The impact of social media as a strategic approach to corporate communication when handling crises at a selected South African bank

Abstract

This study investigates the impact of social media as a strategic approach to corporate communication when handling crises at Bank X in the Gauteng province of South Africa. The study had three over-arching objectives; to determine the challenges that are encountered when handling crises about communication at Bank X, to determine if the leadership has the willingness to change their approach when formulating the strategy; to determine if social media has an impact on strategy formulation of crisis communication at Bank X; and lastly to make recommendations to Bank X’s leadership on how to incorporate the social media component as a communication approach to effectively handle crises. This research followed a qualitative research approach through one-on-one Microsoft Teams in-depth interviews with 10 participants. The study, through the analysis of the primary data, secondary data, and literature reviews, underpins and supports that there is an opportunity for Bank X to incorporate social media as a strategic element to the crisis communication strategy. The organisation’s crisis communication strategy needs to incorporate social media from a strategic perspective for it to be ahead of the curve when a crisis emerges online. The implications for Bank X are a lesson in the evolution of technology in the communication space and how imperative it is for the bank to evolve.