Crisis Communications Playbook

Produces a client's social media crisis plan: three severity levels with quantified triggers, response timelines, holding statements, platform actions, a printable quick card and the post-crisis review, built on the acknowledge → investigate → update cadence.

Use When

• A customer's video or post is spreading fast and a reporter wants a comment: how serious is it and who responds in the first hour?
• A damaging news story is about to air or print and a statement is needed today.
• Impersonation scams: a faked clip or cloned voice note of the CEO, a copycat page, or forwarded messages asking customers for money in the brand's name; warn customers, report it and correct the record.
• Platform actions on Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, X and LinkedIn during an incident, and what must not be done.
• Before anything goes wrong: holding statements, a first-30-minute checklist and a plan for an internet shutdown or platform block around an election or national event.
• The storm has passed and a post-crisis review with lessons learned is due.

Do Not Use When

• playbook-reputation-management for rebuilding ratings, reviews and search results over weeks.
• playbook-community-management for routine complaints handled within normal response times.
• playbook-pr-publicity for proactive press releases and media pitching.
• Stop before publishing any statement, deleting posts or naming individuals without legal and client sign-off; deliver the draft holding statement and the approval request.

Required Inputs