Utilization of Social Media for Crisis Management: The Case of Procter and Gamble during the Always Sanitary Towels Crisis in Kenya

Abstract

The Study sought to examine the utilization of social media in crisis management, using Procter and Gamble’s Sanitary product, Always Pads, as a case study. Objectives that guided the study are (i) to find out the social media platforms used for online management of the Always Pads crisis by Procter and Gamble in Kenya, (ii) to examine how online audiences influenced the Always Pads crisis management by Procter and Gamble in Kenya, (iii) to determine the online crisis management strategies used for the Always Pads crisis by Procter and Gamble in Kenya, (iv) to determine the message content used for the Always Pads crisis management by Procter and Gamble in Kenya. The study was hinged on the situational crisis communication theory, the Social Mediation Crisis Communication (SMCC) model and the Framing theory. Qualitative research design was adopted in the research. The target population was St. Paul’s female students. 25 female students were interviewed. The qualitative data was then analyzed using thematic analysis. The findings indicate that particular social media platforms were preferred as a medium of crisis management, this being Instagram, the study also found out that WhatsApp ranked as the most common medium of social media communication. There was the realization that from the age groups interviewed, ages 21-30 were more accessible to share their information concerning menstruation and how crisis management relating to sanitary pads is best tackled through engaging with the audiences. There were specific crisis management strategies that online audiences also identified with, including the use of social media influencers, direct engagement, and community service. The study recommends that when handling online communication crisis, companies should use a multi-pronged approach whereby they use as many social media platforms as possible and several messaging strategies at the same time. Further research is necessary in organizations that have strict policies on using social media as a formal mode of communication.