One misstep. One angry customer post. One missed signal. That’s all it takes for a social media crisis to spiral out of control, and the clock starts ticking the moment your brand is tagged. When more than a third of social media users expect a response to brand tags within an hour, there’s no time to scramble. You either have a plan, or you have a problem.
You can’t wait until the problem strikes. Plotting out the potential challenges and worst-case scenarios right now is essential for you to be ready for all players to spring into action when the moment hits.
So let’s get your plan together. We’ll hammer it out right here. Ready? Keep reading.
What is a social media crisis?
A social media crisis is any situation where negative brand attention escalates quickly on social platforms. It could be a customer complaint that goes viral, a controversial post from your account, product backlash, or broader events that implicate your brand (intentionally or not).
Unlike traditional PR crises, a social media crisis moves fast. There’s no luxury of waiting 24 hours to issue a statement. In many cases, the first hour matters most. That’s when you have your best – perhaps only – opportunity to contain the damage and keep it from spreading like wildfire. But the only way that’ll happen is if everybody’s paying attention, knows their role, and is ready to hit the ground running.
Not everything is a social media crisis
Not every problem requires all hands on deck. Within your plan, have different paths for various levels of crises.
For example, if there are a lot of negative comments about a specific product, perhaps a company statement about that product is required. However, that does not necessarily mean that the whole C-suite needs to be notified.
The bigger the social media crisis, the more time and human capital is necessary to address it. As such, it’s ideal to have plans for crises of different scales, such as ones that require fewer people for smaller issues, so that not everyone is pulled in when they do not necessarily need to be.
Many social media crises arise because of a failure to successfully resolve social media issues. While not the same as a full-blown business crisis, social media crises should be taken seriously.
The hope is to avoid turning a social media issue into a social media crisis.
But you need to know when it crosses the line. Set guidelines for when a social media issue has evolved into a social media crisis. Spend sufficient time training your social media management team on what constitutes a crisis and inform them of the necessary steps for resolving the issue.
What your social media crisis plan should include
Brands that fail to respond quickly and appropriately risk not just reputational damage but lost customers. The biggest first step toward that is putting in place and clearly documenting your social media crisis strategy so that everyone even tangentially involved is familiar with it and knows where to quickly locate it.
With that in mind, if you’re starting from scratch, what does preparing for a social media crisis look like?
1. Start with active social listening
The word doesn’t even appear in many crisis plans, but it should. Social listening is essential as your early warning system. It helps you:
- Detect unusual spikes in mentions or sentiment shifts
- Identify emerging issues before they explode
- Understand how people are actually talking about your brand
With 39% of engaged social media users saying social media is their preferred way to engage with brand content, you can’t afford to miss the signals. Having the right listening platform in place is the biggest key to making it easier to monitor in real time and identify threats early.
2. Build your social media crisis team before you need it
Once a crisis hits, it’s too late to figure out who’s in charge. Your social media crisis management team should include:
- A social lead who can respond quickly on-platform
- A customer care specialist to triage direct messages and comments
- A communications or PR lead to craft formal statements
- Legal counsel (looped in for sensitive matters)
- An executive decision-maker with final say
Make sure everyone knows the chain of command and has access to platform logins, brand voice guidelines, and your escalation process. And don’t forget to build in backups and some level of redundancy as you assemble your “Go Team.”
You don’t get to choose when a crisis hits, and you can’t afford to let the fact that your intended decision maker is lounging on a beach somewhere cost you even a minute when it comes to your response.
3. Have pre-approved messaging templates ready
Speed matters, but so does tone. Nearly 70% of social media users want a person to respond to their social outreach. And 52% say AI can feel inauthentic, likely when it’s done poorly or pushed beyond what it’s best at.
That’s where pre-approved templates help. These should include:
- Acknowledgement messages: “We hear you and are looking into it.”
- Apology structures: “We’re sorry. Here’s what happened and what we’re doing about it.”
- Redirection cues: “Please DM us so we can resolve this further.”
Then personalize each one to match the tone and context of the crisis.
4. Monitor platform-specific behavior
Different audiences behave differently depending on where they are. Emplifi’s survey data shows:
- Facebook is still the top platform for service-related outreach (55%).
- Gen Z prefers Instagram (61%) and Snapchat (21%).
- TikTok is gaining ground across all generations for both service and content.
Tailor your crisis communication strategy accordingly. What resonates on X (Twitter) may fall flat on TikTok. And some platforms will escalate faster than others, depending on your audience mix.
5. Prioritize transparency and follow-through
Consumers are quick to spot vague responses or empty promises. If your brand is in the wrong, own it. If you don’t have the answer yet, say that, and set a timeline to follow up.
One of the most effective ways to communicate this is video.
A sincere, candid video from your CEO (like this one from Southwest Airlines CEO Bob Jordan addressing holiday travel delays) or another trusted executive can go a long way toward rebuilding trust. But it has to feel real. Keep it short (under a minute is ideal), make sure it’s informative and honest (the top two traits people say they want from brand videos), and avoid overproduction.
Remember, 69% of social media users say they value informative videos from brands, and 66% want honesty. This is where you deliver both. Just be sure to back your words with action, and update your audience as the situation evolves.
6. Don’t wait for the real thing to test your plan
Even the best-written crisis plan can fall apart if your team is seeing it for the first time under pressure. That’s why running simulations or tabletop exercises is a crucial part of social media crisis readiness. These rehearsals help your team understand their roles, spot potential gaps in the plan, and build the muscle memory needed to move quickly and confidently when the real thing hits.
A good simulation doesn’t have to be complicated. Choose a realistic crisis scenario – an offensive post, a product recall, a viral customer complaint – and walk through your response step by step. Who sees it first? Who’s responsible for the initial response? How do you escalate? How does the tone shift across platforms? Ideally, you’ll run these drills cross-functionally with comms, legal, social, and care teams all involved.
Run at least one simulation annually, and revisit it if your team structure, tools, or social platforms change. The goal isn’t perfection. It’s preparation. The more familiar your team is with the process, the more likely they are to act decisively and effectively when it counts.
7. Use analytics to learn and adapt
Once the crisis has passed, your work isn’t over. Use post-crisis analytics to understand:
- How the crisis unfolded and spread
- Which responses worked best
- Where response times lagged
Apply these insights to improve your playbook. That’s how your social media crisis management strategy evolves from reactive to resilient.
Examples of brands handling a social media crisis well
None of this is easy or simple. Preparation lays the groundwork, but you never know for sure how your team will respond under pressure until it happens. Here’s how a couple of brands handled tough situations well.
Peppermayo
In early 2025, Australian fashion brand Peppermayo faced significant backlash due to prolonged shipping delays and unresponsive customer service. The situation intensified when the brand hosted a lavish influencer event at Coachella, prompting further outrage from customers awaiting their orders.
Recognizing the escalating dissatisfaction, Peppermayo issued a comprehensive apology via a seven-slide Instagram post. They attributed the delays to external factors, including supply chain disruptions and operational challenges.
To address the issue, the company expanded its customer service team and committed to clearing the backlog promptly, offering free express shipping for 30 days as a goodwill gesture. This proactive and transparent approach helped mitigate the crisis and restore customer trust.
Crowdstrike
In July 2024, cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike faced a significant crisis when a defective software update caused widespread IT outages, impacting various sectors including airlines, hospitals, and banks. The disruption led to an estimated $5.4 billion in losses for Fortune 500 companies. As the issue unfolded, customers and the public turned to social media for information and accountability.
CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz promptly addressed the situation across multiple platforms, including X and LinkedIn. He clarified that the outage was due to a single content update for Windows hosts and not a security breach, assuring stakeholders that a fix had been deployed. While some criticized the initial response for lacking immediacy, the company’s transparent communication and commitment to resolving the issue were evident.
CrowdStrike’s Chief Security Officer, Shawn Henry, further reinforced this approach by expressing empathy and outlining steps to prevent future incidents. Their coordinated efforts across social media channels helped mitigate reputational damage and demonstrated the importance of timely and transparent crisis communication.
Final takeaways for brands
- Listening is your first line of defense. Don’t wait until your mentions are exploding. Monitor sentiment continuously.
Speed and tone both matter. Most consumers expect a response within an hour.
- Your customers are watching. Nearly 60% of social media users say they care whether brands respond to them on social.
- Personal trumps polished. People want real, human responses when things go wrong. This isn’t the time for AI. Templates help, but personalization is critical.
Cross-functional teams prevent chaos. Empower the right people to act fast.
How you handle a social media crisis says more about your brand than your best campaign ever will. Want a deeper look at how Emplifi helps brands listen, respond, and recover? Book a demo and take control of your social presence – before the next crisis hits.
