Review of CMAD by Cath Jenkin

Being a community manager can sometimes feel like a lonely job. When you’re dealing with client queries, feedback requirements, complaints, compliments and trying to get that beloved escalation matrix well, escalating…some days can feel like a train ride with no tracks.

But then along comes the 24-hour CMAD celebrations and the webcasts we participated in, and that reminds all of us that, despite feeling lonely some days, we’re actually on the steam train together.

Perhaps the best part of participating in the webcast with Nazareen Ebrahim, Kirsty Bisset, Samantha Perry and Fred Felton (link-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7O9S_4ZUn5A&index=1&list=LLKnh-tz4OO6JLP5A6llKL3w) was the reminders that we’ve all got our tickets for this train ride and, so often, the challenges faced by us in our daily work, are faced by all of us, across the globe.

As we discussed the definitions and strategies for coping with a social media crisis, it’s evident that the importance of a crisis communications strategy is unparalleled. As Kirsty Bisset said, it’s important to go through the “What ifs” before they happen, so that internal response and action plans are well coordinated long before a crisis hits. As Samantha Perry pointed out too, within a crisis situation, it’s important that the right people are vested with the ability to speak on behalf of a company or brand and the importance of having a CEO or company leader come to the fore in times of crisis is a reassuring mechanism that helps to calm a client panic or outrage. Nazareen Ebrahim related a few poignant examples of how this has come into play, citing Tony Fernandez’ online responses when the AirAsia aeroplane went down in late 2014.

I’m certain that lessons learnt and shared during our session were well received and, judging by the tweets we read and online comments, it’s great to know that our webcast proved useful for Community Managers out there! Thanks to MyCommunityManager for having us!

Cath Jenkin
@cathjenkin