Damage Control on Social Media

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2014/05/05/a-company-guide-to-damage-control-after-a-social-media-blowup/

This article is one that all of us can relate to and have discussed a great deal in class. It’s just one specific example of how social media can have a negative impact on a company and then what needs to be done. We have seen more drastic example such as with United Airlines, but this specific example is one that also needs to be considered. Sometimes a fail on social media can be less severe but still have a heavy impact. This article talks a lot about Paypal and how a former executive had a very public fallout with the company over twitter. It’s extremely unprofessional but also bad because not only does it negatively affect him but also Paypal as a company. What should companies do in this situation? I believe Paypal handled it well, but what other measures should they take? Is it possible to actually prevent something such as this from happening before it does, or is it inevitable and should a plan already be set in place?