Free SOP template
Social media crisis and escalation plan
When a post or a comment thread turns against a client, respond fast, calmly and with one voice, and never make it worse.
Social media crisis & escalationWho decides, how fast, what we never do
Purpose
When a post or a comment thread turns against the client, respond fast, calmly and with one voice — and never make it worse.
Never argue, delete criticism or post an apology without the client's approval.
When to use it
A wave of negative comments, a factual error in a post, a complaint that could spread, or anything legal, safety- or health-related.
Who's involved
Role | Responsible for |
|---|---|
Social media manager | Spots it, pauses scheduled posts, alerts |
Account manager | Calls the client, agrees the response |
Agency lead | Decides on anything legal or public statements |
Steps
Within 15 minutes: screenshot the comments and the post; pause every scheduled post for this client.
Alert the account manager and the agency lead in [channel] with the screenshots and a one-line summary.
Classify it: a single unhappy customer (reply privately), a factual mistake (correct it), or a real crisis (client decides).
Within [1 hour]: agree the response with the client in writing.
Post the agreed response; move individual cases to private messages.
Monitor every [30 minutes] for the rest of the day.
Afterwards: a 15-minute review — what happened, what we change — written on this page under Notes.
Checklist
Screenshots saved
Scheduled posts paused
Client informed within the hour
Response approved in writing
Post-mortem written
Done means
The client approved the response, the conversation has calmed down, and the lesson is written here.
Words in [brackets] are yours to fill in: your timings, your links, your numbers.
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