Kang Min-woo’s social media accounts were once filled with snippets of his everyday life. He would post selfies, details of his daily activities and share about coffee shop and restaurants that he frequented.

This has since changed as Kang now sees more pitfalls than benefits to the social networking services which were once a crucial conduit for the 24-year-old college student to share about his day-to-day life with relatives, friends and acquaintances.

“I used to put my personal information, such as my phone number and address, on my SNS accounts. I was flabbergasted when these were leaked and circulated online without my consent,” Kang said. He said he eventually chose to remove his previous accounts and establish new ones, finding himself unable to cut off from social media completely, to stay relevant.

Kang frets constantly about the possibilities of identity theft, a personal data leak or even online and offline stalking by complete strangers.

While Kang’s case involved personal risk and damage, the overwhelming usage of social media in the daily routines of the general public have become a source of unexpected risks for businesses as it could amount to tangible and intangible losses.

For businesses, social media accounts have been vital tools to promote products, communicate with customers and foster favorable marketing environments.

But they have also been exploited to spread groundless rumors and emotion-laden customer responses, which affect their sales and corporate image. It is for this reason that analysts stress the need for a thought-out crisis management strategy in regards to social media.

“Crisis management has been increasingly important as the range and speed of the spread of SNS risks have become substantially bigger than how they were in the past,” said Jung Kyung-hwa, the director of the online team at the local public relations consultancy KPR & Associates Inc.

“Through SNS, what used to be a petty issue in the past could escalate into a new crisis, which could give rise to yet another crisis more serious than the previous one. The amount of time needed for an issue to become a crisis may also be shortened as (social networking services) can serve as a catalyst to make situations worse.”

In recent years, firms that care greatly about their corporate image have increasingly focused on managing the potential risks that can arise from social media. They have formed special teams to handle online issues and conduct daily analysis of risk factors vis-a-vis social media.

“For enterprises, social media is a double-edged sword: Given its capabilities to quickly disseminate information, social media is a very effective channel for promotional activities. But it can also pose great risks,” said an official at LG Electronics Inc. speaking on condition of anonymity.

“We, under the principle of ‘expeditious and sincere’ communication, try to respond to online questions from customers within 24 hours, maintain candid communication with customers and strengthen our monitoring of social media accounts.”

Jung of KPR & Associates Inc. pointed out that companies should actively prepare against potential social media-related crises with various scenarios in mind -- largely in three stages: before, during and after those crises.

Before a crisis erupts, companies should strengthen their monitoring of issues and problems circulating through social media, she said, noting that false online information about a company could result in an uncontrollable crisis. 

During a crisis, a firm should take care of it in a “prompt and active” manner to prevent it from further worsening. Thoroughly verifying the root cause of the crisis and maintaining effective communication with customers is vital at this stage, Jung said.

After a crisis, the company should continue carefully watching the situation to ensure the crisis does not spill over into any other areas, she added. 

By Song Sang-ho (sshluck@heraldcorp.com)