How To Recover From A Social Media Fail

There’s no doubt that social media is a big aspect of internet marketing strategies for many companies. Having over one billion active users on Facebook alone offers enormous opportunities for business in a range of different ways. Certainly, advertising is the largest opportunity for companies, but there’s also a terrific opportunity for businesses to interact with their customers on a personal level via various social media platforms. Customers can express all their feedback via a company’s social media account; the good, the bad, and the ugly. So obviously, there’s going to be heaps of social media fails when businesses reply to customer’s feedback online.

The dilemma here is that anything that you post on the internet, stays on the internet, so it’s important that a sufficient amount of time is spent in presenting accurate and suitable responses to customers through social media. At the same time though, there’s often going to be some newsworthy controversy. If social media fails aren’t controlled accordingly, they can significantly damage a brand’s image and can even put a company into crisis mode within a few minutes. So here’s a brief outline of how your business can bounce back from social media fails with little damage to your brand and credibility.

Have a sense of humor

When harmless social media fails transpire, making a joke of the blunder by using some quick wit is one of the best antidotes. Most of the time, shedding some humour so everybody has a laugh is the internet version of nearly tripping on the footpath and turning it into a dance recital. In fact, Facebook’s algorithm rewards posts that experience high volumes of interactions, including likes, comments and replies, so it’s possible to turn a basic blunder into increased exposure and a bigger target market, all from a simple mistake!

Respond immediately

Irrespective of the type of social media fail, the faster you respond, the better your result will be. In today’s internet world, controversial news spreads like wildfire, so it’s important that you acknowledge your mistake, genuinely apologise then clearly describe the next steps you will be taking to remedy the situation. Just ignoring the problem can have disastrous consequences and the longer it takes you to act, the more momentum your social media fail will be gaining and the harder it will be to resolve.

Be honest

It’s essential that you are honest about your mistake and the steps you’re taking to deal with the problem. There’s no point arguing with your customers if you’re the one who has made the error! If you blatantly lie about how long it will take for your servers to be back online or how long before new stock arrives, it’s only going to hurt your brand and reputation by further frustrating your customers. On the contrary, if you are honest, your customers may not be happy but they’ll appreciate the fact that you’re not making yet another mistake! These days, honesty is refreshing and lies only compound which can potentially turn your blunder into a disaster.

Keep moving forward

Social media mistakes, even crises, doesn’t define a brand so once you’ve remedied the situation as best you can, keep moving forward with business as normal. As long as you’ve taken a professional approach and you learn from your mistake, acting like it’s water off a duck’s back is far better than dwelling on the situation. You’ll have to put measures in place to reduce the possibility of such mistakes arising again, and this will only strengthen your social media team with more experience. Social media fails are like a wake-up call, and in some instances, you may uncover ways to improve your product’s or brand’s image as a result of your mistake. But whatever you do, don’t reduce your social media’s efforts. There’ll always be another businesses social media blunder to speak about tomorrow!

Social media is a powerful force in today’s society and businesses are capitalising on the many opportunities it presents. Having the ability to connect with your customers on a personal level is marvelous, and you must be prepared for social media blunders because they will materialise at some point or another. This article discusses some key ways to recover from social media blunders, including using humour, responding fast, being honest and moving forward with business. If you find yourself in a deep social media crisis and you need help before things get out of hand, reach out to digital marketing experts who will be able to assist you quickly and effectively. Contact the team at Internet Marketing Experts on 1300 595 013 or visit their website: https://internetmarketingexperts.net.au