We’ve all seen the Forbes article and the studies that show us that nearly 80% of business decision-makers believe their company will experience a crisis in the next year. We all know that less than 50% of companies have a crisis communications plan in place. And we certainly all know that less than half of them have a plan that addresses social media or how to use it in a crisis.

As companies marketing in the B2B sphere, we often think that because we don’t often deal directly with consumers, that our presence in social media is only interesting to a select audience. Or, that our brands and reputations are not likely to suffer in a crisis because we’re largely insulated from scrutiny because of the highly technical nature of our businesses and products. But mostly, it’s because 50% of us can’t justify the time or expense of being prepared for something that might never happen.

And that’s where we’re wrong.

Crises are no longer restricted to explosions at a plant, or an accident on the job site, or a criminal act by disgruntled employee. Crises arise online as rumors of layoffs or new corporate acquisitions.They happen by community advocacy groups challenging the construction of a new office park.  Good-faith contract negotiations with organized labor can quickly ruin a business’s reputation in a matter of few clicks.

For example the Minnesota Nurses Association has orchestrated its strike entirely on Facebook. Even scarier is the prospect that events that have nothing to do with our businesses or decisions can have an impact on our brands; like Gatorade becoming a trending topic on Twitter because of a gunman’s demand in a hostage situation.

So where do we begin? 

Here are few quick tips to get you started in developing your social media crisis communications plan:

1. Create a social media policy for your workplace. Specify exactly what kind of information is allowed to be shared in social media by employees and which information is prohibited. Crises can often be avoided if employees know what they are permitted to say in social media and what they are not.
2. Define exactly what a crisis means for your organization. Not every negative comment in social media requires a crisis response. Outline those issues that you believe to be most important and then decide how to respond quickly and appropriately.
3. Know who the influencers are. Do you have trade journalists following you on Twitter? Are there bloggers who post your news frequently? Consider who among your social audience needs to be addressed first and with the most detail, and who might be able to support your efforts in social media.
4. Take it offline. Be prepared to deal with the “loudest” or most vocal critics by dealing with them directly, yet personally. Try to move the conversation out of social media and into a more direct and personal setting. You’ll need to be honest, but by dealing with your critics one-to-one, you may be able to deal their concerns and limit their negative influence.