SOCIAL MEDIA BEFORE, DURING, & AFTER EMERGENCIES

Lessons Learned

A. July 2013 - Asiana Airlines Flight 214 Plane Crash
News that Asiana Airlines Flight 214 crashed upon landing at San Francisco International Airport initially broke on Twitter.⁵² During the first hour after the crash occurred, there were more than 50,000 tweets referencing Asiana, many of which asked for more information, demanded answers, and voiced concern over a lack of communication from the airline.^{53, 54} However, despite having an established social media presence prior to the crash, Asiana Airlines remained completely silent on social media.⁵⁵

1. Absence of Social Media Messaging Can Cause Confusion and Frustration
The lack of social media use by Asiana Airlines after the crash caused confusion and distress. The airline consulting firm SimpliFlying “praised federal investigators and San Francisco International Airport for quick statements on the crash and constant social media updates – while crash followers grew increasingly frustrated by the muted response from Asiana.”⁵⁶

Frustration with Asiana Airline’s poor communication led the public to turn to other social media outlets and agency websites, such as the National Transportation Security Board and San Francisco International Airport, further tarnishing the reputation of the airline. SimpliFlying stated “Unfortunately, Asiana Airlines, with the world’s eyes set on it, was slow to respond and was far from satisfying the insatiable need for more information in the hours after the crash.”⁵⁷

The general public expects to find incident information on social media. If no information is posted on the responsible agency’s social media platforms, the public will turn to other sources. Agencies should use social media as one tool to provide updates about an incident directly to the public, reducing mixed messages that lead to confusion and frustration.

2. Delayed Social Media Use Can Lead to Anger
Lack of accessible information from Asiana Airlines contributed to public anger with the airline. Asiana Airlines did not post any information or messages to social media until eight hours after the crash.⁵⁸ The statement was interpreted as unsympathetic and uninformative, leading the public to become increasingly angry with the company.⁵⁹

Though the press release was preceded by a tweeted message of thoughtfulness and prayers to those directly impacted by the crash, many individuals did not see it; Asiana Airlines had been so inactive on Facebook and Twitter that individuals had stopped paying attention to the airline’s social media streams. Being active on social media at the onset of an incident is critical to keeping the public informed with accurate information, which will help alleviate stress from the public.

3. Lack of Social Media Communication Can Lead to Distrust
Other than a brief, tweeted apology to families and victims hours after the crash, Asiana Airlines was virtually silent. When the CEO of Asiana Airlines arrived at San Francisco International Airport, he declined to comment. The airline did not have a trained public relations representative to address the media and even instructed passengers not to communicate to anyone via social media.⁶⁰

The silence equated to distrust in the eyes of the public – it triggered suspicion that the airline was hiding information from the public and was not equipped to handle the crisis.⁶¹ When the airline finally posted on Twitter, nearly six hours after the initial crash, many other agencies – including the White House, United Airlines, and San Francisco International Airport – had already Tweeted messages of condolences.^{62, 63} By not using social media as a tool to communicate with a large audience early in the incident, Asiana Airlines lost the trust of the public as the response continued.