Unit 3: Using Social Media During a Crisis
It is no secret that using social media during a crisis is a must. There have been recent crisis events, such as a natural disaster, where national and regional government emergency response officials have used social media, such as Twitter, to keep people informed. Regardless of whether you use social media to quickly help diffuse an issue or provide real time information during search and rescue efforts, you should learn how to best use it. This means it is also important to properly integrate social media into the overall strategic communication plans of businesses and organizations. This unit also profiles a successful social media campaign, explains how to protect your social media channel, and provides perspectives from online social media communicators.
Completing this unit should take you approximately 4 hours.
Upon successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
- explain how to use social media during a crisis;
- describe and identify different types of social media;
- explain how to craft strategic messages to target audiences; and
- describe social media marketing and how it is used.
3.1: Why Social Media Is Useful During a Crisis
Read this section to learn how trends in social media affect the availability, use, and appeal of social media as effective communication during a crisis.
Read this article, which discusses the benefits of using social media, such as Twitter, during a crisis.
3.2: The Risks of Using Social Media
Read this article, which provides insight into company losses that occur from social media mishaps and security breaches. This article should get you thinking about the inherent risks businesses assume when they incorporate social media into their day-to-day operations.
Read this article to learn how to avoid social networking risk that could interrupt and compromise your Internet and social media channel services.
3.3: Social Media Marketing
Watch this video to learn emerging best practices for reaching and engaging blogger, reporters, and other influencers to target your messages.
Read this section and complete exercise 2. This exercise highlights one of Procter & Gamble's most successful social media campaigns. It features former NFL wide receiver Isaiah Mustafa, who points out the power of wearing Old Spice aftershave. For your convenience, you may find the article with embedded videos for this exercise below.
Read this article and view the embedded videos as part of exercise 2.
3.4: Effective Use of Social Media
Read this article to learn how a government agency used a contest to conduct a social networking experiment to show how quickly large groups can be mobilized in support of a cause.
Watch this video, which illustrates how a government agency in Australia has effectively integrated social media into emergency service procedures.
Unit 3 Assessment
- Receive a grade
Take this assessment to see how well you understood this unit.
- This assessment does not count towards your grade. It is just for practice!
- You will see the correct answers when you submit your answers. Use this to help you study for the final exam!
- You can take this assessment as many times as you want, whenever you want.