A digital crisis situation can come from anywhere: a poor customer experience shared on YouTube, the offhand comments of an employee on Facebook, a blog post that creates a movement or a media story that spreads across the Internet like wildfire. Social media takes no prisoners and companies of all shapes and sizes, even those without an active online presence, run the risk of being exposed to the fury of online audiences.
So, how should companies update their communications and digital strategies to deal with the realities of social media? What should organizations have at the ready in order to quickly react to the next online crisis faced by their brand?
This talk will discuss the important elements of a social media crisis communications plan, highlight the parties who need to have a seat at the table and provide tactical recommendations for analyzing social content that could spark a firestorm. If you’re looking to learn from someone who has been in the trenches, this is a talk you cannot miss. Brandon Chesnutt serves as Social Media Director at Identity–an integrated public relations firm driving strategic communications programs for a diverse portfolio of clients across the United States. Comprised of a unified team of discipline specialists, the company provides strategy, counsel and execution in the areas of media relations, marketing, social media, creative design and branding. Identity was founded in 1998 and is based in Bingham Farms, Michigan. For more information, visit http://identitypr.com.
In his role, Brandon is responsible for managing Identity’s social media practice group, as well as providing clients with strategic counsel and support with their social media programs. His passion is to help brands connect the dots between their social media programs and their business development, recruiting, customer service, employee training, internal communications and overall marketing efforts.
Brandon serves as social media counsel to leading consumer and business-to-business brands, as well as several of Michigan’s largest companies. He also supports public companies, tech startups and numerous businesses in the automotive, real estate, hospitality and professional services industries. His work at Identity has been recognized as a finalist in PR News’ 2014 Social Media Icon Awards (Best Blog category) and by PR Daily’s Digital PR & Social Media Awards as a finalist in the following categories: Best Social Media Campaign (2012), Best Blog (2013), Best Crisis Management (2013) and Best Digital PR Campaign – B2B (2013).
A member of the Crain’s Detroit Business “20 in their 20’s,” Brandon’s business and community accomplishments have been featured in Inc. Magazine, Washington Times, Huffington Post, Detroiter Magazine, WXYZ Channel 7, FOX 2 Detroit, Detroit News and Detroit Free Press.
Brandon is also heavily involved in metro Detroit’s social media and startup community, acting as the principal organizer of Startup Weekend Detroit.