Likeable Content Daily

by Devin Sugameli

Two Fridays ago, theKbuzz’s Jenna Lebel wrote about her 5 Tips for Social Media Crisis Management, using Toyota’s 8.1 million vehicle recall as an example of the kind of crisis that a brand must be prepared to handle. But what if you were Hyundai, Hondo, Audi, or even a good old American car company? It may sound aggressive, but there’s no reason you should miss out on your opportunity to shine. Here are 5 tips for capitalizing on a competitor’s social media crisis while keeping it classy:

Be informed. First and foremost, if you are trying to capitalize on another’s social media crisis, you must stay abreast of any important updates related to it. This weekend, Disney temporarily yanked WABC programming from television provider Cablevision, leaving hundreds of thousands of Cablevision subscribers in the dark for nearly 24 hours. As the two companies tried to negotiate a deal as quickly as possible so that Cablevision customers could still catch Sunday night’s Oscars (service returned 14 minutes into the broadcast), theKbuzz checked the news regularly for updates as they related to Cablevision competitor (and client of theKbuzz), Verizon FiOS. Depending on the crisis situation and its developments, you may need to update your brand’s messaging related to it quickly.

Be prepared. When a competitor faces a crisis, their customers are going to start to look elsewhere. Whether it means dedicating more of your employees’ time to social media management specifically or establishing a 24/7 monitoring schedule during this period, make sure you are fully prepared to respond to the inevitable increase in posts and questions to your brand.

Rally your fans and supporters. We know your fans already love you – but chances are they will never be prouder to call themselves your fans and customers than they will be when they hear some bad news about the competition. Take advantage of it! Invite them to declare their support for you across social networks by RTing your twitter updates or “like”ing a Facebook status update.

Offer Rewards for Referrals. In light of a competitor’s crisis, your fans will feel further inclined to suggest your brand to any friends directly affected it. If you don’t already have a customer referral rewards program in place, create one. If you already have one, up the ante for any conversions made during this limited time.

Stay classy. Nobody likes a mudslinger. It’s one thing to seize an opportunity, but it’s quite another to kick a man when he’s down. Stay classy throughout and there will be no doubt in the minds of your current and potential customers that yours is a brand they can trust.

Do you have any of your own suggestions to add? Let us know in the comments!