The Shape of Crisis Communication

How much has the game changed?

The rise of social media was said by some to indicate the beginning of a reclusive state, where communication was done from our individual devices while everyone stayed at home, or in the office. While it's true that most of us have our nose buried in Tweets or status updates for a significant part of the day, it's also brought about some unexpected real-world circumstances, as this quote from a PR News Online article explains:

Deveney said the current Occupy Wall Street movement may be the next catalyst of change in crisis communications. "This movement is fascinating," he said. "One would think that if everything is going in the direction of social media and the movement is so youthful, that everybody would be sitting in coffeehouses and cubicles and Facebooking and tweeting. Instead people are coming together in real spaces and creating community.

Far from isolating people, social media is now being used to bring large groups together in the real-world to take the virtual conversations face-to-face. What this does is enforce something that we've long known about crisis communications - while technology provides us amazing tools to gather and share information, a living, breathing human holds more sway than any electronic communication possibly could.

The BCM Blogging Team
http://www.bernsteincrisismanagement.com/

Watch Your Step with Social Media

Get prepared before trouble finds you

As social media becomes more and more prevalent in our lives, so too do social media based crises. Just looking at the pages of this blog you'll find story after story of runaway Twitter posts and customer-alienating Facebook gaffes. How, then, does the novice social media user stay out of trouble? In a Globe and Mail article, business expert Tony Wilson gave four tips to avoid your own crisis situation:

1. It’s not just teenagers who damage their reputations using social media. If you’re in business, the legal profession or any other sector in which confidentiality is of the utmost importance, what you say online can be used by your competitors or others to the detriment of your company and your career. “Should I be tweeting at all?” has to be the first question you ask yourself.
   
   
2. The damage can be done without you realizing it. Even the most harmless comments within something as mundane as a job description or a status update can reveal to others whose job it is to keep an eye on you, a new process or technology. So if you’re in high-tech, be careful what you say about what you do, especially on LinkedIn.
   
   
3. It’s important to have social media policies in place within your organization so that all employees, from the CEO down, are conscious of the blunders they can make by even the most innocuous updates or posts. Employees should be made aware that breach of these policies will have serious consequences, including the possibility of dismissal. These policies can and should be incorporated within employment agreements.
   
   
4. Someone within the organization should be tasked with regularly educating employees from the CEO down on the hazards of social media use, including updates on the horror stories that are reported in the media every day. 

What most of these boil down to is a prime tenet of crisis management: preparedness is key. If everyone involved is properly trained, educated, and aware, the risk of trouble falls dramatically.

The BCM Blogging Team
http://www.bernsteincrisismanagement.com/

Crisis Management in the Real World

Fictional story prompts real talk

A new movie, "Margin Call," seeks to give audiences a glimpse into the world of fast paced, high level crisis management. While it misses the mark in terms of reality, Forbes business writer Coeli Carr saw the film as a perfect opportunity to talk with BCM president Jonathan Bernstein about coping with crisis.

In the interview, BCM president Jonathan Bernstein gave three situations that call for immediate crisis management:

1. When the crisis seriously threatens your reputation. “Your company’s reputation is its most valuable asset, and the court of public opinion can literally dismantle a business,” says Bernstein, noting the classic example of Arthur Andersen, the accounting firm that counted Enron as a client. “Andersen’s reputation was damaged not just because of what they had done, but because of poor communication and refusing to acknowledge anyone working for them could make a mistake.”
   
   
2. When the crisis can cause dramatic harm to your bottom line. The impact on your financial situation can lead to interruption of your business operations.
   
   
3. When the crisis affects day-to-day business operations, which means you can no longer serve your clients. “If your customers perceive inconsiderate or unethical behavior, they’ll bail on you,” says Bernstein, noting the recent Netflix debacle.

Jonathan's new book, "Managers Guide to Crisis Management" (McGraw-Jill, 2011) seeks to give managers (or aspiring managers!) a leg up on the often-daunting tasks associated with crisis prevention, response, and management in today's rapid fire business climate.

The BCM Blogging Team
http://www.bernsteincrisismanagement.com/

He Wrote WHAT?

Hot tempered exec crosses the line

We've seen crises caused by errant emails, we've seen crises caused by potty-mouthed execs, but throw both of those at a blogger that has well over 100,000 followers and you've got a truly spectacular mess on your hands. Check out this quote about the incident, from an AdWeek article by David Griner:

The blogger in question is Jenny Lawson, best known as "The Bloggess" and named by Nielsen as one of "Top 50 Most Powerful Mom Bloggers." She recently received a poorly worded pitch from the agency about the Kardashians, and she sent back her usual reply—a picture of Internet man-meme Wil Wheaton collating paper. The BrandLink PR rep, "Erica," responded a bit defensively. But it was the vp, "Jose," who stepped well over the line with a reply-all calling Lawson a bitch. She wrote back, prompting Jose to dig himself a deeper hole by replying that she "should be flattered that you are even viewed relevant enough to be pitched at all."

While dropping the B-word was a very immature act, to me the real insult was the statement that the blogger (and, by extension, her readers), "should be flattered that you are even viewed relevant enough to be pitched at all."

Well, BrandLink, if you're pitching product placement shots to a blog, then obviously you think its readers are potential customers and, really, it's you who should be flattered that they buy your product and/or support whatever celeb you're pushing.

If I were the Kardashians I'd be taking my considerable PR budget elsewhere, you don't need the firm responsible for your publicity creating crisis management nightmares out of nothing.

The BCM Blogging Team
http://www.bernsteincrisismanagement.com/

VYou!

BCM gets involved in conversational video

As Crisis Manager readers already know, we've been playing with a new toy for the past few days. VYou, a social media startup that accurately describes its service as "conversational video," allows users to submit questions to an expert, which the expert then answers in the form of a video.

Luckily for us, we have a resident expert, one Jonathan Bernstein, founder and president of Bernstein Crisis Management, to answer all of your questions (crisis management or PR related please, or we could stray into some dangerous territory!).

We've already had quite a few people test his mettle with questions like these:

What is the first thing to do when faced with a crisis?

Is it better to respond immediately ot a crisis that is being covered in the press or is it better to wait and formulate a response?

Is it beneficial to involve legal counsel in a crisis involving legal issues or will it appear as "admission" of wrong doing?

What would you tell managers at all levels who are 55+ to make them understand the importance of being prepared for social media crisis?

How do you use social media as part of managing a crisis?

Here's an example, straight from our VYou:



If you'd like to see more video responses, have a question of your own, or are just curious about VYou, head on over to our page and check it out!

The BCM Blogging Team
http://www.bernsteincrisismanagement.com/

Social Disaster Management

Be prepared to help your community

When natural disasters get bad, they often take out wired communication sources, namely cable and telephone lines. In these times, people look to anyone they can for information about the outside world.

If you are a service provider, be it electricity or firefighting, you need to be prepared to assist with crisis management by alternate means. The prevalence of mobile phones makes social media the logical vehicle for this, as this quote from a Kelliher Samets Volk blog post explains:

Only when we’re in the eye of the storm do we realize how important it is to provide the most basic of information to our customers – to help them in their time of crisis and need.  In these circumstances, customers don’t have the patience for corporate-speak or marketing messages – they want help, a sounding board, a trusted friend.

That’s you.

Fortunately, social media and digital channels afford brands an incredible one-to-one and one-to-many two-way connection with customers. And, for those customers who lose power, it is perhaps their only connection to the outside world.

During hurricane Irene, everyone from University employees, to local police stations, to utility companies pitched in to provide updates about emergency services, shelters, first aid stations, and the storm's movements, saving lives and preventing damage in the process. The better prepared we are, the more effective the response, so get to planning.

The BCM Blogging Team
http://www.bernsteincrisismanagement.com/

BofA Skips Crisis Management 101

Poor preparation results in reputation damage

Bank of America caused a major uproar early this month when it announced that the majority of its customers will be charged $5 per month for debit card use. The reasoning behind this, at least according to BofA, is that new regulations have raised the cost of offering debit services, so in a classy move the bank has immediately passed this expense onto their customers.

When you know you've got bad news to announce, it's extremely important to properly prepare, as BCM president Jonathan Bernstein remarked in a recent Ragan.com interview:

Bank of America ignored what Jonathan Bernstein of Bernstein Crisis Management calls "the most basic precepts of crisis prevention."

"Any seasoned PR practitioner knows that an organization needs to do the research necessary to anticipate and mitigate public reaction before they implement a major operational decision," he says. Other banks should take note, Bernstein argues.

Bank of America had to know that there would be a backlash after its announcement, yet the canned and, I suspect to the affected customers, rather offensive responses (example: "The economics of offering a debit card have changed with recent regulations.") show that it was unprepared for crisis management.

At some point every business has to share bad news, it's how they do it that exacerbates, or mitigates, a crisis.

The BCM Blogging Team
http://www.bernsteincrisismanagement.com/

Helping Them, Helps You

Make media and the public your allies against crisis

It is vital to keep the media and public on your side.  Ideally, this process will have started before any crisis occurs, through fostering relationships with journalists, bloggers and, of course, your customers.

Once the crisis has occurred, you keep them on your side by being helpful and giving them the information for which they ask. Let them know what you are doing to fix the situation and how long it will take.

What this quote, from a PRDaily article by Dan Harvey, is saying seems to be common sense, but ignoring this advice has caused (and continues to cause) more crises than I can count.

As far as customers, you can have the most dynamic, awesome Facebook splash page on the planet, but if you aren't giving top-quality service then you're going to have trouble. Amazing customer service will provide you a bank of good will that is guaranteed to cushion the blow of any crisis that may rear its head.

The media needs stories to give its customers, just as you need products or services to give yours. If you find yourself the focus of the "gone wrong" story du jour, share as much as you can, without violating legal or ethical rules of course, and grateful reporters are likely to listen up when you've got positive news to tell.

It's a proven fact that the effectiveness of crisis management is greatly increased when you have positive relationships formed beforehand. Use the many social media tools at your disposal to not only advertise and market, but seek out these relationships before a crisis hits, because if you wait until you're in trouble you aren't likely to find many friendly faces.

The BCM Blogging Team
http://www.bernsteincrisismanagement.com/

Rebuilding Reputation

Do the right thing and the public will forgive

Whether in daily life or business, negative situations bring a negative reaction. It's how we behave after the fact that shapes the way we are perceived. Attempt to cover up the facts, and people smell a rat. Take the high road and admit your mistakes while actively seeking a solution and you're likely to silence critics while moving towards a resolution, and, ultimately, returning to business as usual.

This quote, from Jay Baer's Convince and Convert blog, describes one such situation:

Perhaps the most storied example of this is Dell’s magnificent use of its blog when laptop batteries were literally blowing up, setting their laptops on fire. By embracing the issue, Dell went a long way toward resolving the matter and defusing anger directed at the brand.

Despite what many believe, the public is more than willing to forgive and forget, but it takes the right type of crisis management. Show them you care about more than what's in their wallets, and your happy customers will become staunch supporters.

The BCM Blogging Team
http://www.bernsteincrisismanagement.com/

Toyota's Social Crisis Management

Take the conversation to your customers

The Toyota recall of 2010 was perhaps one of the most devastating crises in terms of sheer logistics and media pressure that we've seen in recent history. The media pressure was made especially powerful because social media users latched onto the story, with bad news and negative commentary about the brand popping up 24/7.

Besides the physical recall of vehicles and research into why they malfunctioned, Toyota knew its crisis management had to reach stakeholders where the conversation was, and that meant social media. It chose the (as of now, formerly) popular Digg as the platform.

Mashable reports:

On February 8, Toyota served up Jim Lentz, president of Toyota’s North American sales operation, to the masses in the form of a Digg Dialogg. In many ways, the appearance was a stroke of genius. For one thing, Lentz didn’t actually appear on Digg, but on a dedicated video site. The questions, which were voted on by fans (the ones with the most votes rose to the top) also wound up being pretty softball. “They were mostly general questions, like ‘What kind of car does Mr. Lentz drive?’” says Florence Drakton, social media manager. (“That’s a great question,” a clearly relieved Lentz answers.) Lentz’s interview, which ran 28 minutes, is still available on YouTube:

It was hard to beat the reach Toyota got from the appearance. Within a week, the Dialogg had received 1.2 million views. “Probably the biggest indicator of interest was there were 3,200 questions,” says Drakton. “Only celebrities have gotten that much.” In addition to reaching a fairly big audience, the Dialogg gave Toyota the appearance of achieving social media branding nirvana: Transparency.

The Digg interview definitely had the opportunity to be a difficult one, especially with the questions being voted on by the public, but it was also a brilliant move because of the inherent honesty in the process.

Toyota knew it had messed up and offered up its leader for what was essentially an open Q&A session.  THAT is giving the public the type of transparency that it desires, then I don't know what is.

The BCM Blogging Team
http://www.bernsteincrisismanagement.com/

There Is No Overkill

Over-preparation is the best path

With memories of devastating storms still fresh and painful in the minds of many, the coming of Hurricane Irene was nothing short of scary. Public safety officials leapt into action, just as they had been criticized for not doing in the past, but when the storm passed by relatively quietly many were just as critical of what they called "overkill" crisis management planning.

In a Prudence Consulting Group blog post, Mae Mechkati explained the crisis prevention efforts that were criticized in New York City:

•  Prepare and use disaster plans especially in cases where human lives are in danger, even it feels like overkill.
•  If the exact duration of a potential disaster situation is unknown, anticipate and plan for a lengthy period. Planning for the longer period will eliminate the sense of confusion for short and long term.
• Use all sources of communication to communicate the plan and message to your team and the general public. Luckily, Hurricane Irene was so newsworthy that you had to be living in a cave not to know what you needed and how to prepare for its arrival.
• Establish and appoint key leaders and decision makers. In this case in NYC, all key people were in attendance and swiftly coordinated and responded to the crisis management program in place. They had their team in place to immediately respond to unexpected situations.

We are 100% in agreement that, when human lives hang in the balance, there is no such thing as overkill. If you have the means at hand then there's absolutely no reason not to use them, even if you may face the peanut gallery mocking you for over-reacting afterwards.

The BCM Blogging Team
http://www.bernsteincrisismanagement.com/

Social Media Crises on the Rise

Proof that you need to be prepared

Social media crises are on the rise, but 76% of those that occurred since 2001 could have been diminished or averted with the proper social media investments, according to a report by Altimeter Group released on Wednesday.

For the report, entitled “Social Business Readiness: How Advanced Companies Prepare Internally,” Altimeter Group analyzed 50 social media crises that have occurred since 2001 and found that those reaching mainstream media have risen steadily through the past decade, with just 1-2 incidents per year in the first five years and a total of 10 social media crises last year alone.

This quote, from a Mashable Business article by Erica Swallow, proves that social media crises are occurring with exponentially larger frequency.

What does this mean to you? First off, you've got to get involved in social media. It's a common misconception that if you aren't using social media, you can't encounter a crisis in that domain. Truth is though, that the only thing ignoring social media does is make you more vulnerable to and less prepared for crisis management.

As you're becoming involved, train a team (whether it's one person or 50). Make sure every member knows both the main objectives of your social media use and the major no-no's before they touch an actual account. Above all, make sure you have 24/7 access to ALL social media accounts. No matter how careful you are, at some point an errant post will make its way into the public eye, and you want to be able to swat it whether it's at noon or 2 a.m.

At this point it's up to you which direction you want to push your social media use in, be it a focus on marketing, customer service, networking, or all of the above and more. If you're still feeling lost at this point, take a look at what others in both your industry and others are doing. Don't copy their campaigns to a T, but don't be afraid to learn and use that information to your advantage.

The BCM Blogging Team
http://www.bernsteincrisismanagement.com/