Most of you would say yes. After all, social media usage is on the rise, particularly in Indonesia. We are now the second largest Facebook nation in the world with about 39 million users. We are also the world’s third largest generator of Tweets. A day hardly goes by without news of a group or a social movement making good use of social media to reach thousands or millions of constituents.

The use of social media has become so prevalent and fashionable that most companies have to have a presence in one or more social platforms. Which leads me to my next question: how seriously do you take social media?

This is an important question as many companies have been burnt because of their “only a little pregnant” approach when it comes to social media. It may be a virtual world but the rules of pregnancy still prevail when it comes to social media. You are either pregnant or not. You either social media with full respect or it can turn around and bite you.

According to the latest study conducted by Altimeter Group, a research-based advisory firm headquartered in California, companies are quick to deploy the latest social media technology, yet most have not prepared for the threat of social media crises, or long-term effects on business – and suffer because of this.

The study was conducted through an online survey of 144 social business program managers at corporations with more than 1,000 employees, 63 interviews or briefings with corporate practitioners and social business software, service, and solutions providers, and analysis of over 50 social media crises from 2001 to present.

The firm defined a social media crisis as one that arises from, or is amplified by, social media, and results in negative mainstream media coverage, a change in business process, or financial loss.

The study further revealed that based on more than 50 crisis cases between 2001 to 2011, social media crises primarily stem from the exposure of poor customer experiences, poor influencer relations, or violations of ethical guidelines with the most fragile industries being consumer goods, followed by apparel and fashion, restaurant, internet, retail and airline.

What surprised me was the rising number of crises resulting from social media activities. Last year, the firm recorded 10 social media crisis cases, while during the first eight months of 2011, six crises have already occurred. It suggests that companies must start to think how they should prepare themselves to handle a social media crisis rather than simply joining the euphoria over these modern platforms.

So, what makes companies vulnerable to social media crises?

According to the study, while companies have been quick to deploy Facebook fan pages or Twitter accounts, they often ignore the complexities of social business. Long-term success in social media requires adequate preparation. For the corporation, this involves a realignment of roles, policies, processes, and more – it’s a transformation of the enterprise into a social business.

At the very least, a company needs a social media policy that protects the company and employees. A social media policy dictates acceptable employee behavior in social channels, safeguarding the company against legal risks raised when employees represent the brand in public. Typically, such a policy includes guidelines on disclosure and confidentiality, especially for personal usage of social media.

Furthermore, the policy should also encourage employee ownership. A company should not only dictate to its employees about disclosure or confidentiality, it should instead empower employees to use social media professionally.

As much as 83 percent of the 144 companies surveyed, have formalized an internal social media policy. Of Advanced companies, all 18 have such a policy in place. For example, Cisco instructs employees not to disclose any information that is “confidential or proprietary to the company,” while Ford reminds employees to “make it clear that the views expressed are yours.”

But having a social media policy is the first step toward inoculating a company from the likelihood of social media crisis. The next thing they need to consider is how to ramp up their capability and systems to enable them to respond rapidly and in a coordinated manner should a crisis strike.

Of companies with a formalized crisis response plan in place, 96% feel prepared for a social media crisis; of those without a plan, only 22% indicate preparedness. Furthermore, most Advanced companies (13 out of 18) believe that their teams and employees are prepared and know what to do in the event of a social media crisis.

So which is your company when it comes to social media and crisis preparedness? Pregnant or little pregnant?

One unpleasant example occurred to Motrin, a pharmacy company in USA, during the launch of their ad campaign via online (website and youtube) and in magazines. Stated later on, their campaign was actually intended to demonstrate genuine sympathy and appreciation for all that parents do for their babies. Thus, Motrin created this ad.

As seen in the video, the company used statements that are considered offensive for many mothers, thus it sparked controversy instantly. Statements such as “Wearing your baby seems to be in fashion” and “it totally makes me look like an official mom” were not exactly favorable to mothers, which happened to be the products’ main target market. Later, the ad received negative responses by mothers through social media; such as blogs, twitter, facebook, and youtube.

Seeing moms’ outraged response, Motrin acted promptly to ease up their anger. They wrote apology letter to bloggers, which created sympathy among mothers who protested the campaign. They also retracted the ad from their website and distribution in magazines. They didn’t do a press conference either, which from PR perspective can be a good thing as doing it might just spread the crisis wider.

Again, learning from Motrin’s case, companies need to be very careful in developing messages or strategies that will be used for their products or companies. Otherwise, things could get a little ugly; especially with the rise of social media that allows news and conversations, both positive and negative, to spread very fast. What we can also learn from this crisis is that, from time to time, we could involve our PR people when we are developing marketing strategies for our brands. They could help by providing very useful insights when dealing with sensitive issues.

Tulisan ini akan menampilkan dua respon berbeda atas insiden serupa yang menimpa dua maskapai penerbangan. Kasus pertama menimpa jetBlue Airways, yang mengalami masalah penundaan penerbangan besar-besaran dan mengakibatkan banyak penumpang terlantar di airport. Menanggapi hal ini, David Neeleman, CEO jetBlue Airways kemudian membuat video yang memuat permintaan maaf, penjelasan atas insiden yang terjadi serta komitmen mereka untuk memperbaiki permasalahan yang ada. Video ini memang direkam, dan bukan merupakan respon spontan pada saat insiden terjadi, namun dalam video ini CEO jetBlue menyampaikan pesannya dengan penuh simpati, dengan body language serta eye-contact yang terjaga dengan baik. (Video dapat dilihat di link berikut: Jet Blue Airways)

Video inipun memperoleh respon yang sangat positif dari masyarakat, yang menilai bahwa jetBlue telah menyampaikan pesannya dengan baik dan konsisten dengan komitmen perusahaan mereka selama bertahun-tahun.

Kasus kedua dialami oleh US Airways, terkait dengan kecelakaan pendaratan pesawat, yang tertangani dengan baik dan tidak mengakibatkan kerusakan fatal. Segera setelah insiden ini terjadi, CEO US Airways langsung memberikan pernyataan kepada pers untuk menjelaskan mengenai situasi yang terjadi. Dalam pernyataannya, CEO US Airways memberikan penjelasan mengenai apa yang terjadi serta tindakan yang akan diambil oleh US Airways. Pesan yang disampaikan cukup detil dan dapat menjawab keresahan masyarakat. Namun sayangnya, respon yang cepat ini tidak diiringi dengan sentuhan emosi atau kemanusiaan dari CEO tersebut. Dalam videonya, CEO US Airways hanya membaca teks pidato dan terlihat seperti sebuah robot. (Video dapat dilihat di link berikut: US Airways)

Tulisan ini tentunya tidak menganjurkan agar perusahaan berlama-lama dalam merespon sebuah krisis. Namun akan menjadi sangat efektif jika respon cepat perusahaan dalam menghadapi krisis, dapat diikuti dengan pesan yang tersusun dengan baik yang juga disampaikan dengan baik. Perlu diingat bahwa hal kecil yang kurang diperhatikan seperti body language, eye-contact, dan juga cara penyampaian pesan merupakan faktor yang tidak kalah penting selain kecepatan penyampaian pesan, terlebih dalam menghadapi sebuah insiden/krisis.

In the past, we had to rely on traditional means to pass on the information, for instance, by using fax machine or email to send press releases to journalists. Today, thanks to advanced information technology, we have new tools that will help the news be distributed in a more rapid and massive way. They are called social media.

One example of an institution that took advantage the use of social media is Innovis Health, an integrated healthcare system in North Dakota, U.S when their home state was hit with a huge flood. In addition to giving prompt medical care to the victims, the hospital took the initiative to help the local government by disseminating information on the situation to the people outside the area through an array of social media tools including blog, Twitter, and (drum roll please) one new site that perhaps we’ve never heard of before: Pitchengine.

Pitchengine allows you to have your own newsroom, and link your press release with other social media sites

It bills itself as a “Social media PR press release builder”. Essentially, it is a place where we can have our own virtual newsroom, which makes two-way communication even easier and faster than before. We can upload any press information to our newsroom which everyone can access, and there’s an RSS Feed option, so journalists who subscribe to our newsfeed can instantly get all our updates delivered to their mailboxes. Aside from this, one of Pitchengine’s innovative and most useful features is a facility to link your press release with other social media such as Facebook, Digg, and even Linkedin. Visitors to our newsroom can then spread the information to their social and professional circles just as quickly and easily, which then enables us to reach more people including those we probably cannot reach on our own.

All these things that meet the needs for us to maintain communication in a crisis & issue situation – spreading information in a rapid and massive manner, with easy access for everyone – make Pitchengine a helpful comrade for public relations professionals in doing Crisis & Issue Management.

And this is exactly what happens when a crisis strikes, and the Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) industry is rather prone to that.

In 2010 alone, there has been eight product recall cases involving FMCG companies worldwide. Among that is McDonald’s recall of 12 million drinking glasses featuring Shrek characters. McDonald’s acted fast by voluntarily announcing the recall and inform the customers about it through mass media, and not pointing fingers. They did what needed to be done under the circumstance above. McDonald’s immediate response helps protect their reputation and prevent outraged customers.

Related to this case, I came across an interesting article that provides us with ten tips on how companies can survive product recall. Here they are:

1. Cooperate: In a recall, do realize that you are not alone. There’s your product, customers and consumers and inevitably, a government agency. It pays to cooperate.
2. Act Fast: When there’s a problem with your product, time is a luxury you don’t have. You can take the right actions, but if you don’t do them fast enough, it may not matter.
3. Don’t try to shift the blame: It doesn’t matter whose fault it is if a potentially harmful product is out there. Do the responsible thing and worry about who is to blame later.
4. Don’t wait to be forced: When you know you have a problem, don’t wait for the government to order you to recall your product; do it yourself.
5. Don’t worry about the money: Sure, recalls are expensive, but what are the expenses of not recalling a potentially bad product? The public seems to remember how well you handle the crisis, sometimes, more than the crisis itself.
6. Make it easy for consumers: Take advantage of customer loyalty and offer them something in return.
7. Don’t be afraid to apologize: Apologizing isn’t the same thing as saying, “We’re Guilty!” If something happened that shouldn’t have, it’s okay to say it.
8. Communicate: It’s not enough to announce a recall, make sure “everyone” knows. That includes the news media, customers, consumers as well as your employees.
9. Investigate: Bad things do happen to good products, but find out what happened and why. Just ensure that the same thing won’t happen again.
10. Be Prepared! Don’t wait for a crisis to happen. Plan now for how you would handle a recall, what decisions will have to be made and who will have to be involved.

The tips above may be familiar to some, but often forgotten or avoided by companies once they need to recall their products. It may sound simple, but it can actually save your company.

Setelah Amerika Serikat, Toyota menarik sejumlah mobil di negara-negara lain. Di Cina, Toyota menarik 680.000 unit mobil, dan 180.000 unit mobil di negara-negara seperti Timur Tengah, Amerika Latin, dan Afrika.

Penarikan mobil kali ini adalah yang terbesar, dan tidak pernah dialami sebelumnya. Krisis PR yang disebabkan oleh kejadian ini membuat brand Toyota sendiri terancam. Manajemen krisis yang diterapkan oleh Toyota tidak ideal, dengan tidak ditanggapinya keluhan pelanggan dengan baik.

Padahal, seperti yang dikemukakan oleh Ong Hock Chuan kepada Reuters, “Masyarakat ingin melihat perusahaan bertanggung jawab sepenuhnya atas kejadian seperti ini, bersikap empatis kepada korban dan keluarganya, serta memegang kendali atas masalah yang terjadi dengan memetakan secara jelas masalahnya dan bagaimana mereka akan memecahkannya. Masyarakat juga berharap CEO yang akan melakukan ini semua.”

Sebaiknya yang dilakukan oleh Toyota dalam menangani hal ini adalah mengkomunikasikan kepada konsumen yang terkena dampak penarikan, bahwa Toyota akan memberikan dukungan penuh selama kendaraan mereka sedang ditarik. Misalnya dengan menyediakan pusat layanan konsumen 24 jam, dan menginformasikan dengan jelas apa yang akan dilakukan oleh Toyota selama kendaraan milik konsumen sedang ditarik.

Menanggapi kejadian ini, pemerintah Amerika Serikat melalui Menteri Perhubungannya Ray LaHood meminta Toyota untuk menangani masalah penarikan ini secepatnya, dan melakukan semua yang dapat dilakukan untuk memastikan keamanan dari kendaraan Toyota.

Sementara itu, dalam siaran pers tanggapan yang dikeluarkan oleh Toyota, justru terkesan seolah Toyota melemparkan tanggung jawab kepada dealer dalam menanggapi pertanyaan konsumen. Seharusnya Toyota dapat mengatakan bahwa konsumen dapat melaporkan keluhan atau pertanyaannya kepada pihak Toyota, atau dealer; dan pihak dealer pun diberikan pemahaman dan informasi yang baik untuk menangani pertanyaan dari konsumen.

Karena respon yang tidak sigap dan tidak suportif dari Toyota, konsumen yang menjadi korban penarikan ini memutuskan untuk mengambil tindakan secara independen. ToyotaRecall.org dibentuk sebagai “an independen consumer website with details on all Toyota recalls”. Situs ini mengundang para korban untuk berbagi pengalaman dengan sesama – karena informasi dari Toyota tidak komprehensif.

Jika Toyota tidak menanggapi kejadian ini dengan lebih serius, dan lebih memperhatikan permintaan dari konsumen, tidak ada yang bisa menjamin bahwa nama Toyota akan menjadi lebih buruk, dan diasosiasikan dengan kendaraan yang tidak aman…

Detik.com reported at about 5pm yesterday that the funds of several of BCA customers in the Kuta and Denpasar branches have had their money gone missing mysteriously.

At a 9pm update of the news Detik.com reported that BCA Corporate Secretary Evoni Barlianto told them over the phone that she’s unable to confirm anything. The bank will check with the relevent work unit the next morning.”

The story also said that according to the police the money went missing between 16 and 19 January.

Several questions from a crisis management standpoint:

1. Why use the Corporate Secretary the spokesperson? Is she trained in crisis communications? Why isn’t there a corporate communications professional fielding questions? Why aren’t questions directed to this person if he/she exists?

2. If the money has been missing since 16th, the bank should at least have a standby statement ready. We have reason to believe that the bank is only scrambling to draft a standby statement this morning. A bit late? An absence of an early warning system? A systemic failure?

3. Try going to the BCA website and its business as usual there. Its designed for internet banking and there is not a single mention or information about the incident. Shouldn’t they try to address the issue using their website, among other channels?

4. Twitter is going ballistic about the news. That’s only the easy part to track. The news is also being spread via Facebook, SMS, BB messenger, etc. etc. BCA needs to know what is happening on the internet because that is where rumors, in the absence of some authoritative information, can grow. People will scare each other and that may result in repercussions for the bank. What’s BCA doing about it?

BCA needs to act fast if it is to salvage its reputation and prevent unwanted repercussions on the bank such as customers taking their money elsewhere.

In handling this situation BCA would do well if it 1. takes responsibility for the situation (and apologize if it i warranted)  2. reports the situation as they understand it (as much as possible) to the public 3. assure the public that the situation is contained 4. express empathy for the victims of the missing funds 4. outline steps it is/will be taking to ensure that something like that does not happen again.

The next few hours would be crucial for BCA to bring the situation under control. It can mean the difference between an incident where the bank wins new trust and respect for how it handles the situation with control, authority, transparency; and a situation that ma plnge the bank into crisis.

Which will it be. Let’s watch events unfold.

The detik.com news item at 9.03pm last night:

BCA Cek Laporan Uang Nasabah yang Lenyap Misterius
Herdaru Purnomo – detikNews

Jakarta – Bank Central Asia (BCA) belum bisa menjelaskan penyebab raibnya uang sejumlah nasabah di Bali. Pihak bank saat ini masih melakukan pengecekan ke unit kerja yang menangani masalah tersebut.

“Belum bisa kasih konfirmasi apa-apa. Besok pagi akan dilakukan pengecekan ke unit kerja yang menghandle masalah itu,” ujar Corporate Secretary BCA Evoni Barlianto, lewat telepon, Selasa (19/1/2010).

Sebelumnya, para nasabah Bank Central Asia (BCA) di Kuta dan Denpasar mengadu ke polisi. Uang di rekening mereka berkurang padahal mereka tidak pernah bertransaksi sebelumnya.

Kapolsek Kuta AKP Dody Prawira Negara mengatakan, ada 10 orang nasabah BCA yang kehilangan uang tanpa proses transaksi. Selain di Kuta, kasus serupa juga menimpa nasabah BCA di Denpasar.

Jumlah uang nasabah yang lenyap diperkirakan mencapai puluhan juta. Uang nasabah yang lenyap antara Rp 1 juta hingga Rp 5 juta. Lenyapnya uang nasabah diduga terjadi secara serentak, hanya dalam rentang waktu antara 16-19 Januari 2010. (mad/gah)