Whether for following favourite brands or celebrities, staying in touch with the latest news or connecting with friends, Twitter is being used all over the world as a way to communicate on a one-to-one and one-to-many basis. However, this has proven problematic to brands finding themselves at the receiving end of negative comments due to the freedom of expression on Twitter.

In order to try and control any issues, public relations professionals have had to encourage clients to adapt their communication strategies and in particular, crisis-communication plans. Gone are the days where we had 24 hours to provide stakeholders with a crisis response as we are now faced with the reality of providing a comment within an hour or running the risk of rumours spreading.

So with all of this in mind how should we be advising our clients to make the most of Twitter during a crisis? I completed a dissertation at Bournemouth University to explore the role and value of Twitter as a crisis-communications tactic through the qualitative analysis of two high-profile European mass transport crises.

The first explored the Eurostar crisis in late 2009 where five London-Paris high speed trains were trapped beneath the English Channel by snow-related problems. The second analysed Eurocontrol’s (Europe’s air traffic coordination system) use of Twitter in managing the “Icelandic ash cloud” travel disruption to air travel and communicating with passengers in April 2010.

In addition to examining news articles and blog posts surrounding both case studies, a small sample of interviews and questionnaires were conducted with PR professionals.

The research revealed the following:
 

Twitter can facilitate an organisation’s crisis response through instant updates, by engaging with stakeholders and creating an open dialogue. The usefulness of Twitter as a crisis-communications channel may be dependent upon the crisis and company; when liability comes into play an organisation may be unable to provide a comment within the appropriate timeframe for legal reasons. Unsurprisingly, individuals’ motivations for using Twitter were identified as gaining instant updates in real-time. Twitter was valued as a crisis communications channel for its immediacy, its ability to engage with stakeholders and to create dialogue, but the risk of rumours, lack of control of information and the speed at which crises spread proves to be a worry.

The findings lead to some suggestions for best using Twitter in a crisis. These include preparation and development of awareness of corporate Twitter “handles” ahead of crises, inclusion of social media in crisis communication plans alongside traditional media, and the flexibility to maintain social media dissemination and responses around the clock until the main period of the crisis has subsided.

This dissertation was written with the support of Tom Watson from Bournemouth University and presented at the annual International Public Relations Research Conference in Miami in March 2012.