ABSTRACT
Social media use actually increases during a crisis as users assign a high level of credibility to social media. Because Twitter is perceived as a credible medium with an increasing number of users, companies use tweets for special promotions, company news, and as a customer service forum. Coombs developed situational crisis communication theory (SCCT) to guide organizations through adverse situations by categorizing various crises into hierarchical clusters and presenting the appropriate responses designed to preserve reputation. The SCCT is a guide to follow, but additional conditions must be taken into account. For instance, a history of shady business practices or negligence can negatively influence future attributions of responsibility. Social media's substantial user numbers have attracted businesses searching for a direct line to customers. This chapter examines Fortune 500 companies' use of Twitter in crisis situations using SCCT crisis clusters. It also examines the relationship between the companies' crisis tweets and responses in the form of replies, retweets, and likes.
