Social Media Monitoring for Crisis Communication : Process, Methods and Trends in the Scientific Literature

Abstract

This literature review study aims at clarifying current knowledge on social media monitoring from the perspective of organizational communication and public relations. It also contributes to crisis communication by shedding light on how fast developing social media discourse can be followed and analysed in order to understand citizens’ needs throughout all the phases of a crisis. The findings of this study reveal a number of insights in the scientific literature on the concept of monitoring, the monitoring process, methods, tools and solutions, methodological issues and trends covering the years 2009–2012. In the literature, social media monitoring is described as a process which comprises various steps: preparation, data collection, data analysis and reporting. The methodological issues discussed in the literature show the many challenges still to be addressed. Knowledge connecting the results of monitoring activities to communication strategy making is lacking, indicating a gap to be filled in future studies.