Have you ever been in a situation where you need to manage crisis on Twitter?

Today, I want to talk about crisis management on personal social media profiles, but the focus will be on Twitter.

Drama is not a new thing around here. It comes to some people almost every time. Like a second skin, it’s in their nature to live and bask in it. Sometimes, when the waters of Twitter are still, these people know how to stir it with drama like the angel at the pool of Bethsaida.

Some others try to be careful, but try as they may; drama finds them, just because there is something about them that attracts.

There is another set of people who are not even the drama type but get in it because they see it as a key to getting fame.

All I’m trying to say is that drama can come to anyone, regardless of who you are. How you respond to it may determine how long it will last.

So, how does one respond to drama, the terrible one, that it doesn’t linger too long to hurt your image on Twitter totally?

Own up to your faults and apologize.

This is the right and logical thing to do in the face of any crisis, especially if you are guilty. You must be ready to acknowledge your faults, apologize humbly, and make amends where necessary. Even if you have no perfect response, an apology will do. And one more thing, do it early. Don’t let the issue fester before making an apology. It might seem like an afterthought or may be passed off as done out of pride. To further cement your apology, take logical steps to prove that you are willing to make amends.

Stay out of the heat till the flame goes off.

This step is for those who feel they have a case, but their names have been put out in a bad light, and no matter what they say at the moment, no one would listen. What I advise here is to stay entirely out of the heat by deactivating for a while, until the matter has almost disappeared. Use the time away to get your head together, gather your facts to prepare for a response, and when all is set, come back to make your statement. Once you have told your side of the story to kill the matter in your head and never respond to anyone about it again. Let your story do the rest of the talking, with time; people will move on.

Keep a straight face in the midst of the storm.

This strategy is good for those who do not care about addressing the issue, whether they are guilty or not. Pretty difficult to do, but it could work. The idea is to remain still in the face of whatever anyone is dragging. Refuse to give a response or make a post, no matter what people say. Mute yourself from every post addressing the issue, kill notifications of posts where people have tagged you in comments. Unfollow any stubborn person who refuses to stop calling you out. And when everyone is tired of talking, resume your posts like nothing happened. Join the fun, and do your thing like you would do on a regular day. This leaves people wondering, with no definite answers to hold on to. With time, everything will go back to normal.

These are my ideas for personal profiles. They may not always work for everyone, depending on the kind of crisis you find yourself, but they are worth the try if you want to put out the flame quickly without much fuss.

If you want my ideas for crisis management for business on social media, let’s talk in private.

You have other ideas for responding to crisis around here; please share.