According to Jeff Suggs, corporate emergency services and security manager for Kuraray America Inc., social media is a powerful tool that can be used to a company's advantage, "but it's also used as a tool for someone else's advantage to say whatever they want to say."
Jeff Suggs, corporate emergency services and security manager for Kuraray American Inc.
Perhaps most damaging is when social media users post information on various platforms about incidents without having proper training or expertise regarding that incident.
"They're not subject matter experts," Suggs said. "They just get to post."
Suggs noted the new reality of crisis communications is that incidents become "very public, very quickly."
"The story will be told," he said, addressing delegates at the Environmental, Health and Safety Seminar held recently in Galveston, Texas. "The question is by whom it will be told and how quickly misinformation can spread."
It is incumbent upon companies to shape the narrative before others do it for them, which can often lead to the spread of false information and misconceptions about actual events and details.
"It's imperative that we do our best to gain control of the communications flow in a timely manner," he said.
Pictures, video and commentary about an event can be spread worldwide by anyone within minutes due to the rise of cell phone technology. Often, the first news or information about an incident at a plant -- regardless of severity -- originates with a plant's employees and those on-site.
"Most employees and contractors are not trying to 'play reporter,'" Suggs stressed. "They are letting their friends and family know that they are OK and sharing an important event in their lives."
But the spread of unverified news about an incident is not limited to private citizens, Suggs warned. Social media has also become traditional media's earliest and most frequently updated source of information during a crisis situation.
In many cases, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other social media platform users will broadcast images and comments in real time, which are then repeated by news media before fact checking can be completed.
Reporters can transmit dramatic pictures and statements from uninformed observers almost instantaneously via the internet and hand-held devices.
Take control of the message
Within the first minutes of a crisis, the company's communications team must monitor social media for reports of the incident and "chatter," as well as photos and videos that may be posted by sources outside the company, Suggs said.
This diligent monitoring enhances the company's ability to engage with the public via its website, statements, releases, media interaction, social media channels and other sources of information.
When an incident occurs, the company's communication teams must also act immediately by releasing responses that convey messages of concern, compassion, responsibility and action.
A company's diligence and commitment to maintaining communication and being informative throughout all phases of the incident process, Suggs said, must begin with the initial occurrence and then continue through investigation, review, analyses and corrective actions until "normalcy" has been restored. This reinforces the public's impression of the company's sense of responsibility, Suggs said, and also helps the company maintain credibility and protect its reputation with key stakeholders.
Thanking first responders to the incident is a must, Suggs said.
"But it doesn't end there," he continued.
Suggs said it is important for the company's communications team to follow up on social media with additional outgoing messaging, even after a crisis is "closed," in order to continue to inform key stakeholders and those who may be seeking further details regarding the crisis.
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