The Use of Social Media as A Means of Information in The Covid-19 Crisis Period

In the axis of developing technology and changing communication techniques, crisis communication management and the tools used in this management process have also changed. It is very important to be prepared for the crisis, to make fast and correct decisions at the time of crisis, to implement these decisions successfully, to communicate quickly and effectively with all segments affected by the crisis, and to choose the right communication tools while doing this. Social media, which includes almost all of the previous communication tools consists of applications such as Twitter, WhatsApp, Tik Tok, Messanger, Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, Pinterest, Telegram. It provides some opportunities to crisis managers in terms of crisis communication such as creating and publishing their own content; reducing dependency on journalist and television player; ability to communicate interactively with target audiences; getting the feedbacks of the target groups directly and quickly; reducing material expenses by minimizing the printing of printed materials such as invitations and posters; production of video and publishing them in desired length and style; Specific broadcasting according to target audiences; publishing content without time restrictions; accessing information on any subject, in a short time, by scanning data around the world; instant access to corporate memory (corporate archive) and forming the agenda of the target audiences in any direction it wishes. In public health crises such as pandemics, considering that effective and successful crisis communication is a very important dimension of the crisis process, it has become inevitable for crisis managers to integrate social media into crisis communication strategies in today s societies where individuals who perform their interactions to a large extent on social platforms. Based on this point, in our study, the use of social media as a means of informing and getting information by individuals during the Covid-19 crisis was investigated. The data obtained by using the online survey method shows that participants spend 1-3 hours a day on social media, they use three or more social media applications at the same time and participants mostly prefer social media in order to be informed, communicate, follow the agenda and receive news during the COVID-19 crisis. The fact that social media users find Fahrettin Koca-Minister of Health- as the most reliable source of information about the COVID-19 crisis and he was very successful in communication during the crisis with the statements he made via television and twitter are among the findings of the study. In the light of this information, it is possible to say that the use of social media plays an important role in successful crisis communication management.