red alert: navigating a crisis in a SM landscape
February 12, 2010 LEWIS PR
introductions
2 | February 12, 2010
Lucy Allen SVP
@lucya
Morgan McLintic EVP
@morganm
contents
introduction what is a crisis today? types of crisis how to prepare how to respond what to say
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about LEWIS PR
• global communications firm
• 36 offices worldwide – 8 in US
• technology, healthcare, financial services, non-profit sectors
• public relations, analyst relations, social media, content creation, influencer programs, integrated communications
• won lots of awards ;)
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which of these is a crisis? • chemical factory explosion
• company layoffs
• CFO accused of financial impropriety
• patent infringement suit
• missed product launch deadline
• disgruntled employee makes internal accusations
• dissatisfied customer complains via Twitter
• blogger interview gone awry
• negative comment on Facebook Page
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how does social media affect a crisis?
• frequency >> set expectations
• speed >> monitoring
• reach >> global
• visibility >> transparency
• permanence >> SEO
• measurability >> evaluate
• dialog >> process
• duration >> short, phew!
in a bad way in a good way
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informational internal
types of crisis
informational external
event-based internal
event-based external
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informational internal
types of crisis
informational external
event-based internal
event-based external
INVESTIGATE PREPARE
EVALUATE ACT
how can you prepare?
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• agree what is a crisis
• map potential crises impact vs likelihood (be honest)
• scenario plan – message, response team, mechanism
• open channels now
• create relationships now
• train spokespeople
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informational internal
INVESTIGATE
types of crisis
informational external
EVALUATE
event-based internal
PREPARE
event-based external
ACT
11
how
can
you
eva
luat
e?
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informational internal
INVESTIGATE
types of crisis
informational external
EVALUATE
event-based internal
PREPARE
event-based external
ACT
how should you respond?
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• timeliness
• transparency
• tone
• focus on facts
• prioritize
• offset
• channel / format
• who – you? community?
what should you say?
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• clarify and substantiate
• admit fault if due
• commit to actions
• offer solutions
• be human
• keep it short
• belittle the problem
• amplify the problem
• inject emotion
• make promises
• speculate / accuse
DO DON’T
summary
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• learn to live with crises
• monitor online & offline
• scenario plan – what, who, how etc
• prepare the ground – channels, relationships
• keep perspective
thank you
www.lewispr.com 16 | February 12, 2010