Social media disasters may come in a range of fails and embarrassments. Insensitive statements and inappropriate opinion may reflect poorly on your company. Add this to the fact that social media is very public in nature, one mistake may become potentially disastrous.

If you have accidentally sent out a regrettable status update or tweet, don’t panic. Calm down and see if the situation is salvageable. If you’re not sure what to do next, read on and use these tips to help you bounce back from a social media disaster.

Disaster response

Being on the verge of jeopardizing your company’s reputation, it is important to come up with a thoughtful and well-crafted response. As much as possible, avoid a knee-jerk reaction.

In most cases, businesses are not prepared in handling social media disasters. Responding quickly and inappropriately will only make matters worse. Calm down and take a moment to deliver a carefully-worded and rational response to your fans and followers.

Accept your mistake

Everyone makes mistakes, including the most savvy social media marketers. However, the worst part of committing a mistake is by acting like nothing wrong has happened. Whether you have criticized a customer, made an offensive comment or post, or something else, it would be best to accept your mistake and be accountable for your mistakes.

We understand that damage control is on top of your priority list, but deleting the post or comment and acting as if nothing happened can hurt your reputation.

Rebuild your image

A lot of companies have survived a social media disaster, and so can you. After everything has been done, you now have to rebuild your image. Mind you, this may involve an extensive process and you’ll have to work for it for a long period of time.

The key to stopping a social media disaster is by building an incredible brand image. This can be achieved by serving your customers well. At the end of the day, it’s about being honest to your customers/clients and humanizing your brand.

Taking appropriate action immediately after committing a mistake will not only reduce harm, it can also save your brand’s reputation.