Crisis, What Crisis?
Imagine you're having the best sales day of your career. Your marketing is taking a turn for the better; your engagement on social media is at an all-time high. You're at dinner, and your phone won't stop buzzing. You think it's sales, something you can ignore until after dinner. You finally decide to check your phone and, "Oh my gosh, what is that?" Someone on your team has "accidentally tweeted an inappropriate tweet, and the Twitterverse is in a rage. What do you do? You leave dinner immediately, make some phones, call a meeting, and begin working.
Bad PR usually comes from an employee doing something they should not be doing. There are over 3.2 billion people online; it's safe to say you're going to need a team to combat all issues at any given moment.
Here's what you don't want to do:
- Hide
- Attack
- Troll
- Refuse the Press
- Formulate a False Story
(Relations, 5W Public)
If you're planning to do any of these things, you're not going to be in business very long. The most common communication crisis scenarios are financial, personnel, organizational, technological, and natural. Identify your crisis, then create a plan to move forward.
Before
First, develop a strong brand culture; this refers back to my previous blogs "How are you Branding?", "Leading with Communication" and "Social Media Advertisement Strategies." You're going to want a strong brand (inside and outside) to stand behind if and when trouble arises.
Secondly, always be prepared. What's your plan when something does happen? You need to know who will speak for your company, inform the public, other employees, and shareholders? You should always know the passwords to ALL of your social media accounts so that you can log in quickly to see what's happening for yourself.
Third, who's on your social media team? Choosing your team will be difficult, but worth it in the end. You will need someone experienced, so they don't make the situation worse. Your social media manager/captain should know to remain calm and confident that the problem will be handled correctly. Whatever you do, don't delete your social media channels during this time; allow your consumers to vent. Be sure to craft a well thought out response to ease the heat. (Day, Charli)
During
If you're amid a dire PR crisis, take responsibility, remember to be human, avoid knee-jerk reactions, pause all scheduled posts. Consumers want a response that feels genuine that doesn't sound like a robot. The public will be looking to see if your company takes responsibility or blames someone else for the terrible post. Be sure to utilize all facts to improve credibility. Don't be defensive and do not attempt humor; no one will take your company seriously if you're trying to make them laugh during such an intense moment. Pause all scheduled posts but take advantage of social media to open the conversation to your consumers. (Day, Charli)
After
After the bad PR crisis, emphasize your business's positive track record, DO NOT delete comments, and provide an update. Once you've apologized, use social media to emphasize your company's good to bring your customers back into a positive light. You don't want to linger in the bad; bring out the good as soon as you can. Remind them who you are, what you've done for them in the past, and what you can continue to do for them in the future. You've been reading all of the terrible things on social media but don't delete them. This shows your consumers you are listening to them; you can take time to direct them to your previously posted apology. Make sure you keep your consumers updated. Did you investigate the incident? Was the employee that caused the situation given repercussions? What action was taken to prevent this from happening again? (Day, Charli)
_____
Over the years, we've watched several companies show us how to handle bad PR the best and worst way. For instance, Domino's YouTube scandal took off on the internet, and the company waited more than 24 hours to delete the video and make a statement. Once the statement was made, they attempted to direct consumers to their website instead of making a public announcement on YouTube or any other social media channel. Domino's put the power of the crisis into the media's hands. This is what you don't want to do. The event happened on a Sunday; by Tuesday, consumers questioned the company if they even knew what happened in one of their stores. This event is a prime example of why social media channels need to be monitored at all times. Though the social media manager may not have been following the two that caused the incident, they would have been made aware once the videos began going viral.
Phone companies get a lot of backlash on social media when customers have phone or service issues. The best way to handle this is to create an open communication line to contact a representative directly. Tesco Mobil has chosen to respond to their customers with somewhat humorous tweets to keep them engaged.
There's always good PR and bad PR; the bad will always spread like wildfire, but it's up to you to cease the fire. You create a stable brand for your consumers to follow and trust from the beginning; this will make it easier for them to forgive and forget. The good PR will help you gain future repeat customers and forever followers; the bad PR will help you lose all of that in a matter of seconds.
You've done all you can do and followed protocol promptly. Twitter ruined your dinner but the next day is sure to run a lot smoother. Your social media team has everything under control. You have assured your customers that kind of thing will never happen again. Continue to update your followers until the situation has been resolved. Take the extra mile to post on not only Twitter but other social channels and your company's website as well. Now you can take a load off, relax, and hope the next crisis isn't any time soon.
Amaresan, Swetha. 6 Crisis Communication Plan Examples & How to Write Your Own [Template]. blog.hubspot.com/service/crisis-communication-plan.
Day, Charli. “How to Handle Bad PR on Social Media.” Revive Social, 29 Jan. 2020, revive.social/handle-bad-pr-on-social-media/.
Relations, 5W Public. “5 Ways NOT to Handle Negative Press, Crisis Communications.” 5WPR, 11 Nov. 2020, www.5wpr.com/new/negative-press/.
Relations, Scott Public. “How to Respond to Negative Press: Lessons Learned from Walmart – Healthcare, Insurance & Technology PR: Scott Public Relations.” Healthcare, Insurance & Technology PR | Scott Public Relations, 14 Feb. 2019, scottpublicrelations.com/how-to-respond-to-negative-press-lessons-learned-from-walmart/.
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