Reputational damage from social media
Sustained negative social-media campaign or viral incident.
The risk event
Sustained negative social-media campaign or viral incident
A viral incident or coordinated negative campaign on social media materially damages brand and trust.
What could cause it, and what stops it
The left-hand side. Each cause is a plausible pathway to the event; the controls beneath it are the barriers that reduce the chance of that pathway completing.
Customer complaint going viral
An individual customer complaint gains broad attention.
- Social listeningDetective · Effective
24/7 monitoring of brand mentions.
- Customer service escalationCorrective · Limited
Fast escalation path for high-visibility cases.
- Response playbookDirective · Limited
Scenario-based response templates.
Employee misconduct shared online
An employee's conduct or comments go viral.
- Code of conductDirective · Effective
Clear standards with consequences.
- Social media policyDirective · Limited
Specific guidance on personal social media use.
Influencer / media amplification
An influential voice picks up and amplifies a negative narrative.
- Media monitoringDetective · Effective
Daily tracking of brand mentions in earned media.
- PR retainerCorrective · Effective
Always-on agency for rapid response.
Misinformation about products
False or misleading claims about the product spread online.
- Fact-check protocolDetective · Limited
Documented internal fact-check process.
- Owned-media responseCorrective · Planned · 0 to 3 months
Pre-built fact-correction content library.
What happens if it occurs, and what limits it
The right-hand side. Each consequence is an outcome the event could produce; the controls beneath it are what contains or recovers from that outcome once the event has already happened.
Brand value erosion
Sustained drop in brand health metrics.
- Brand health trackingDetective · Effective
Quarterly brand-tracker survey.
- Sponsorship reviewCorrective · Limited
Review of brand affiliations during incidents.
- Brand campaign reserveCorrective · Limited
Dedicated budget reserve for recovery campaigns.
Customer churn
Customers leave faster than usual during the incident.
- Customer retention programCorrective · Limited
Targeted retention offers for at-risk segments.
- Win-back campaignsCorrective · Limited
Pre-built win-back journeys for lapsed customers.
Recruiting impact
Employer brand suffers, harming talent pipeline.
- Employer brand monitoringDetective · Limited
Tracking of employer review platforms.
- Candidate experience programPreventive · Limited
Best-in-class candidate experience.
Investor confidence shaken
Share-price or investor sentiment impact.
- Investor relations playbookCorrective · Effective
Templated IR responses for crisis events.
- Board crisis briefingDirective · Effective
Standing item on board agenda during crises.
Where this template starts you
Ratings are a starting position, not a finding. They describe a generic organisation with the controls above in place; yours will differ, and the point of opening the template is to make them yours.
Make it yours
Opening the template loads it into the editor with everything above already in place. Rename the event, cut the causes that do not apply, and re-rate against your own matrix. Exports to PNG, PDF, Excel and PowerPoint are built in.