We see promoted tweets for marketing campaigns all the time on Twitter. But what about using a promoted tweet to communicate your message in a crisis?

Recently, United Airlines promoted a tweet on the top of its Twitter stream to report that the company’s computer malfunction crisis had been resolved. While its crisis communications via social media was poor during this crisis, the company was wise to alert customers, fans, and market that the crisis had been resolved. It’s important to clearly mark the end of a crisis, and the way United did it was effective.

However, if you have the budget, this promoted tweet strategy can be effective during all stages of your social media crisis communications. Imagine this: People are searching Twitter to learn more about the crisis that your company or organization is currently facing. Among the tweets and retweets galore, they will also discover your targeted message regarding the crisis, along with a link to a Web page that you choose—and it’s all at the top of their search results.

The benefits of paying for a promoted tweet during a crisis are to:

• Get your message across clearly and consistently;
• Assure that everyone searching for news regarding the crisis on Twitter will see your targeted message front and center;
• Provide followers and viewers with a targeted link, funneling them to the updates and statements of your choosing.

With that in mind, here are 4 tips to making the most of a promoted tweet in your crisis communications:

1. Include a targeted link

Regardless of the visibility of your tweet, 140 characters simply aren’t enough. Include a targeted link within your promoted tweet directing people to the place where your company is committed to releasing timely updates and statements regarding the crisis. This could be on your Facebook timeline, a dedicated page on your website, blog, or wherever else you’ve dedicated as your “home base” during the crisis.

2. Be sympathetic

It’s important to show sympathy towards the victims in a crisis. Make sure to include this show of true sympathy within the promoted tweet as well. Remember, you want to target, address, and funnel to the appropriate channel. Being truly sympathetic will help you accomplish this.

3. Use targeted keywords and hashtags

Every crisis, especially those taking place on social media, has a name and a one (or several) hashtags. Use those targeted keywords and hashtags within your promoted tweet to make sure you get found by the most targeted Twitter searches.

4. Declare the end of the crisis

It’s always important to not leave people hanging. When the crisis has been resolved, don’t forget to let the public know. United did this well with its promoted tweet. It let everybody searching or landing on its Twitter feed know that the crisis had been resolved and the company was back up and running efficiently.

As a form of social media crisis communications, a promoted tweet can be a good strategy, enabling you to get your message out clearly and consistently and to the most Twitter users as possible.

[RELATED: 10 basic tech skills every PR pro should know for a crisis]

Melissa Agnes is a social media crisis manager, speaker, and consultant. This story first appeared on MelissaAgnes.com.

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