What Mediums Should Companies Be Using

So my last six 5 blogs were all about different companies that faced a crisis and the way that they handled it.  In this blog I want to look more at the different avenues in which companies need to be active and explain their significance.  The internet is a wide world, where most people use to turn to the television or the radio, in this day in age people are now turning to it to find out what is going on.  Mediums such as Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and a company webpage are all very important tools in not only public relations, but especially crisis communications.

Twitter is a social networking and microblogging website that allows its users to send and receive tweets.  As of 2010 there were over 200 million users on Twitter.  Companies have used Twitter to communicate with their customers, promote their brand, and understand their customers in general.  Companies that monitor Twitter closely respond to tweets about their company, good and bad.  This is creating a new kind of relationship between consumer and producer that has never been there before. 

Facebook is a social networking service that allows users to create a profile, add other users as friends, and exchange message, both directly and through wall posts.  Companies can create a company page where users can “Like” them to get updates every time the company posts something.  Facebook has over 500 million users worldwide. For companies Facebook is much like Twitter, except the posts on Facebook are not limited to 140 characters.  Facebook can be used to promote a brand as well as defend it.  Many apologies made by companies using the internet for public relations are through Facebook because the post can be as long as one wants it to be.

YouTube is a video-sharing website which allows users to upload, share, and watch videos.  YouTube has over 400 million users worldwide.  Companies can create a company channel on YouTube through which they can upload videos and receive comments to their videos.  One of the best reasons to use YouTube as a medium for crisis communications is the fact that a video apology is much more effective and personal than using other mediums to convey a message.

The good old company website is still a stronghold in the area of corporate crisis communications.  With a company website the company can link to their Facebook and Twitter accounts, link to videos uploaded to their YouTube channel, as well as post press releases and convey important information.  The company website is a company’s main medium they should use when in a crisis.  The first thing that many people will do when a crisis occurs is to visit the company’s website to find out what is going on and what will be done.  The use of Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and any other medium the company uses can all be gathered here on the company website.