'Social media can act as crisis mgmt tool'

MUMBAI, INDIA: Social media can hold the key to transforming enterprise business continuity management (BCM), especially crisis/incident management and communications practices, according to Gartner, Inc.

Analysts predict that, by 2015, 75 per cent of organizations with BCM programs will have public social media services in their crisis communications strategies, and they advised BCM professionals to immediately begin assessing social media's opportunities and risks.

"Enterprises simply cannot afford to ignore social media as a crisis communications tool," said Andrew Walls, research vice president at Gartner.

"In many cases, social media may represent the only available means of locating and contacting personnel; providing stakeholders with the information and assistance they need; informing citizens, customers and partners of product/service availability; and taking other business-critical actions following a disruptive event," he added.

However, Walls said that effective use of a new communications channel requires forward planning and practice. Attempting to leverage social media for the first time during a crisis can cause more harm than good.

Instead, he said that organizations must develop comprehensive social media strategies and tactics for crisis/incident management and integrate social media with the enterprise's established BCM processes.

The use of social media for user input and knowledge sharing can create a conflict for organizations when the sites are being used during a crisis by the workforce and others that are involved or watching the event unfold.

"As the workforce develops personal, digital friendships that might take precedence over the official spokesperson of the organization, a conflict over who is the authority during an event can emerge, leading to unanticipated and negative results if official procedures are not followed," said Roberta Witty, research vice president at Gartner.

"Such usage shouldn't turn into a battle for control, but organizations must protect their reputations and the effectiveness of their communications during stressful times. Therefore, putting forth a social media management strategy as part of a BCM program is essential to ensure that the organization's crisis communications effectiveness is protected, and that response and recovery plans and procedures are followed," he added.

Social media is very different, technically and culturally, from the tightly controlled technologies and means of communication that enterprises are accustomed to using and supporting (such as corporate email systems). The use of social media for collection and distribution of information can create serious challenges for enterprises.