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Using Twitter for Crisis Communications is as much about preventing an isolated issue from becoming a full-blown crisis as it is about communicating to the public once a crisis has hit. As in all corporate communications, Twitter needs to be part of a broader strategy, and one of a variety of (social) media channels you use to listen and share with your customers, clients, and industry – both when it comes to prevention, and when it is time to react.

Kristin’s kick-off post  included information about setting up your company’s handle, and developing internal processes to maintain a consistent, transparent presence on Twitter. These are equally important in a crisis. You shouldn’t be developing a new handle just to react to an issue, but should have a presence and a network built up before anything happens.

In keeping with the Follow, Create, Engage setup, I’ve provided my crisis communications how-to’s below. Feel free to comment with additional suggestions and examples.

Follow: There are a ton of ways to engage with and keep track of your brand on Twitter, but ideally, you’re listening to mentions in blogs, message boards, and communities as well. Services like Radian6 incorporate Twitter search into their overall social media monitoring offering, so again, it becomes part of a bigger presence.

Pay attention to key topic areas, new products and company announcements. Listening becomes especially important during a new product launch –a movie screening, a product debut, a major branded event. Customer first impressions can start small, but can grow into a swell that is hard to  contain (think Spore backlash).

Follow users who talk about you – the people who use your products and care about your brand. Follow people who love you as well as those who have had bad experiences. Crisis prevention is about building trust –about developing a network that you can learn from, and can help carry your messages when you need to get them out.

Companies like Comcast and JetBlue, that have had customer horror stories blow up on them, are now using twitter (@comcastcares, @jetblue) to listen and address customer complaints before they become issues.

Create: In the case of a crisis, you’ll need more than 140 characters to tell your story. Start with an apology. Take a page out of Gmail’s mini apology, or JetBlue’s big one. Twitter can help direct your brand advocates and detractors to your “I’m sorry” and can alert them as new content becomes available and new news is released. Say “I’m sorry” a few times – use your channels (blog, email, Twitter, newsletter, etc).

Clearly outline the steps you are taking to rectify the problem. Use Twitter to share current information as it comes in. DM media contacts and brand ambassadors, with whom you’ve built relationships, and give them the information they need when they need it. Post real-time updates that address the status of your issue, what you’re doing to fix it, and eventually, what steps you’re taking so that it won’t happen again.

Engage: In a crisis, Twitter provides another  venue for you to answer questions, raise issues and engage in a dialogue. Respond to questions and comments from customers, influencers and media, and especially those people who have been directly impacted. Your Twittering employees should be briefed on the issues, and if they can’t address a specific question, they should be equipped to send complaints to someone who can.

Looking  ahead, Twitter can be used to repair an image. Whole Foods’  recent Twitter presence (@wholefoods) is helping build a little bit of transparency around  a company, which  dealt with previous problems in social media. Their more than 6,000 followers now have the potential to help share their messages and build their brand in a more authentic way.    

@comcastcares @jetblue and @wholefoods are all companies whose reputations suffered from customer complaints and corporate mishaps, and who are now using Twitter to humanize their brand and prevent future issues – what are some others?