Social Media Crisis Communication: What to Do in the First 60 Minutes

A social media crisis usually starts with a single unanswered complaint. Speed and tone are everything.

The first 60 minutes

• Verify: is it a real issue or a misunderstanding?

• Do not delete the comment; deletion spreads via screenshots.

• Give a short, human first reply that takes responsibility.

• Move the conversation to DM and solve it there.

The next 24 hours

If the problem is systemic (product fault, delivery delay), publish one official statement: what happened, what you are doing and when it will be fixed. Pausing ads prevents a “sales” tone during the crisis.

Prepare in advance

The crisis protocol, approval chain and reply templates must be written before a crisis. For every account we manage, this document is part of the contract.