Much better to be able to laugh about it and make light of the situation. #SmwcrisisMykl
A2: Educate SM team & legal team together to open lines of comm. Always befriend legal, esp in this situation. All can benefit #SMWCrisisPam Chvotkin
A2 I think the Applebee’s situation is challenging b/c firing the waitress was not likely the wrong move… #SMWCrisisColin Storm
…big questions is how to not fuel the mob if you believe your decision was right. That is where Applebee’s failed in a big way. #SMWCrisisColin Storm
@ColinStorm A2. I have to agree with you Colin. They were essentially forced to make a lose/lose decision #SMWCrisisMichael Killi
@ColinStorm I’d have to agree. Even if it was not intended, and the customer was rude, privacy is important #smwcrisisElliot S. Volkman
@ChezWu @AlexKStevens – think they still have time to turn it? Or too late? #SMWCrisisBrandon
@SMCDC @LacyMB Patience. Responding without thought was biggest mistake. Internet moves fast, but they could have thought more. #smwcrisisMatthew Razak
@DistrictOfAris @speaktothegeek It’s ok to delete neg comments that are laced w/ profanity. No use exposing their fans too #SMWCrisisMichael Killi
Q3 When would have been the best moment for Applebee’s to post their side of the story? #SMWCrisisSocial Media Club DC
You have to be prepared to react and respond to this situations! #SMWCrisisDany Correa
A3: I don’t think it was the timing that was bad, just the way they handled it. #SMWCrisisAris Kyriakopoulos
@DistrictOfAris @TheJournalizer I think at 3am whoever is following the drama is just looking for drama. Wait. Regroup. Respond. #smwcrisisMykl
@SMCDC A3. The second it got noticed on the front page of Reddit #SMWCrisisMichael Killi
A3: A: keep it empathetic, but to the point. B: As soon as it was clear it was grabbing attention, and you see neg sentiment. #smwcrisisColin Storm
@SMCDC A3 Tangential thought – what do you do when its obviously a sitch where legal has to be consulted before you can answer? #smwcrisisLacy Baugher
@LacyMB @SMCDC at that point having standard "We are listening, and will release a response in X hours" kind of thing would work #smwcrisisElliot S. Volkman
@SMCDC Crisis plan: 1) list all points of failure, e.g., tainted food, poor service, irate customer, with prioritized resolutions #SMWCrisisMaurene Caplan Grey
Q4 How should brands with physical locations prepare for social media users who take photos & video on premise? #SMWCrisisSocial Media Club DC
@SMCDC A4. EMBRACE IT. User Generated Content is SM Gold. #SMWCrisisMichael Killi
A4: Pay attention to photos and videos customers are posting ALL the time, not just in a crisis. Sentiment analysis is important #smwcrisisAris Kyriakopoulos
@SMCDC A4 monitor monitor monitor #SMWCrisisKevin Olivieri
A4: Be prepared to control/monitor the negative and promote the positive. Content is key. Reach out to the negatives & ask why. #SMWCrisisPam Chvotkin
@mgrey I definitely don’t see Foursquare utilized as much anymore, could gain a lot from visits with simple promotion #SMWCrisisPam Chvotkin
A4: Customers are one thing. Employees are another. Should not even be on FB or Twitter while on the clock. #SMWCrisisColin Storm
@TheJournalizer some restaurants welcome InstaFoodies, but others won’t embrace & forbid photos in the premises. #SMWCrisisSocial Media Club DC
@SMCDC @TheJournalizer WOW wonder how that’s enforced? #SMWCrisisBrandon
NO SOUP FOR YOU! Return, one month! RT @speaktothegeek WOW wonder how that’s enforced? #SMWCrisisElliot S. Volkman
Btw here’s the NY Times article about banning photos. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/23/dining/restaurants-turn-camera-shy.html?_r=0 #smwcrisisMykl
Q5 What’s the best way to start the recovery process after a social media fiasco like Applebee’s? #SMWCrisisSocial Media Club DC
@SMCDC A5. Begin a positive SM campaign by using your brand power to support a charity #SMWCrisisMichael Killi
@SMCDC A5 lot of neg. sentiment for the offline action. Take offline action to generate positive sentiment – then spread online. #SMWCrisisBrandon
A5: Main lesson is the need for a risk/reward convo w/ Legal & other stakeholders on potential customer reaction for the future. #SMWCrisisPam Chvotkin
A5: Transparency is key. People aren’t unreasonable, so be open about what you’re doing to correct the problem. #smwcrisisKatrina Chan
Last Question Folks: Q6 Is there anything positive that Applebee’s has done during this SM Crisis? #SMWCrisisSocial Media Club DC
A6: From what I’ve noticed, Applebee’s has listened. Several bloggers have received feedback from corporate on issue to discuss. #SMWCrisisPam Chvotkin
A6: [Crickets] #smwcrisisKatrina Chan
A6 I’ve seen some of their team and those who work with them start their outreach, seems to be working #smwcrisisElliot S. Volkman
Thanks for joining us everyone! Expect a recap on our blog using Storify and Keyhole. Join us Feb 20 for #smwcrisis http://socialmediaweek.org/blog/event/crisis-management/#.URQFs_JyZw0Social Media Club DC
Here is the nifty data from #SMWCrisis http://keyhole.co/realtime/2sxdWG/SMWCrisis – See you all in 2 weeks!Elliot S. Volkman
