Revisiting STREMII: Social Media Crisis Communication During Hurricane Matthew

Abstract

Social media platforms in uence the ow of information and technologically mediated communication during a storm. In 2015, Stewart and Wilson introduced the STREMII (pronounced STREAM-ee) as a six-phase model for social media crisis communication in an e ort to assist institutions and organizations during unanticipated events, using the crisis of Hurricane Sandy as an applied example. Since the inception of the model, several advancements in social media strategy have revealed the opportunity for further development. This current work presents a revision of the original model, emphasizing the need for ongoing social listening and engagement with target audiences. These aspects of the revised model are discussed in interpersonal and organizational contexts related to examples of social media use during the October 2016 Atlantic Hurricane Matthew.