Why it’s far more powerful to lean in, listen and learn than try to talk your way out of a crisis situation online. Five lessons from Australia Post’s experience.
- Positive stories to shift sentiment?
- Paid campaigns to cut through the anger?
- Real-time moderation to remove the nasties?!
I recently spoke with Alicia Rieniets – the former head of brand, comms and social at Australia Post during COVID – on the Your Digital Reputation podcast about this very topic, and the one idea that stood out most to me was: connection.
Whether that’s connection to your key audiences, your staff or even your own “battery levels” – connection, and a genuine understanding of the others’ needs, is essential. In fact, I’d argue it’s one of Alicia’s superpowers, and a key reason she and the team were able to navigate the social media customer service storm when it hit back in 2020.
Alicia shared her raw and remarkable story with me for the very first time and, as I reflected on her learnings, I kept coming back to this notion of “connection”.
In short, when you’re distanced from your audience – when you don’t take the time to listen, learn and understand their attitudes – you are far more likely to lose trust and empathy.
But when you use social media – and, importantly, social data – to understand their attitudes in real-time, you’re far better placed to know when to show up, how to show up – and when to stay quiet.
Connection provides context that informs effective communications: a sequence that’s incredibly powerful in times of reputational risk.
With connection as the anchor point for Australia Post and its online efforts, here are five takeaways from my chat with Alicia to help you get social media right in the moments that matter for you and your organisation.
1. Without the right data, you’re simply flying blind.
One of Alicia’s key points – and a game-changer for how her team responded – was putting appropriate measures in place to track the metrics that mattered most (like the chart above). As she said in our conversation:
“My instruction to anyone who is taking over a team is if you don’t have that measure [volume of enquiries vs time to respond vs sentiment], get it in place. Because it allows you to be able to go to senior execs – or wherever you need – to get more headcount approved.”
The right data allows you to make a strong case for additional resources when needed, as your organisation must be equipped to avoid failing publicly on social media where the whole world is watching.
2. It’s wise to plan (particularly for crises on social media).
Social media is still an afterthought in many organisations today, yet it can – and should be – your early warning system instead. Your “canary in the mine”, as I refer to it.
After her experience, Alicia’s advice on this point is clear: establish a robust crisis management plan and processes before a crisis hits.
This includes having clear roles, responsibilities, and protocols in place to effectively manage and respond to high-pressure situations on social media.
Read more: Content localisation: One message, many communities
3. Harness outside intelligence in challenging times.
When times are tough, it can be easy to block out external noise and focus solely on your organisation and its survival. But there is a balance between treating outside voices as “noise” or “intelligence”, particularly on social media.
As Alicia shared in our conversation, one of the key priorities was addressing customer queries and concerns on social media. In fact, recognising the shift in sentiment at one point, Australia Post paused content publishing to focus on customer responses, and used other channels to get the right messages out.
4. What worked today may not exist tomorrow: keep your eyes up.
Sure – it’s rare that your whole team is in the office one day and then forced into their homes the next, but Alicia’s story reminds us that you can’t predict the future:
“If you think about transformation, if you had said to me when I started at Australia Post: ‘You are going to completely change the way this call centre functions,’ [I would have said] No way – not in two weeks.”
But she did. As she said, “We really reinvented so many things.”
Especially in a crisis, be prepared to make quick decisions. Nothing is impossible.
5. Remember: we’re all human.
Even in the ‘heat of battle’, Alicia is clear on the importance of empathising with your audience, and maintaining a calm, professional tone online. Respect their concerns and provide clear, helpful information to address their needs, even in the face of heightened emotions and frustrations.
The same goes for you, personally, and your teams. Be kind and respectful. Remember to look after your people, as the example you set with them will have a flow on effect to the way they interact with others online. We all need to fit our oxygen masks first before we can help others.
Roger Christie
Roger Christie is the Managing Director of Propel – a multi-award-winning advisory firm that helps organisations get social media right in the moments that matter.
For more than 15 years, Roger has provided strategic social media advice to large enterprises to help them solve complex business challenges linked to growth, productivity, talent, innovation and reputation. His clients include the ACCC, Australia Post, Coles, CommBank, IAG, Suncorp, Team Global Express, UniSuper, Westpac, and more than 50 federal, state and local government agencies.
Roger is a regular industry speaker, host of the Your Digital Reputation podcast, and author of the Digital Reputation Report – looking at how leaders across the public and private sector use LinkedIn.
