keeping your cool when things get hot crisis communications + social media robert philips director,...
TRANSCRIPT
Keeping Your CoolWhen Things Get Hot
Crisis Communications + Social Media
Robert PhilipsDirector, Digital Media
GolinHarris
Words to live by:
“There are two kinds of pilots… those who have landed with their wheels up, and those who will.”
–Geoff Nightengale
We’ve Been There
Why This Conversation is Important
• Surviving the first hours of a crisis can save assets, markets and reputations
• Poorly handled crises can end careers, destroy brands• Outsiders, not the company, will control the
perceptions of how the crisis is handled• Handling victims insensitively or not at all
can escalate visibility, cost and damage• How companies handle a crisis has tremendous residual
affect on every aspect of their business now, in future• Social media presents new challenges, opportunities
SOCIAL MEDIA CRISIS COMMUNICATIONS OVERVIEW
What makes an issue more social?
It impacts meor my family.
It’s in mybackyard.
It’s identifiable/relatable.
It’s easy to share. It has a nameand a face.
It’s in the press.
The Usual Suspects
Employees Gone Wild
The Misstatement
Crusading Customer The Misinformant
Operational Crisis
Sheer speed of conversation requires
different tools, processes
New Courts of Public Opinion
Opinions about brands are formed in a multitude of locations today
What Makes this Especially Treacherous…
Beware of imitators
The Benefits of Being Prepared
A PRWeek survey found 84.8% of companies worldwide had general crisis plans in place, but only 20.7% had social media crisis plans set. In-house communicators rated the importance of social media in a crisis as seven out of 10.
Goals of Crisis Management
• Close the crisis• Minimal disruption to operations• Minimal financial impact• Contained/balanced media coverage + dialogue• Minimal or no brand/reputation impact• Partnership rather than punishment with third parties• Identify and leverage the good
PROACTIVELY PREPARE FOR A CRISIS
Field the Right Team
• Shared ownership of mainstream, digital and social media makes collaboration essential
• Faster pace of decision making requires an in-place team
• Every employee with Internet access could be spokesperson
• Communicators + biz leaders + digital whizzes + data miners
Product & Market Research
Marketing/Brand
Investor Relations
Public Relations
Customer Service
HR & Employee Communications
Agency Partners
Issues M
an
age
me
nt Team
Legal/Compliance
Establish Response Processes
Key First Steps
• Set-up a social media policy for employees– Let them know when they can speak online on behalf of the
company– Educate them on the risks– Acknowledge they can be brand champions as well
• Set-up a public guide for your social media pages– Establish intent of social media pages– Clarify up front what comments will be accepted– Disclaim what comments may be deleted (but be careful!)
Monitor, Monitor, Monitor
Evaluate Your Online Footprint
Understand Friends & Foes Online
Online Influence/Social Capital
Favora
bili
ty t
o O
rgan
izati
on
RESPONDING TO A CRISIS: MAKING THE MOST OF EVERY MINUTE
Responsiveness Means Minutes
• One tweet sparked 3,000 blog posts,5,100 forum posts, and 15,000 tweets
• Southwest respondedjust 16 minutes later
• Shared the facts soon afterwith post on SWA blog
Critical for a company’s voice
to be heard early and often
Golden Hour: The First 60 Minutes
• Contain the problem (Operational)
• Open crisis communications center, huddle with team
• Assume roles and responsibilities from crisis plan
• Quickly gather facts and assess the situation
• Understand conversation dynamics online
• Verify, verify, verify
• Lock down brand-owned touch points
• Compile standby talking points/news release/digital assets/search
• Follow internal/external notification process
• Prepare spokesperson for media and social responses
• Communicate clearly and directly to key audiences, offering to provide updates as available
Golden Hour:What to Have at Your Fingertips
• Pre-approved standby talking points for foreseeable issues, for use in both traditional and social media (e.g. Twitter)
• Queued keyword buys to direct online stakeholders• HD Flipcam• Media-ready fact sheets with background info; ability to
quickly post response to key digital + social touch points• List of media outlets, online influencers, deadlines, air times• List of contacts for partner agencies• Logins/passwords/contacts for all brand-owned channels• Checklist of “golden hour” actions
After the Golden Hour:Within the First Day
• Within 2 Hours- Verify, verify, verify (more important as time goes on)- Deploy on-site and social media spokesperson- Shift from responsive to proactive- Continue to communicate with partners (USDA, FBI, etc.)- Monitor first media coverage and online discussion dynamics
• Within 24 hours- Provide regular, proactive updates to stakeholders- Provide assessment of media coverage and social conversations online, adapt where necessary- Develop communication and staffing plan for next day
Listen 24X7 Online
• Ramp up full-time, human-assisted monitoring
• No single tool captures all online conversations... multiple systems = failsafe
• Ensure access to brief key decision makers
• Gatorade + Dell monitor brand health 24x7x365
• Leverage GH Bridge facilities
Let Them Know It’s Really You
Make it Personal
• Allow real employeeswith skin in the game to serve as responders
• A human face enhancesauthenticity in social media
• Slick productions aren’talways the most impactful
Mount a Multifaceted Response
Mobilize Your Supporters
• Arm your supporters (online andoffline) with information to helpthem get out the facts
• Examine customer databases, FB fans, Twitter followers, etc.
• Provide access to friendlybloggers and other influencers
Parting thoughts:
“Get it quick, get it right, get it out, and get it over.”–Warren Buffett
