Here is your social media crisis plan

You are in charge of your organisation's social media channels.

A crisis breaks out. Perhaps the CEO has been fired. A subsidiary has gone bankrupt. A war has broken out and you have operations in the aggressor country. A former Board member has been convicted of fraud and is going to jail.

Here is your checklist for what to do now:

Prevent inappropriate publishing

Check your forward schedule, are there any posts that are not appropriate given the crisis? Are there any replays scheduled to go out that are now not relevant? Press the "do not post" button on these posts, or delete them from the schedule.

Check your feeds

Are there any historical posts that need to be deleted in light of the crisis? Are there any posts that have legal ramifications in light of the crisis? Are there any that appear inappropriate or stupid in retrospect? If so, you might have to delete or edit, and, if so, do it carefully and transparently. If you are seen to be curating the past in an unethical way, it might be worse than just leaving it.

What now?

Do you want to pause all posting until the situation is clearer? Is the organisation going to make a statement, and how will that statement look when it is published on social?

Plan for an altered future

Check the editorial calendar. Will the crisis impact upcoming events, and if so, how should you change your messaging?

Revise your guidelines

How will the tone and messaging of future posts change as a result of the crisis? Communicate this to all content creators formally. Ensure you have a revised style guide and editorial process based on this.

In a crisis, always err on the side of caution, if in doubt, don’t post. Things happen. Events occur. It’s how you respond to them that matters.

Pay attention, the only predictable thing for the next little while is going to be unpredictability.