Use Social Media Even in Bad Times

Social media is a great way to promote your business and yourself, especially when times are good. Profits are up, you are releasing new products regularly and life is looking rosy … until disaster strikes. How can social media outlets help you then?

Social media outlets such as blogs, Twitter and Facebook are designed to facilitate communication. Communication is not just you telling something to your customers, but providing a way your customers can talk back to you.

When disaster strikes—such as the earthquake and tsunami that leveled part of Japan—smart businesses use social media to continue communicating with their customers.

Here’s a scenario: your business is destroyed by a flood. You and your employees got out of the building safely but it and its contents are a total loss. That means no records (unless you were smart and backed up to a remote location), no way to create products and no method of getting them to customers. Adding to your stress: orders were in various states of fulfillment at the time the flood struck, but since your records were wiped out, you don’t know what was shipped. What do you do?

You use social media.

Start by explaining what happened. Tell the world what the flood (instead it might be a fire, earthquake or nasty computer virus) did to your company. Give some details.

Next, ask customers to contact you. Set up a website where they can provide you with their contact information and questions, such as their order status.

Then tell them what you are doing to recover from the disaster. Let them know if you are still gathering information. Give them a “best guess” idea of where your firm stands right now and how long it might take before you are back to normal.

Finally, thank your customers for their patience. Offer them some kind of reward for staying with you during this difficult time. For example, you could offer free shipping on all orders placed with a set time period, such as the next 30 days.

By keeping your customers and the public informed of what happened and what you are doing about it, you can use social media to retain customers.

One of the best ways to do this is by being honest. If you don’t know how long your production facility is out of operation, state that online. But also state that you will provide updates when new information arrives.

The truth, especially in the form of verifiable facts, is far more effective at preserving and protecting your company’s reputation than playing ignorant or outright lying.