Social media's impact on higher education crisis communication plans

• Main Author: Giblin, Patrick J.
• Format: Others
• Published: Scholarly Commons 2011
• Subjects: Universities and colleges United States; Public relations Case studies; Crisis management Case studies; Social media; Communication; Communication Technology and New Media; Education; Higher Education; Organizational Communication; Social Media
• Online Access: https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/uop_etds/776; https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1775&context=uop_etds

Using case study methods, four crises that were reported in the past 36 months were examined to see if university officials modified established crisis communication plans to better respond to messages and rumors on social networking. Two of the crises dealt with safety issues and two were reputational crises designed to discredit the institution. Four communication professionals were also interviewed for their opinions about social networking use during crises. The study concludes that universities should adopt a social networking aspect into crisis communication plans, including preauthorizing specific types of messages to be released during the first few minutes of a crisis without review from higher administrators. A model of this new crisis communication plan is included. Social media use is also recommended during other stages of a crisis to better inform the community of what is happening on a campus.