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A few years back, United Airlines faced a serious crisis. Passengers filmed a video where a man was forcibly removed from an overbooked flight. The video quickly spread on social media and sparked a wave of outrage.
United's response was slow. The CEO’s statement didn’t fully address the public’s concerns. As a result, the backlash was only fueled. Public trust plummeted, and the company's stock prices dropped.
Could a faster, more thoughtful response have changed the outcome? Possibly. A prompt, well-crafted statement can defuse a crisis before it spirals.
This is where social listening becomes essential. Social listening for crisis management helps you address issues before they become major problems.
Social listening means tracking mentions of your brand on social media and online platforms. With social listening, you can understand what people say and how they feel about your product, service, and company as a whole.
Social listening is done through social media listening tools. These tools monitor customer feedback, identify trends, and analyze competitor activity in real time.
Why do you need to listen to social media? Because it gives you a complete picture of how customers perceive your brand. You can also understand how conversations impact your industry and the trends they bring.
According to the survey, 46% of companies increase investing in social media listening. They do this because the insights help them develop strong marketing and PR strategies. The result? Better connections with customers, higher conversions, and increased revenue.
Social listening directly impacts crisis comms, allowing you to respond to a crisis exactly when needed. In short, the main role of social media tools is to alert you to negative customer feedback in a timely way.
Let’s look at how social listening affects crisis mgmt with examples:
Imagine a customer posts a negative review of your company on their Facebook page. Friends of this customer share the post, even if they don’t know the full story. Other users who feel inspired by the post also join in sharing it. Before you know it, the post has gained thousands of views, likes, and comments. You try to make a statement, but public opinion has already turned against you. To solve the problem, you’ll need to take consistent actions over time to rebuild public trust. A single statement is not enough.
Now, imagine the same disgruntled user posts a negative review on Facebook. This time, you receive an immediate notification that a negative mention of your brand has been detected. You click the link and go straight to the post, where you’re one of the first to comment, offering an explanation or apology. The author appreciates the response and either deletes the post or adds a follow-up saying the issue was resolved. The incident never gains momentum, and those who did see it quickly move on. By responding quickly, you manage the situation in your favor.
Crisis and communication go hand in hand, and social listening bridges the gap between the two. Here’s how it helps:
Early detection of issues. In a crisis, timing is everything. The sooner you learn about negative feedback, the better your chances of controlling it. Social listening tools let you identify the source of negativity immediately. As soon as a user clicks "post," you’re notified, allowing you to act without delay.
Faster, targeted responses. Social listening tools provide real-time notifications, giving you immediate insight into who mentioned your brand, when, and why. This allows you to respond directly and efficiently, preventing misunderstandings and stopping a small issue from spiraling.
Building customer trust. Prompt responses show customers that you care. Even if something goes wrong, responding immediately can boost your credibility. Customers will appreciate your attentiveness and are more likely to accept your apologies, increasing the chance they’ll stay loyal.
Identifying root causes. Social listening doesn’t just highlight complaints; it reveals patterns. Understanding these patterns helps you address underlying issues. For example, multiple complaints about slow response times may indicate an overloaded support team, prompting you to consider additional staff or AI solutions.
Analyzing competitor responses. Social listening tools also track competitor crisis responses. Observing their strategies and outcomes allows you to learn what to adopt or avoid. By learning from their mistakes, you can build a stronger crisis management strategy and reinforce your brand’s resilience.
Social listening tools support you through every stage of a crisis, whether it’s just starting, already underway, or winding down.
Start managing a crisis before it even begins. This phase is all about prevention.
Here is your action plan:
There are many social listening platforms on the market. How do you choose the righ one?
Start by understanding your needs. Do you need a simple keyword tracking or are you also interested in analytics? Do you have a large marketing team that will process data or do you need a tool that will automate the tasks?
Also, consider your budget. How much are you ready to pay for SM tracking and what do you expect to receive for your money? Consider that many tools offer different pricing plans, so you should take that into consideration before making a final decision.
It’s obvious that your brand name should be at the top of your social listening objects, but there’s a lot more to monitor. Competitors’ names are another must, giving you insight into how they’re perceived and letting you learn from their wins or stumbles. But what else should you add?
Sometimes, a crisis hits not because a brand made a direct mistake but simply because it missed a shift in trends.
Take Dove’s “Real Beauty” campaign as an example. A few years ago, Dove released a social media ad showing a Black woman transforming into a white woman after using their soap. The ad received heavy criticism, with many consumers finding it racially insensitive. People felt it suggested a direct connection between skin color and beauty.
Dove later apologized and pulled the ad. The lesson? The brand missed the public’s evolving awareness around race and inclusivity. With social listening, they could have recognized inclusion as a high-priority topic on social media. That insight might have prevented the campaign’s backlash and the resulting loss in reputation and revenue.
Preventive measures do not guarantee that a crisis won't occur. Crisis management in the active phase involves taking steps to resolve it. Here’s how you can do this with social listening tools.
Imagine you’ve missed the early warning signs of an impending crisis and now find yourself in the thick of it. What should you do? How can you navigate this avalanche?
First, identify the cause of the crisis and the communication breakdown.
Ask yourself: What sparked the negativity? Who initiated it? What exactly did they say? How did the public respond?
If you don’t have a social listening tool, now is the time to install one and uncover the root of your problem.
If you already have a tool but the crisis escalated, there are likely two reasons for this:
In the second scenario, you must review your social media monitoring objects and adjust your keywords. This task can be tricky. Sometimes, a single word isn’t enough. You might need several variations or to set limits on your tracking. If you’re unsure, reach out to your support team. They can help you fine-tune your search so you don’t miss a single mention.
In times of crisis, clear and immediate communication is essential. Social listening tools help you navigate the situation effectively.
It can be beneficial to analyze the data by social platform. You may discover that the crisis is gaining traction on a specific network, allowing you to focus your response efforts there.
Keep a pulse on public sentiment as the crisis unfolds. Use social listening tools to track reactions in real time.
Once the crisis subsides, it’s time to evaluate and learn from the experience. Here are three steps you can take with social listening tools to ensure a stronger future response:
Use social listening tools to review the crisis timeline and measure the impact. Analyze how the public reacted across different platforms and whether your response helped to de-escalate the situation. Track sentiment trends from the initial reaction to the final resolution, identifying which crisis communication strategies worked and which didn’t.
Pinpoint specific issues that fueled the crisis. Were there particular terms, images, or messages that triggered a negative reaction? Social listening tools can reveal patterns in mentions and topics that led to public backlash. This insight helps ensure similar issues are prevented in future campaigns.
Based on what you've learned, refine your monitoring setup. Adjust keywords and tags to catch similar mentions early on and establish clear protocols for responding quickly to potential crises. This way, your team is prepared to manage similar issues in the future more effectively.
Every company faces the possibility of a crisis, and going in unprepared can put you at a major disadvantage. Social listening tools are essential assets. They keep you up-to-date on what’s being said about your brand, your competitors, and your industry. And as they say, forewarned is forearmed.
Choosing the right tool is key. You need one that aligns with your goals and budget.
Metricom is designed for brands seeking comprehensive data, maximum automation, and a smart balance of cost and quality. Using advanced algorithms, Metricom collects and analyzes every relevant mention, so nothing slips through the cracks.
Ready to take charge in a crisis? Equip yourself with Metricom.
Here are the steps to use social listening for crisis management:
Yes, social listening can help prevent crises by allowing you to spot potential issues before they escalate. You can monitor conversations, analyze sentiment, and identify negative trends. You can then address them proactively and protect your brand's reputation.
Choose a social listening tool based on your goals. Do you need simple keyword tracking or advanced analytics? Do you have a team to process the data or do you need automated insights? Finally, consider your budget and choose the best tool from the price-quality perspective.
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