Chamber Small Business Leader Awards and Forum
•
1 like•723 views
This document discusses the importance of having a social media crisis communication strategy in place. It recommends assembling a crisis team, defining potential crises, preparing key messages and spokesperson guidelines. The document emphasizes communicating with employees during a crisis and monitoring social media to respond quickly. It provides tips for dealing with the media and lists tools for social media monitoring.
Report
Share
Chamber Small Business Leader Awards and Forum
- 1. Take the Offensive: Making your Plan in AdvanceKimberly Kayler, CPSM, CSI, PresidentConstructive Communication, Inc.
- 2. Employee named employer on Facebook.
- 3. When he was charged with embezzling funds from previous employer, his current employer had to deal with the media frenzy.
- 4. Media used Facebook to learn more about this person, linked current firm to news stories. This could happen to you
- 5. Employee noted on page how stupid her co-workers and clients areHer boss got a call about the comments, from a client This could happen to you
- 6. Changing world…fast information
- 7. Social media is about dialogue, two-way discussions that bring people together to share information.
- 8. Users control the messages, companies can influence those messagesWhy a strategy is needed
- 9. Crisis communications isn’t a new issue, rather one that now requires more expertise and faster response time
- 10. An organized PR effort, planned key messages and a trained team will get you through a crisis.Why a strategy is needed
- 11. Define approach, potential crises
- 12. Assemble contact information
- 13. Define roles and areas of responsibility.
- 14. Finalize action plan
- 15. Assemble key messages
- 16. Employee engagement Overview
- 17. Assemble a team charged with: Taking effective action in a crisis
- 18. Planning both operating and communication response strategies and programs in anticipation of future crises
- 19. Assuring the flow of reliable information between all staff and managementGetting started
- 20. Team members should be senior management from the following areas: Manufacturing/Production Marketing Studio, Division or Business Unit Operations Executives General Counsel Public Affairs Environment/Health/Safety/Security Human Resources Engineering/R&DCrisis Communication
- 21. The right spokesperson?You don’t necessarily want the president of your company as your spokesperson. You need someone higher than him/her to clean up messes, should one occur.
- 22. In general, the news media might contact your company with regards to the following: News Relating to Your Customers
- 23. News Relating to Projects
- 24. News Relating to Markets You Serve
- 25. News Relating to Communities
- 26. News Relating to EconomyWhat is a crisis?
- 27. Sudden and unexpected disruptions that. . . Interrupt normal operations
- 28. Require an immediate, coordinated response
- 29. Are likely to require decision-making actions at the highest levels of the company
- 30. Involve notification of agencies, neighborhoods or other outside parties
- 31. Have the potential to attract media and public attention to the companyDefining a crisis
- 34. Layoffs
- 35. Office closing
- 37. News event related to employee
- 45. Product or service failureFirst and foremost: communicateSaturate employees/stakeholders with information. The best plans often fall apart because companies fail to communicate with their employees! Be sure to be forthright and honest.
- 46. Be sure to help them understand what you know and what you don’t know.Attention: All EmployeesWe have just learned that there has been an incident/accident/ situation/etc. at ______ . The safety and well-being of all of our employees are the main priorities at this point, so all employees have been relocated to a safe area/given direction to/etc. ______ (DESCRIBE ANY OTHER FACTUAL INFORMATION). Unfortunately, until we have more facts regarding this situation, we do not have any other details to share but will provide frequent updates as information becomes available. As a reminder, it is corporate policy that employees DO NOT speak with the media, unless granted prior permission by _________. Should you be approached by the media, please tell them that they would be best served by speaking with _______. Thank you. Sample statement
- 47. Employees need to understand that what is posted out there cannot be taken back
- 48. Talk to your employees and remind them that they are representing you
- 49. If you do create a page for your company, monitor it regularly, start discussions, add events…etc.Best Practices: Social Media
- 50. While it is not feasible to script your response to a given situation, the following can be crafted in preparation: Right now, our primary concern is for the welfare of our (employees/customers [and their families]). We’re doing all that we can given this situation, and everything else is really peripheral at this time. What we know about the situation right now is this: XXXXX. [Do not speculate; do not say anything not verified. If you don’t know, say so. It’s perfectly all right not to know]. As we ascertain new information and are able to verify its accuracy, we will be certain to relay this news to you as quickly as possible. Prepare verbiage now!
- 51. Don’t comment on financial performance. “That’s a question that would best be addressed by someone from our corporate office. May I have them get in touch with you?”Don’t comment on areas outside your core expertise – either corporate or personal. “That’s not quite my area of expertise, so I’d hate to speculate and give you misleading information. If you’d like to follow up after the meeting, I’m happy to direct you to the right contact.”Don’t be forced to directly answer poorly worded or leading questions. Bad response: “We’re not buying out Competitor X.” Better response: “As a matter of policy, we don’t comment on industry rumors.”Dealing with the media
- 52. If you aren’t ready to speak:Tell the media that your spokesperson will contact them at ___time. Remind the media that safety is your first priority at this point, and you will be happy to be interviewed and follow up after you secure the site and ensure your employees are safe. Watch what you say and how you act. Remember to show the media that you are cooperative, and, although your employees are your first priority at this point, you will coordinate with them at a later time. Dealing with the media
- 53. Actively monitor
- 54. Respond quickly: within hours
- 55. Respond at the flashpoint: where audience is communicating before anywhere else
- 56. Educate employees: all employees should have online social media training
- 57. Foster a positive culture: if employees are happy, they’re less likely to tear down the company
- 58. Set clear guidelines: create a policySocial Media Crisis Management
- 59. Vocus: $1,250/month (all monitoring, news clipping and distribution of press releases)
- 60. Radian6: $600/month (allows monitoring of blogs, news, twitter, Facebook)
- 61. Cision: $695/month (uses Radian6 platform)
- 62. PR Newswire: $450/month (blogs, news, forums, Twitter, photos and video sites and Social Media such as Facebook)Monitor!
- 63. Backytype.com: sends alerts when a comment is made that includes company name or brand
- 64. Blogpulse.com: searches blogs for your company
- 65. Boardreader.com: searches message boards, forums, videos and Twitter
- 66. icerocket.com: searches blogs, news, MySpace, Twitter, images
- 67. Socialmention.com and Collecta.com are great toolsMonitor!
- 68. “If you’re not part of the conversation, then you’re leaving it to others to answer questions and provide information, whether it’s accurate or incorrect. Or, even worse, you may be leaving it up to your competition to be the resource. Yes, there will be negative comments. Yes, you’ll invite unsolicited feedback. Yes, people will question your intentions. Negativity will not go away simply because you opt out of participating. Negative commentary, at the very least, is truly an opportunity to change the perception that you did or didn’t know existed.”It’s All About Dialogue
- 69. Thank you!Kimberly Kaylerkkayler@constructivecommunication.com 614.873.6707www.constructivecommunication.com