Social Media in Crisis Management : Are Organizations in Malaysia Incorporating Social Media in Crisis Communication?

Ooi, Yuet Yi (2015) Social Media in Crisis Management : Are Organizations in Malaysia Incorporating Social Media in Crisis Communication? Final Year Project (Bachelor), Tunku Abdul Rahman University College.

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Abstract

This research is conducted to analyze the roles and effects of using social media in crisis communication. On top of that, it is also expected to find out whether organizations in Malaysia are incorporating social media in crisis communication. 87 online survey questionnaires were distributed through email but only 43 respondents replied. Among 43 respondents, 5 were chosen for in depth interview for qualitative data. All respondents and interviewees are either the corporate communicator or crisis communicator of each organization. Interviewees are required to have experience in handling crisis for their organization in order to contribute specific and practical input to this research. Results of this research show that only a slight majority of organizations in Malaysia do incorporate social media in crisis management plan. The role of social media can be determined through both the “Accessibility” and “Instantaneous” aspects of social media. Due to its accessibility and speed, social media has become an ideal communication platform for crisis communication. Furthermore, the effectiveness of social media can be determined through its number of audience, conversational factor and highly transparent nature. This is because it is significant to organization for being honest and transparent to the affected stakeholders during crisis communication. On top of that, this research also discovered that social media cannot stand alone to be the communication tool for organizations during crisis. To achieve the best outcome, organizations should incorporate traditional media and social media both together in crisis communication because both of them complete and complement each other.