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This study looks at the interaction between social media platforms and crisis communications. Reliable communications are an essential part of crisis management and today more than ever practitioners have a variety of solutions at their disposal. Crisis communications arrangements have gone from more traditional tools such as manual call trees to highly sophisticated emergency notification software. In recent years, however, social media have also started to play a role, as organizations often prefer them due to factors such as low costs and usability.

Despite several discussions on the topic, there are no previous studies that specifically address the role of social media within crisis communications arrangements. In order to shed light on this issue, this report examines how practitioners from fields such as crisis management and business continuity use social media during disruptive events.
A pilot study was presented in June 2019 at the Terrorism and Social Media Conference,
receiving positive feedback from tech multinationals and intergovernmental organizations.
The findings analyze the situations where social media platforms are mostly used, their costs and benefits and the role of social media providers.