#SocialWallStreetPhotos: Sharlene Spingler

In the flickering glow of a jack-o-lantern carved with the digits 10-06 (in honor of FINRA Regulatory Notice 10-06, which provides guidance to financial firms using social media), three social media experts gathered October 19 — the 28th anniversary of the Black Monday stock market crash — to tell horror stories of a modern bent: tales of social media gone awry, and the quick-thinking solutions that gave them happy endings.

Held at St. Pat’s Bar & Grill in Midtown, the event opened with a panel discussion, where Frank Eliason, head of US digital at Zeno Group; Stephanie Grayson, former social media editor of Yahoo! Finance; and Joanna Belbey, social media and compliance specialist of Actiance, related worst-case situations with flair and some theatrics (Grayson even introduced her “dramatic reenactment” with a catchy title – “Hashtag of Horrors” — and accompanied her narration with spooky music from her iPhone). The panel was followed by three roundtable discussions, with the experts rotating from table to table to discuss, brainstorm, and role-play PR nightmare scenarios with those assembled.

Eliason focused his discussion on the unique challenges Occupy Wall Street has posed for the financial industry online, including the proliferation of viral videos that, when inaccurate or fraudulent, can spread misinformation at an alarming rate. He emphasized the importance of building trust for a brand by putting a human face on what can seem like large and unaccountable corporate entities, as well as the need to respond in kind online: if the video is wrong, post another video to set the record straight.

(Left) Henry Feintuch, pres., Feintuch Communications.

(Right) Frank Eliason, head of US digital at Zeno Group talks to the group.

Grayson followed up her story — of a Yahoo! Finance-hosted Twitter chat with the White House almost ruined by trolls — with a fun exercise in which attendees concocted a scandal, then acted out the various parts played by media, stockholders, regulators and the public in the social media discussion that would surely follow. At one table, the hypothetical disaster involved a CEO’s infidelity combined with charges of insider trading and the resulting online fallout.

Finally, Belbey spoke at length about compliance in the use of social media for financial institutions. Social media, she explained, is just another form of written communication, and as such, it must meet three requirements. First, the organization must keep records, capturing and making discoverable what has been said. Second, since social media transmissions can function as a form of advertising, they must — like ads — speak truthfully and disclose all necessary information to consumers. Third, social media communication must be subject to supervision — employees’ statements must be regulated and checked up on by employers, who can use various forms of monitoring technology to help with this.

Ultimately, the takeaway was a simple one: social media catastrophes can be avoided or averted with fast, on-point responses, offline communication with the parties involved and an adherence to straightforward rules about how, when and by whom information is disseminated.