When it comes to crises online, usually brands want to avoid them at all costs; however, in the case of Hurricane Sandy, this was and still continues to be one major crisis where the power of social media needed to be harnessed to broadcast rather than downplay the situation.

Once power was lost in millions of homes on the east coast, there was little hope of staying updated through the traditional means of TV and radio, it was therefore up to social media to act as the connector and provider of reliable information. And boy was it put to the test.

On October 30^th alone, #Sandy had more than 4 million mentions with an estimated reach of more than 3 billion Twitter followers. “Hurricane Sandy” was also the top phrase on Facebook in the USA with the top 3 phrases including “we are ok”, “power: lost power, have power, no power”, and “damage.” Instagram also played a huge role in creating a live visual documentary of events with the photo-sharing site racking up over 10 pictures per second with the hashtag ‘Sandy.’

While unfortunately there were quite a few jokes and rumors flying around on Facebook and in the twittersphere, what stood out the most was the true power and ability that these platforms have to connect people especially in times of need. Each site served a unique purpose, with twitter accurately providing real-time updates, Facebook connecting loved ones, and Instagram sharing the reality through touching visuals with the rest of the world. Each came to the rescue in their own way and continue to contribute to fighting and braving out this horrific natural disaster.

However, is it only in times of grave need that connection and the spread of a message can happen at such a large scale? Clearly the potential is and has always been there, this was just somewhat of a wake-up call to either learn how to swim in this social space or get lost in the deep end.

 

References: Facebook, twitter abuzz with hurricane chatter

Facebook Becomes Nation’s Hurricane Bulletin Board: “We Are Ok” is #1 Shared Term This Morning

Social media follows Hurricane Sandy’s destructive path