Social media has completely changed business communications, forever altering the way organizations both field and respond to people experiencing problems with their products or services. Understanding these new tools as well as their potential for information exchange, communications, and operational tools can greatly impact a facility’s ability to recover and restore operations more efficiently.

Incidents & Complaints Gone Viral

What’s your worst nightmare? Imagine someone slips and falls in your lobby and it’s caught on video and shared on Facebook.  Or, imagine someone snaps a quick shot of the broken window in the hallway that has yet to get fixed and broadcasts their complaint on Twitter? Even scarier – imagine you don’t know any of this is going on because you’re not on Social Media! Social media isn’t just about brand exposure, it’s about controlling the conversation. By being aware and proactive about these types of issues, you can turn a bad situation into a good one. Imagine how that same tenant would respond if you fixed the window, took your own picture of the repair, and responded to them with an apology!

Crisis Communication via Social Networking

When a levee broke causing record-setting floods to overwhelm the U.S. Navy base in Millington, TN (and severing phone and computer service), officials turned to Facebook to help tenants, residents and employees learn the latest news, share information, and post questions and answers about the ongoing disaster.

At press time, more than 3,000 “fans” had become members of the site, with multiple messages and links being posted every hour.

To-Dos: Social Media & CRE Risk Management

•Promote training sessions

•Share fire & life safety tips/awareness

•Send broad-reaching communications during an emergency

For more tips and tools to ensure your risk & liability procedures are helping you reduce claims and resulting losses, prepare for unexpected emergencies, and safeguard occupants and staff, check out our CRE Guide to Managing Operational Risk here.