Research Essay - Marked

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06 April 2018

The Role of Social Media in Crisis Management

The use of the Iinternet has increased exponentially over the past two decades.

Many people have embraced the concept of internet and more people have internet access

currently than at any other time in the past (Maresh-Fuehrer & Smith 622). One of the major

contributors to this shift is the use of social media for communication. By using social media,

people themselves, rather than media gatekeepers or other organizations control the creation,

distribution, and use of information. The popularity of social media in the world today has

changed the means of communication during crises. Although social media can intensify

crises situations by facilitating circulation of false information, it can help manage crises

Commented [A1]:

Seems like a dodgy sort of statistic.

What kind of internet did we have before the late

1970s…none. This is like saying there are more people alive

now than they ever have been at one time on the globe. It’s

true, but also largely statistical trickery.

Commented [A2]:

What about algorithms? Aren’t they

gatekeepers?

when appropriately used to disseminate accurate information (Panagiotopoulos et al. 88).

This paper examines the role of social media in crisis management and begins by exploring

why social media is an appropriate tool for crisis management then examining the various

stages of a crisis and the role of social media in managing crisis at each stage.

Suitability of social media for crisis management

Social media is a suitable tool for crisis management because it allows for the

participation of a diverse group of people and encourages feedback and contributions from

interested parties. People can share, create and access information openly without any

barriers (Maresh-Fuehrer & Smith 625). People do not have to pay anything or have

specialized hardware and software to utilize information.

It also allows for conversation

Commented [A4]:

More descriptive or report like.

Commented [A3]:

But so often media seems to make

crises worse.

Sun 2

within a community, a continuous grouping of people who have common interests. Lastly,

social media encourages users’ participation concerning a situation. For example, for every

post or response on Twitter and Facebook, there is already space where people are

encouraged to post their responses.

Stages of crisis and role of social media in crisis management

Pre-crisis

The pre-crisis involves an organization’s activities to prevent risks from

escalating into potential crises (Maresh-Fuehrer & Smith 625; Panagiotopoulos at al. 88). The

organization examines past crises and assesses its vulnerability to the apparent risks, prepares

a plan for crisis management and conducts drills and simulations. Identifying potential crises

is a difficult task for organizations because of the huge number of indirect channels like

Twitter and Facebook that crisis managers have to keep track to collect data from the public

(Maresh-Fuehrer & Smith 625). Using social media to identify potential risks from the public

is very important because if the public believes that there is a risk, they will act in a way that

they are cognizant of the risk. The public can submit their opinions on the risks in real time

which facilitates the speedy identification of the risk so that an appropriate response can be

mounted. Additionally, using the public to identify risks and potential solutions builds trust

Commented [A6]:

What about the erroneous message

about a missile strike in Hawaii this term?

Commented [A7]:

Paragraphing is too dense.

between the organization and the public which makes management of risks and crises easy.

According to Maresh-Fuehrer and Smith (2015), crisis communication plans require

structures that allow for reviewing and updating (625). Information sharing networks like

Twitter and Facebook are efficient and effective tools for obtaining new opinions which can

then be included in the planning process. As such, social media plays a key role during the

pre-crisis stage in that it can be used to assess potential risks from the public’s perspective

and for formulating potential solutions in a manner that involves the public.

Commented [A8]:

False reports, bots, spam, and possible

hacking attacks are problems for your argument so far.

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Crisis

This is the second stage in the lifecycle of a crisis and is triggered by an event

which may or not may not be immediately apparent to an organization (Panagiotopoulos at al.

88). It might be less discernible to an organization or may occur as an explosion. It is a stage

of instability and uncertainty for emergency responders. It demands good planning, proper

timing, and proper communication with an organization’s stakeholders so as to reduce

probable harm. Social media provides effective communication channels to reach the public.

At this stage, the organization and emergency responders need to give the public accurate

information concerning the situation and encouraged them to freely share their concerns,

fears, and insights and ask questions (Simon, 616). Social media provides a good and instant

flow of information in a manner which allows for interaction which fits the demands of crisis

management at this stage.

Social media tools like Facebook, Twitter, and WhatsApp allow instants

dissemination of information to the public. During the crisis stage, organizations more often

than do not know the causes of the crises and how it may impact the organization and other

stakeholders over the short and the long terms (Maresh-Fuehrer & Smith 626). The public has

many questions at this time and social media is useful in providing available answers. If an

organization does not provide answers, then the public may find answers to their questions

from other sources. This is likely to impact negatively on the credibility of the organization

(Simon, 616). Accurate and effective communication using social media during a crisis is the

most important aspect of crisis management. Organizations and crisis managers should,

however, avoid using social media to disseminate inconsistent and exaggeratedly reassuring

messages.

Commented [A12]:

At this point, the essay reads very

theoretical and no clear examples are being given.

Commented [A11]:

This is a weak pronoun and you use it

often. Eliminate its use from your style.

Commented [A10]:

I’m not clear what “good” means

given what we know about fake posts, algorithms, and other

problems for social media clarity.

Commented [A9]:

Again, only to users.

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Post-crisis

This is the stage after the crisis and is characterized by evaluation and recovery.

It involves an assessment of the harm that the crisis has caused the organization and steps

taken to remedy the situation. For example, an organization may compensate upset customers

or replace malfunctioning technical equipment. The organization also considers their

strengths and weaknesses regarding the crisis and implements a plan to learn from its past

mistakes. To do so effectively, the organization has to gather information from all

stakeholders and consider them to ensure that the crisis is fully resolved (Maresh-Fuehrer &

Smith 627). Just like in the pre-crisis and crisis stages, social media plays a big role in

dissemination and gathering of information. It can be used to inform the public of the

responses made and how effective they are. Lessons that the organization and crisis managers

learn should also be communicated to the public using social media to boost public

confidence in the organization. Giving the public accurate information, particularly on the

link between pre-crisis and the crisis is important. Social media is also useful in determining

actions that boost the crisis response capabilities of the organization (Panagiotopoulos at al.

88). Here, the input of the public and other stakeholders is very important and may give the

public a sense of inclusivity and responsibility to the organization.

Conclusion

With more people gaining access to the internet, social media is a phenomenon

that has transformed the way we communicate and bring

to human rights, politics, and economics. It has evolved to become the new forefront in crisis

management because it enables crisis managers approach crises more effectively. First, social

media is useful in crisis management as it is an effective tool for gathering information from

the public concerning risks that can potentially result in a crisis for evaluation and preparation

awareness to current issues relating

Commented [A13]:

Paragraphing is again too dense.

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of the response. Secondly, social media plays an important role in responding to stakeholder

concerns and questions as well as informing the public about the crisis situation and the

responses being executed. Thirdly, social media is important in providing feedback on how

stakeholders feel and gathering information to improve the organization’s crisis response

capabilities. Social media, therefore, has changed crisis management to a more inclusive and

participatory undertaking by facilitating information gathering on potential risks and

dissemination of information to address stakeholder concerns and questions.

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Works cited

Maresh-Fuehrer, M. M. & Smith, R. "Social media mapping innovations for crisis

prevention, response, and evaluation." Computers in Human Behavior 54 (2016): 620-

629.

Panagiotopoulos, P., Barnett, J. Bigdeli, A. Z. & Sams, S. "Social media in emergency

management: Twitter as a tool for communicating risks to the public." Technological

Forecasting & Social Change 11.1 (2016): 86-96.

Simon, T., Goldberg, A., & Adini, B. "Socializing in emergencies—A review of the use of

social media in emergency situations." International Journal of Information

Management 35 (2015): 609-619.

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