15 Questions to Ask Before You Use Facebook for Crisis Communications

By Gerard Braud, CSP, Fellow IEC

Should you use Facebook as part of your crisis communications strategy?

Many public relations professionals say yes. They believe it is necessary to be transparent.

Let’s debate this… in fact, I hosted a one-hour Master Class that you can watch on this topic. It is called The Social Media Conundrum. It was sponsored by the crisis communications software company SituationHub.com and you can register to watch a replay. It’s worth it.

Social media for crisis communications

The Facebook algorithm is built against you in a crisis. We dig into this in the Master Class when we talk with social media marketing expert Jay Baer, CSP, CPAE. This best-selling author and mastermind behind the Convince & Convert strategy company explains how “Likes,” “Comments,” and “Shares” can work against you. Likewise, a like, reply, or comment from you can make matters even worse.

I can’t tell you what is best for you and the company where you work. You’ll need to decide that, and the Master Class will help you.

However, I can give you 15 questions to ask before you use Facebook as part of your crisis communications strategy and I can give you 15 minutes of my time to talk about your specific company, needs and goals. Use this link to schedule a private call. https://calendly.com/braud/15min

15 Questions to Ask Before You Use Facebook for Social Media

  1. Do you have a newsroom on your website?
  2. Do you have email addresses for customers?
  3. Can you text customers?
  4. Do you have mass notifications to customers?
  5. Do you have push notifications to customers through an app for your customers?
  6. Can humanity get the information they need without getting it on Facebook?
  7. Can you train customers to go to your website?
  8. Can you be transparent without being on Facebook?
  9. What is your job when a crisis strikes? Specifically, is it your job to monitor comments and reply to comments?
  10. Do comments from people on Facebook make your communications job harder or easier?
  11. Do random strange comments improve communications, comprehension, and information for your target audience?
  12. If you were to list your priority of tasks in a crisis, what would that list look like?
  13. If you were to list the communications channels available to you in order of priority, what would those be?
  14. Do you have analytics for your various communications channels to support your path going forward? Especially, do you have analytics that say Facebook is the best place for you to post a message during a crisis?
  15. What would happen if you took your Facebook page dark? Would anyone notice?

Answer these 15 questions then schedule 15 minutes for us to discuss your answers. Just use this link https://calendly.com/braud/15min