Being social when crisis knocks : Why and how companies use social media to communicate in a time of crisis

Abstract: Over the past years communication patterns have been changing continuously due toincreased public demand for information and knowledge. Numerous social networks andwebsites have escalated and gained the attention of the academics and practitioners, as wellas the business society. Previously scholars researched this field of interest from differentperspectives. Thus it could be stated that the emphasis was put on the impact of the certainsocial media networks in terms of communication strategy. However, no holistic approachhas been noticed in regards to why and how companies can use different mediasimultaneously in order to overcome a crisis situation. This research is aimed at filling thegap within existing literature. This thesis complements the previous studies and provides a broader understanding uponthe role of social media in the crisis communication process by the use of the triangulationmethod. This approach refers to the implementation of both quantitative and qualitativestudies based on a questionnaire addressed to various organisations and by observing theactions taken by the company currently facing the crisis situation. The empirical findingsprovided concrete data on why companies use social media and how they can be deployedto communicate with the large audience during turbulent times. The conducted study revealed that even if social media plays an important role in thecommunication and information sharing, traditional media is still perceived as moretrustworthy by the organisations. Therefore, companies in crisis should combine the use ofthese two kinds of media in their corrective actions taken in order to regain public trust andovercome the crisis.