Crisis situations happen fast, and before PR teams even have a chance to get organized, even minor issues can blow up like balloons—and social media is a big reason why. Complaints and revelations hit this medium at lightning speed, and comments and replies to these posts often add fuel to the fire. Furthermore, unless the brand or business in crisis responds immediately, these social comments can turn a smoldering incident into a raging fire in no time.
As much as in any sector, social media has become a needed means for public sector communicators to connect with their audiences and get their messages out quickly, especially in times of crisis, affirms a new report from public entity social media archiving firm ArchiveSocial, State of Social Media in the Public Sector survey.
The report, based on the firm’s second annual survey, analyzes the social media activity of over 600 public communicators and found that 83.5 percent of respondents had better-informed citizens, and over 60 percent were able to better control rumors.
The report also revealed that public communicators are gaining awareness and concern over the need to manage these channels compliantly. Respondents cited compliance with records laws as the second biggest challenge to social media adoption.
“The past year transformed social media communication for agencies and school districts, accelerating the use and intensity of dialog, as well as the rates of lawsuits and legislation involving social media,” said Ray Carey, CEO at ArchiveSocial, which provides social media archiving software for government entities, law enforcement agencies, and K-12 school districts, in a news release. “We’re excited to provide a resource that helps these communicators better manage their time, mitigate risk, and that highlights the proven value of social media.”
As social media-related lawsuits and the temptation to moderate comments continues to increase, social media archiving to preserve all parties’ digital communication is an important first step toward public records compliance. ArchiveSocial automates record retention to effectively meet compliance obligations and streamline record management for public access, bringing peace of mind to public entities across the globe, from small cities and school districts to Federal agencies and Presidential administrations.
Download the full report here.
