Social Media and Crisis Communication _ Yan Jin, Lucinda L. Austin _ T_Week 3 readings_Crisis Comms

Over the past decade, social media has become integral in how people communicate, share opinions, and respond to crises globally.
Valentini and Kruckeberg (2012a) define social media as platforms for discussions among individuals with shared interests.
Coombs (2013a) describes a crisis as an unpredictable event threatening key stakeholder expectations and affecting organizational performance.
Increasing usage of social media by the public during crises leads to greater credibility attributed to social media compared to traditional media (Jin et al., 2014).
Organizations have adopted both the internet and traditional media for crisis communication since the early 2000s.
The chapter reviews concepts, models, and theories relevant to managing crises within social media contexts.

Social media alters crisis dynamics by accelerating the development of crises and forming new crisis types (Pang et al., 2014).
Rapid information sharing occurs in real-time, allowing users to seek updates and emotional support during crises (Austin et al., 2012).
Online public conversations shape awareness and understanding of crises, often making previously unknown issues known.
Historical instances, such as the Middle Eastern political upheavals, illustrate the immediate spread of information through social media ahead of traditional reporting (Pang et al., 2014).
Rapid social media dissemination reduces the time organizations have to strategize and respond, affecting reputation management.
Crisis can be triggered by rumors spread through social media (Coombs & Holladay, 2012).

A paracrisis refers to an apparent crisis that threatens an organization due to perceived unethical behavior (Coombs & Holladay, 2012).
Example: The United Airlines incident where a YouTube video of a Canadian singer's issue with the airline went viral, damaging the company’s reputation (Tran, 2009).
Organizations need to differentiate between legitimate claims and false information to manage reputations effectively.
Trolls, who provoke reactions through inflammatory posts, contribute to challenges in crisis communication (Noble et al., 2012).

Social media discussions can impact mainstream media coverage and public opinions on crises.
These discussions can generate confusion when conflicting information circulates from various sources.
Stakeholders are likelier to trust information from their social networks (Putnam, 2000), indicating the significance of shared experiences and network influences on perceptions of crises.
Organizations must engage with stakeholders and understand online sentiment to mitigate potential communications crises (Johansen & Frandsen, 2007).

Crisis preparedness should incorporate social media engagement strategies, focusing on monitoring online conversations for threat identification and rumor control (Noble et al., 2012).
A robust crisis management plan should include risk assessments, communication strategies, and social media considerations (González-Herrero & Smith, 2008).
Organizations should train employees on social media management and crisis communication to better address stakeholder concerns during crises.
Wikis and other collaborative tools can facilitate internal and external communication during crisis management (González-Herrero & Smith, 2008).

Understanding stakeholder perceptions and behaviors is critical for effective crisis communication (Kim & Grunig, 2011).
Organizations should prioritize engagement with influential stakeholders in their networks to amplify credible messages.
Sedereviciute and Valentini (2011) propose a model to classify online stakeholders based on their influence and level of concern regarding crises.

Traditional crisis communication often emphasizes informing rather than interactive engagement.
Dialogue with stakeholders fosters trust and presents the organization as willing to listen and adapt (Coombs, 2012).
Various dialogue strategies (concertative, transformative, framing, generative) can be employed depending on the organization’s level of responsibility in the crisis (Romenti et al., 2014).
Selecting the appropriate dialogue strategy is crucial for effective crisis resolution and stakeholder engagement.

Social media significantly affect crisis dynamics and information dissemination.
Organizations must integrate social media into their crisis management frameworks, maintaining constant monitoring and stakeholder mapping (Sedereviciute & Valentini, 2011).
Recognizing the relational nature of social media communication can enhance organizational response strategies during crises.
Future research is suggested to improve understanding of stakeholder perceptions and effective online dialogue strategies in various crisis contexts.