A report by the Altimer Group has found that 76% of social media crises could have been diminished or avoided had the brand been prepared and had proper training, staff, and processes to respond.

The report, which was published this week by Jeremiah Owyang, defined a social media crisis as ‘a crisis issue that arises in or is amplified by social media, and results in negative mainstream media coverage, a change in business process, or financial loss.’

It was also discovered that out of the companies that had a formulised crisis response plan in place, 96% felt prepared for a social media crisis, while only 22% without a plan felt prepared.

Altimer Group reports that out of the companies which have a social media policy in place, 62% have employees who know how to safely represent the brand, compared to 23% of companies who do not have a policy.

The report suggests putting a team in place which will be able to respond at any hour to a media crisis, and practicing social media ‘fire drills’.