CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1      Background of the study

T Social media crises are a reality and a risk that we all face today. We’re all vulnerable to online attacks that threaten having a lasting and damaging impact on our brand’s reputation, both online and offline, and bottom-line.

Managing your online risk requires more than just social monitoring of your brand. It requires a plan against them.A social media crisis is an online situation that has the risks of having, a negative and long-term impact on your business or organization’s reputation and/or bottom-line.Social media crises usually involve strong, negative emotions that are relatable and can easily:

·        Outweigh common sense

·        Get clients, fans, staff, stakeholders and others riled up

·        Provoke viral behavior

Social media crises risk going viral very quickly, in a very short period of time, they risk being highly unpredictable and, often, unforeseeable. When not responded to promptly and in a proper manner, social media crises risk having a damaging and lasting negative impact on your brand’s reputation and bottom-line.A social media issue is a lesser situation than a social media crisis – though one that still needs to be addressed and resolved in a prompt and proper fashion.