If you create a crisis plan after a crisis hits, it’s going to suck

Look at @WeAreCisco on your social media channel of choice and you’ll quickly see how Cisco’s culture—and the employee-generated-content strategy that the social team uses—has stood the test of the pandemic.

While many brands struggled to find the right balance of tone, imagery and content, the @WeAreCisco team made a slight shift in content because the employees that they featured made a shift in content. Now, the photos include work-from-home set ups (like an ironing board as a stand-up desk), fun ways employees use Cisco’s own Webex technology to stay connected, and the many ways employees are giving back.

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But just because their team’s content didn’t need to make a drastic turn for this crisis doesn’t mean they don’t have a social media crisis plan in place.

“You can’t wait for the crisis to develop a plan. If you do that, your plan is going to suck,” says Carmen Collins, senior social media and talent brand manager for Cisco. “Create it before you need it.”