PROS
Social media provides a tool to build trust among different stakeholders
Companies are urged to keep open communication with their immediate stakeholders at all times. Social media provides companies with an avenue to update their stakeholders continually, and this builds trust among them, thus in the event of a crisis, it is easier for the stakeholders to support the company. Moreover, in the event of a crisis, the company can manage it better among affected avenues as the trust is already in existence, and the stakeholders are willing to support the business.
Social media acts as immediate communication voice
Social media is one of the fastest moving platforms. Thus, in the event of a crisis, a company is capable of disseminating needed information within seconds. Moreover, the preference of the company to use social media to disseminate information allows it to share with the public the vital information fast during a crisis and how best the company is responding before there are speculations. When handling a crisis, the organization needs to update the public early and allow the public to be aware the company is best handling the situation; there are no crucial steps ignored.
CONS
Spreads inaccurate information
Social media has, in the past, been a victim of spreading inaccurate information. Therefore, in the event of a crisis, a possibility of spreading erroneous information can significantly damage a company reputation. Therefore, companies are tasked to ensure they deal with the crisis with the best measures possible. For example, as soon as a crisis is registered in the company, the company needs to provide the right information on its official social media pages to avoid fake news spreading. Moreover, in case there is inaccurate information already spreading regarding the crisis, the company is tasked to set the record straight.
A platform for a negative opinion
Social media is often used by users to raise their views on a different matter. Therefore, if the situation is not handled correctly regarding the company crisis, for example, in the event different individuals feel the company crisis has not been dealt successfully they can air their negative opinions which may affect the company reputation. Thus, to prevent the spread of negative sentiment, the company needs to develop different control practices to ensure there is a spread of negative comments. For instance, the company communication team may opt to respond directly to the remarks aired by different persons or prefer to take the company social media offline to avoid further damage caused by the negative comments done by different people.