What can social media do for me in a PR crisis?
When that bad story first hits your computer screen, you can be
excused for feeling just a little bit panicked. If you’re like most
companies, you aren’t prepared for a PR crisis. You might have some
action plan in mothballs, but if it doesn’t include social media
readiness, you’re not prepared for a full-blown 21st century PR
imbroglio. If you haven’t thought through how social media transforms
your PR crisis planning, it’s time to do so now.
Social media can be ideal in crisis management for a few reasons. First,
nothing beats the speed with which you can respond. You don’t have to
wait for media to call. You can answer the story right where it starts,
possibly quelling an issue before it gains too much negative momentum.
On the other hand, social media demands that you respond quickly, so one person’s opportunity can be perceived as another’s curse.
You also have the advantage of being unfiltered-no news media is
interpreting or editing what you say. Your words, unfettered, can make
the impression directly on your audience. Your words also influence the mainstream media, so you get your cake and can eat it, too.
And your response can be personal, and therefore more believable, than
the corporate-speak press releases we did in the old days. When Ford was
criticized for taking legal action against a fan club, Ford’s Scott
Monty jumped into the discussion to let people know that Ford was
listening, and quickly brought forward facts that the fan club was
copying Ford trademarks without permission and turned opinion around in
just one day. Scott’s credibility built from years in the community made
that happen as much as anything else. So, if you are not prepared for your next crisis, this is your big
chance to get ready. You must build the credibility now, before the
crisis, by participating on blogs, message boards, Twitter-wherever your
audience hangs out. Then when the crisis hits, you’ll have credible
voices already in the right places-voices that will be listened to much
more than a PR person you parachute in.
As you watch companies pilloried in social media each day for real and
imagined transgressions, remember that some day it will be your turn. By
preparing for that crisis moment, you’ll be able to weather that crisis
and emerged relatively unscathed. (I am not sure what it is, but I
definitely don’t ever want to be scathed.)
Mike is an expert in search marketing, search technology, social media, publishing, text analytics, and web metrics, who regularly makes speaking appearances.
Mike’s previous appearances include Text Analytics World, Rutgers Business School, SEMRush webinar, ClickZ Live.
Mike also founded and writes for Biznology, is the co-author of Outside-In Marketing (with James Mathewson) and the best-selling Search Engine Marketing, Inc. (now in its 3rd edition, and sole author of Do It Wrong Quickly, named by the Miami Herald as one of the 11 best business books of 2007.
We always encourage businesses to be proactive with their PR and online marketing efforts because it can create a nice cushion in the search space if something negative does rear its ugly head.
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