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use this prompt when:
- You need to prepare your brand for potential social media crises before they happen
- You want to establish clear protocols for your team to follow during high-pressure situations
- Your brand has recently experienced negative social media attention and needs better systems
- You’re expanding to new social channels with different audience expectations and risk profiles
- You’re preparing to launch a campaign or product that might attract heightened scrutiny or feedback
The prompt
Develop a social media crisis response plan for <business name> to effectively manage potential issues involving <potential crisis scenarios> across <social platforms>. Create response frameworks for different crisis levels, messaging templates that align with our brand voice of <brand voice>, internal escalation protocols, stakeholder communication plans, and monitoring approaches. Include guidance on response timing, transparency considerations, appropriate tone for different scenarios, and recovery strategies to rebuild trust with <target audience>. Provide specific recommendations for handling negative comments, factual errors, service failures, and broader industry controversies while protecting our brand reputation and core values of <core values>.
How to customize
Variables
Description
Variables
business nameDescription
Enter your company or brand name that will be the focus of the crisis response plan.Variables
potential crisis scenariosDescription
List specific crisis types relevant to your industry (product recalls, employee misconduct, service outages, controversial statements, etc.).Variables
social platformsDescription
Specify the social media platforms where your brand is active (Instagram, TikTok, Twitter/X, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.).Variables
brand voiceDescription
Describe the characteristics of your brand's communication style (friendly and casual, authoritative and professional, empathetic and warm, etc.).Variables
target audienceDescription
Define your primary audience segments who would need reassurance during a crisis (young professionals, parents, B2B clients, etc.).Variables
core valuesDescription
List 2-4 fundamental principles that guide your brand's actions and decision-making (transparency, sustainability, innovation, inclusivity, etc.).
Example Output
Social Media Crisis Response Plan for Harmony Home Goods
Crisis Assessment Framework
Level 1 – Minor Issue:
- Isolated negative comments or reviews
- Small service disruption affecting limited customers
- Minor product quality concerns
- Response timing: Within 2-4 hours
Level 2 – Emerging Crisis:
- Multiple customers reporting similar issues
- Negative hashtag beginning to trend locally
- Product safety concern without injuries
- Response timing: Within 1-2 hours
Level 3 – Active Crisis:
- Viral negative content about the brand
- Product recall or major service outage
- Employee misconduct or controversial statements
- Response timing: Within 30-60 minutes
Level 4 – Major Crisis:
- National media coverage of issue
- Health/safety incidents related to products
- Legal action or regulatory investigation
- Response timing: Immediate (within 30 minutes)
Response Templates by Crisis Type
Product Quality Issue
Initial Response: “Thank you for bringing this to our attention. At Harmony Home Goods, the quality of our products is our top priority. We’re looking into this issue immediately and will follow up with you directly. Please DM us your order details so we can make this right.”
Follow-up Response: “We’ve identified the cause of the quality issue with our [product]. We’re implementing [specific solution] and offering [compensation/replacement/refund] to affected customers. We’re truly sorry for not meeting the standards you deserve and are taking steps to ensure this doesn’t happen again.”
Service Failure
Initial Response: “We understand how frustrating this service disruption is, and we sincerely apologize. Our team is working urgently to resolve this issue. We’ll update this thread hourly until service is fully restored. For immediate assistance, please contact our support team at [contact info].”
Follow-up Response: “Our service has been fully restored as of [time]. The disruption was caused by [simplified explanation]. We’ve implemented [preventative measures] to prevent similar issues in the future. To thank you for your patience, we’re offering [compensation]. Your trust means everything to us.”
Controversial Content/Statement
Initial Response: “We’re aware of concerns regarding recent content shared on our channels. We take this feedback seriously and are reviewing the situation thoroughly. We appreciate your patience as we gather all the facts.”
Follow-up Response: “After careful review, we recognize that our recent [content/statement] did not align with our values of sustainability and inclusivity. We have [removed the content/issued a correction] and are [specific actions being taken]. We apologize and thank our community for holding us accountable.”
Internal Escalation Protocol
- First Responder (Social Media Manager)
- Monitor and identify potential crises
- Categorize issue severity (Levels 1-4)
- Implement templated responses for Level 1
- Alert Crisis Team Lead for Level 2+
- Crisis Team Lead (Marketing Director)
- Assess situation for Level 2-3 crises
- Approve responses for Level 2 issues
- Activate Crisis Response Team for Level 3+
- Brief Executive Team for Level 3+
- Crisis Response Team
- Marketing Director (Lead)
- PR Manager (Media communications)
- Customer Service Manager (Customer impact)
- Legal Counsel (Liability assessment)
- Product/Operations Lead (Technical issues)
- Executive Involvement (CEO & Leadership)
- Required for all Level 4 crises
- Approve public statements for Level 3-4
- Direct communication with major stakeholders
- Final decision authority on critical responses
Monitoring & Early Warning System
Proactive Monitoring:
- Monitor brand mentions, tagged posts, and relevant hashtags every 4 hours during business hours
- Set up alerts for spikes in negative sentiment or volume
- Track competitor issues that may affect industry perception
Key Metrics to Track:
- Mention volume (% increase over baseline)
- Sentiment ratio (negative vs. positive)
- Engagement rate on crisis-related content
- Response time to customer concerns
- Share of voice in related conversations
Recovery Tracking:
- Daily sentiment analysis during crisis and recovery
- Weekly stakeholder updates on recovery metrics
- Monthly post-crisis analysis of brand perception
Stakeholder Communication Plan
Customers:
- Primary channels: Instagram, Facebook, and email for direct customers
- Secondary: Press release for wider audience if necessary
- Timing: Direct updates within crisis response timeframes
- Message focus: Impact, solution, compensation, and prevention
Employees:
- Primary channel: Internal Slack channel “#crisis-updates”
- Secondary: All-hands meeting for major crises
- Timing: Before or concurrent with public statements
- Message focus: Situation facts, talking points, and role clarity
Partners/Vendors:
- Primary channel: Direct email from account managers
- Timing: Within 4 hours of public response
- Message focus: Business continuity and collaboration needs
Investors/Board:
- Primary channel: Direct call from CEO/CFO
- Secondary: Formal written brief
- Timing: Same day as public awareness for Level 3+
- Message focus: Business impact, mitigation strategy, and financial implications
Recovery & Trust Rebuilding Strategies
Immediate Recovery (1-7 days):
- Provide clear, regular updates until resolution
- Offer appropriate compensation to affected customers
- Demonstrate concrete actions being taken
Short-term Recovery (1-4 weeks):
- Publish detailed explanation of issue and solutions
- Implement and announce preventative measures
- Engage directly with vocal customers and critics
Long-term Trust Rebuilding (1-6 months):
- Launch initiatives directly addressing the core issue
- Create content showcasing behind-the-scenes improvements
- Develop community-focused campaign reinforcing core values
- Establish regular transparency reports on relevant metrics
Pro tips
- Prepare before you need it: Run crisis simulations quarterly with your team to identify gaps in your response process before a real crisis occurs.
- Balance speed with accuracy: While quick response is crucial, verify facts before making public statements. It’s better to acknowledge awareness of an issue quickly while noting a full response is coming than to share incorrect information.
- Document everything: During a crisis, maintain a detailed timeline of events, responses, and decisions made. This helps with post-crisis analysis and demonstrates due diligence if questioned later.
- Focus on the affected: When crafting crisis responses, prioritize addressing the concerns of those directly impacted before defending your brand reputation. Empathy before explanation builds trust even during difficult situations.
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