Getting Slizzerd, Michael Vick &

Mummy Prostates

Tales from the World of

Nonprofit Social Media Crisis

Communications

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Kivi Leroux Miller

New Book

in the Works!

REALITY: The Control Train has left the station and you aren’t on board.

REALITY: Everyone is a spokesperson.

flickr.com/photos/conbon/2873195559

Flickr: Adrian Miles © flickr.com/photos/akhir/3769294894

REALITY: If people think you suck, they don’t need your permission to say so.

REALITY: But most of what you encounter will be neutral or positive.

flickr.com/photos/brenbot/3419626959

REALITY: You can’t totally plan for a social media crisis, but you can get a clue.

REALITY: Assess your risk and make a plan.

When something goes wrong, wouldn’t it be great if . . . .

http://www.flickr.com/photos/stevendepolo/5463419639/

• Your supporters would cut you a little slack when you did goof up.

• Your supporters trusted that what you said was true and authentic.

• Your supporters had your back when others attacked.

Let’s Play the Opposite Game!

How Can We Pursue a Social Media Strategy That . . .

• Encourages people to kick us when we are down?

• Builds mistrust so people assume we are lying and hiding something?

• Ensures that we are abandoned to fend for ourselves?

As a group, brainstorm at least 10 answers to your question, then star your top three.

Let’s Make a List of What NOT To Do if You Want to Prep for a Social Media Crisis

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As we go through these three case studies, write down one DO or DON’T per Post-it note.

You’ll need these later!

Honest Mistake Adeptly

Handled with Humor and Grace

= Everything Turns Out Just Fine

1 Getting Slizzerd Rogue Tweet at the American Red Cross

http://www.tacticalphilanthropy.com/2011/02/the-story-behind-red-crosss-twitter-faux-pas

As a Table, Discuss the Post-It Notes and Start a Social Media Do’s and Don’ts Checklist.

Controversial Decision

Slowly and Poorly Explained

= Devastating Impact on Fundraising and Irreparable Damage to Brand

2 Komen for the Cure Responds to Critics with Silence & Leftover Mummy Prostate Tweet

The AP story broke, and within hours, Planned Parenthood sent a fundraising email:

Within a few hours, the ratio of anti-Komen’s decision to pro-Komen’s decision was about 80 to 1 on Twitter.

The ratio was about 10-1 on Facebook, and people started to complain that comments were being deleted. Energizer also took a beating since it was in the last update.

It took nearly 24 hours to respond on Facebook . . . And it just made things worse.

Meanwhile, the last tweet about prostate cancer in a mummy was in place for over 24 hours.

When they did tweet, they did it badly.

When the apology came three days later, it was too little, too late.

As a Table, Discuss the Post-It Notes from This Case and Add to/Edit Your Social Media Do’s and Don’ts Checklist.

Controversial Decision

Well-Explained with Sympathy for Opposing Views

= Everything Turns Out Just Fine

3 Michael Vick’s Redemption with the Humane Society of the United States

HSUS was no Michael Vick fan.

The story about the partnership breaks . . .

Three blog posts in three days to answer questions . . .

Create an FAQ page so you have something to link to.

Make rules clear . . .

18 months later . . .

And the story continues . . .

HSUS continues to explain the decision . . .

As a Table, Discuss the Post-It Notes from This Case and Add to/Edit Your Social Media Do’s and Don’ts Checklist.

Let’s List Do’s and Don’ts During a Social Media Crisis

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Now Let’s Put the Checklist to Work with the “What Could Possibly Go Wrong Next?!?” Game

Scenario #1

You work for Meals on Wheels. 15 of 150 people get sick one night and two are hospitalized.

PINK CARDS: What could possibly go wrong next? What could be the next shoe to drop? Write one challenge per card. GREEN CARDS: Write down one tool, solution, or tactic to overcome the challenges that might come up.

Scenario #2

You work for United Way. Your boss, trying to impress some potentially big donors, makes a joke about the President’s birth certificate.

BLUE CARDS: What could possibly go wrong next? What could be the next shoe to drop? Write one challenge per card. PURPLE CARDS: Write down one tool, solution, or tactic to overcome the challenges that might come up.

Let’s Play!

Teams to the front. Challenger Team plays a card.

Solutions Team plays one or two cards in response.

You decide if nonprofit sinks or swims!

Some Closing Reminders . . . • “Don’t Be Scared, Be Prepared” – Brainstorm and

practice! • Be there ahead of time, listening and building. • Let them know you hear them, immediately. • Assume the best in their intentions, until you

know otherwise. • If you screwed up, apologize. If you didn’t,

explain. Do not confuse the two. • Be honest, clear, and concise. End the news cycle!

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