Gaps in Perception on Social Media Use in Crisis Communication Between Vietnamese Organizations and Stakeholders

Abstract

<p>Despite the emergence of social media in many aspects of Vietnamese lives, including marketing and promotional activities, Vietnamese organizations have used little social media in their crisis communication efforts. The organizations are hesitant to adopt social media in crisis communication and prefer to use traditional media because of its controllability and professionalism. However, with the increasing number of organizational crises that started on social media in the past years, it is arguably that Vietnamese stakeholders use social media as one of their main communication channels during crises. Should the organizations use social media in response? Through a series of interviews to PR practitioners and stakeholders in Vietnam, this research aims to find out the similarities and gaps in the perception of social media use for crisis communication between these two groups, and to guide a crisis communication practice that is appreciated by stakeholders.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Bahasa Indonesia Abstrak: </strong>Meskipun<em> munculnya media sosial dalam banyak aspek kehidupan Vietnam, termasuk kegiatan pemasaran dan promosi, organisasi Vietnam telah menggunakan sedikit media sosial dalam upaya komunikasi krisis mereka. Organisasi ragu-ragu untuk mengadopsi media sosial dalam komunikasi krisis dan lebih suka menggunakan media tradisional karena pengendalian dan profesionalisme. Namun, dengan meningkatnya jumlah krisis organisasi yang dimulai di media sosial dalam beberapa tahun terakhir, dapat dibilang bahwa pemangku kepentingan Vietnam menggunakan media sosial sebagai salah satu saluran komunikasi utama mereka selama krisis. Haruskah organisasi menggunakan media sosial sebagai jawaban? Melalui serangkaian wawancara kepada praktisi PR dan pemangku kepentingan di Vietnam, penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui persamaan dan kesenjangan dalam persepsi penggunaan media sosial untuk komunikasi krisis antara kedua kelompok ini, dan untuk memandu praktik komunikasi krisis yang dihargai oleh para pemangku kepentingan. .</em></p>

The effects of social media and apology response strategy on a brand in crisis communication in Vietnam

“…Hence, social media is used as frequently and considered as useful as traditional media in crisis communication 12 . However, the findings in practice are that in various crises in Vietnam over the years, social media has not been a prioritized platform, even if the crisis began on social media 12,25 . A reason is that Vietnamese organizations are concerned about its uncontrollability 27 .…”

“…Firstly, in terms of crisis response methods, the existing literature emphasizes the sincerity and responsibility of involved organizations, and those do not avoid or deny the issues, because people would look more into the nature of a response content and reaction 25 . Besides, social media facilitates organizations to join the conversation and respond to users which is the target audience 12 .…”

“…Besides, social media facilitates organizations to join the conversation and respond to users which is the target audience 12 . In addition, while the content of crisis response was considered as important as the speed of the response, public relations practitioners underappreciated sincere content, so these content strategies are often overlooked and underused 25 . Secondly, existing literature in Vietnam also investigates response time and channels of organizations when a crisis happens.…”

“…In terms of crisis response, the theme of content plays a vital role in accurately delivering and expressing the brands' message and attitude. While the reviewed literature also emphasized consistency and sincerity in content, the value of content was underappreciated by Vietnamese organizations 25 . Thus, this theme does not only reflect the focus on crisis response content of Vietnamese consumers but also highlights some aspects of the content.…”