E-Reporters

It's not just the pros anymore

...the definition of “the media” has changed. Today, anyone with a smartphone and YouTube is a TV journalist. Anyone with a smartphone and Facebook is a photojournalist. Anyone with a laptop and a blog is a newspaper reporter. The citizen journalist is the person with news to share and a way to share it. Quickly.

This quote, from a ProBlogService blog post by Erik Deckers, describes what I call "E-Reporters." At first a niche group, the immense surge in popularity of social media has thrust many amateur, often accidental, reporters into the limelight.

E-reporting is so popular that it's spawned a meme of its own, "In Case of Fire, Exit Building BEFORE Tweeting About It." As with most memes, it doesn't stray far from the truth, as regular citizens have provided inside reports of disasters, both natural and man-made, to inform the public as well as assist groups like police and rescue services with crisis management.

What does this mean to your organization? It all falls under basic crisis communications really, know when people are talking about you, listen, and respond. Of course, this is all made easier if you have the forethought to create a web presence and make some E-friends before trouble comes knocking.

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

Shut Down Negative Chatter

Word of mouth has very long reach

At some point, an individual will have a problem with your organization. In the past they would tell a friend, who would then would tell two friends, and so on. Bad news, yes, but the information rarely got far. Now, instead of merely telling a friend, the complaint is posted on Twitter and Facebook for not only friends, but also anyone searching terms related to your name or brand, considerably widening the reach, and drastically increasing your need to respond.

So what exactly should you do when the Twitter alerts start flowing in? Word of mouth specialist Andy Sernovitz recently shared his tips for quickly shutting down negative talk in a SmartBlog Social Media blog post:

• Don’t waste time. The faster you respond to an upset customer, the better your odds of converting them into a happy fan. Even if all you can do is let them know you’re listening and that you’ll have to get back to them, a quick response can help calm them before they have the chance to further complain.
  
• Speak like a real person. The easiest way to turn a little negative word of mouth into a full-blown crisis is to respond like a stilted, corporate public relations robot. When you respond, put a human face on your company by speaking genuinely, identifying who you are and making it easy for them to follow up with you.
  
• Point to independent sources. You want to do everything you can to avoid a debate, but sometimes it’s important to explain your side of the story. When doing this, you’ll get the most credibility by pointing to independent, third-party sources. This was a key strategy UPS used to defend its brand during a PR crisis around new industry legislation.
  
• Write for the record. Above all, you need to always be conscious of the scale of the audience when you’re responding to negative word of mouth online. Even tiny blogs in obscure corners of the Internet have the potential for things to get picked up and blown out of proportion. But if you respond like a human with a sincere attempt to fix the issue, everyone will see that you acted in good faith and tried to do the right thing — regardless of the outcome

Although the mediums used to communicate have shifted, these rules are essentially the same that have applied to quality crisis communication for many years. Respond to critics quickly, avoid suspicion-raising jargon, use outside experts to raise credibility, and remember who your audience is.

I would add to this one key step to the top of this list: look at the criticism and see if it's warranted. If it is, you've got to fix the problem before moving further. This approach should satisfy or even convert all but the most committed trolls, who will either have retreated after you've fixed any outstanding issues, or lost so much credibility their talk does not merit a response.

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

FEMA's National Test

Strong communication means straight talk

The Federal Emergency Management Agency's first nationwide test of its Emergency Alert System took place earlier this month, and although there were some hitches encountered, the agency was a fine example of communication following the test.

A quote, from the FEMA blog:

So now that the test has occurred, we know many of you may be wondering…what next?

Well, first, we’ll be spending the next few weeks gathering test result data from the test’s participants, and feedback from all of our stakeholders. Under the FCC’s rules, test participants have 45 days from the date of the test to analyze their data and provide a full report to the FCC on the scope and reach of the test. In the meantime, FEMA is also interested in hearing from any stakeholders who want to share feedback about how the test worked and ways we can continue to improve it. We encourage you to email us at ipaws@dhs.gov with any tips, suggestions or input you may have.

And looking ahead, this test was just the beginning of our much larger efforts to strengthen and upgrade our nation’s public alert and warning system.

The post goes on to describe future efforts to include new technologies such as smartphones in the system, and, in an astute move, thanks the public for their "partnership" in developing the program.

FEMA has slowly crept up as a leader in high-tech communication among government agencies and really, businesses as a whole. Corporate bigwigs would do well to take note not only of the agency's emergency advisory and mapping systems, but its straightforward communication style, when creating their own crisis plans.

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

Convincing the C-Suite

Convincing doubtful execs is easier than it seems

Crises of reputation and operation happen every day, yet for some reason one of the most daunting tasks facing those assigned with crisis management is to get a budget that will actually cover the costs involved.

In a recent interview with Ragan's Matt Wilson, BCM president Jonathan Bernstein gave his advice for getting the C-suite on board:

So how might one convince stubborn executives, often the biggest roadblocks to having a thorough crisis response plan, that the expense is worth it? The sad truth, Bernstein says, is that companies often have to get burned a time or two before they take preparedness seriously.

But, he says, the best ammunition for the argument in favor of planning is case histories from other businesses, especially if those businesses are similar to yours. Find them and share them often, Bernstein suggests.

With prime examples making front page news daily, there's no shortage of evidence to support your cause, but you've got to make it as clear cut as possible. Make them understand that there's plenty of precedent to show that investing in prevention will save your organization big in the long run.


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

When "Shut the Hell Up" is the Best Advice

The entire Sandusky/Penn State situation continues to capture national attention not only because it is one of the worst college scandals in history, but also for the spectacularly bad crisis management strategy of those involved. In this guest piece from crisis management pro Rick Kelly, originally posted at the Triad Strategies blog, he dissects Jerry Sandusky's recent 60 Minutes interview:

When "Shut the Hell Up" is the Best Advice

First, a disclaimer: what you’re about to read is not about a defense strategy in a court of law.  Rather, it’s about the court of public opinion, and how one should or should not navigate that venue.

On Monday, Jerry Sandusky, who a week earlier was indicted on 40 counts of sexual assault, submitted to a telephone interview with NBC’s Bob Costas.  Costas’ questions were good ones, but not exactly the kind of chin-music one would expect from, say, 60 Minutes’ Steve Croft.

Costas began the interview with a broad question asking Sandusky for his response to the charges.  After Sandusky proclaimed his innocence, Costas said:  “Innocent?  Completely innocent and falsely accused in every aspect?”

“Well, I could say that I have done some of those things,” Sandusky said, and went on to acknowledge showering with young boys, “horsing around,” hugging them and touching their legs “without intent of sexual contact.”

Later, Costas asked Sandusky whether he is a pedophile.  Sandusky responded, “No.”

Costas followed up:  “Are you sexually attracted to young boys, to under-aged boys?”

“Am I sexually attracted to under-aged boys?  Sexually attracted?  No, no, I enjoy young people.  I love to be around them.  Um, I… I…  But no, I am not sexually attracted to young boys.”

And finally, in response to Costas’ finale about how Sandusky feels about being portrayed as a criminal and a monster:

“I don’t know what I can say or what I could say that would make anybody feel any different now.  I would just say that if, somehow, people could hang on until my attorney has a chance to fight, you know, for my innocence, that that’s about all I could ask right now.  I… and, you know, obviously it’s a huge challenge.”

Crisis management and crisis communication practitioners most oftenencourage their clients to face the news media, especially if they are innocent and have a counterpoint to what they’re accused of doing.  Perhaps the strategy for Sandusky and his attorney was to establish a perception of innocence.

To pull it off, however, the accused must be prepared, show some emotion and energy, employ unequivocal denials and express some sympathy toward victims.

Costas did not ask a single question that couldn’t and shouldn’t have been anticipated, and yet Sandusky seemed caught off guard.  He responded without emotion or energy.  Other than his answer to the question about whether he is a pedophile, he failed to respond unequivocally to any of the accusations.

Although doing so would have entailed walking a very difficult tightrope, he did not express any degree of sympathy for the alleged victims or their families, or seem very remorseful even for the one thing he acknowledged he shouldn’t have done, showering with the boys.

As predictable as Costas’ questions were on Monday night, so too was the reaction among the news and sports pundits the next day.  Sandusky was absolutely pilloried on every news and talk show across the TV and radio dials, all day long.

Will he be deemed guilty in a court of law?  We’ll see.  Did he do himself one iota of good in the court of public opinion?  Not so much.

Rick Kelly is director of crisis communications for Pennsylvania-based Triad Strategies

Hack Attack Hits Steam

Data Grabs the New B&E?

The latest victim of a high profile hack attack is Valve Software's Steam platform. Steam is used to digitally distribute over 1,000 of the most popular games online, which obviously means its databases hold a large amount of sensitive information such as names, addresses, passwords and credit card numbers.

Valve started its crisis management off right by immediately announcing both the fact that the attack had occurred and outlining the scope of the hacker's take, as well as reassurances that there was no evidence of credit card information actually being unencrypted and a promise to investigate further, and, as the following quote from a Forbes article by Daniel Nye Griffiths explains, Steam shouldn't be hurt much by the incident:

With Electronic Arts pushing their own download service, Origin, hard, this could have come at a better time for Steam. However, as the story stands at the moment it is wholly survivable. When the PlayStation Network was hack in April, there was much anger, but in the end the value provided by PSN was sufficiently great that by June network activity was back to 90% of pre-hack levels. As long as Steam is contrite, service is not badly disrupted and the consequences are not unexpectedly severe, this should be a manageable crisis.

Steam, as with the Playstation Network, is in a strong position to bounce back from crises due to having a rabid fan base that is extremely reliant on the services provided. For companies like these, alienating customers through a change of service or culture would be far more damaging than anything a hacker could do.

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

Penn State's Crisis Management Mistakes - ESPN Interview

THE biggest scandal in sports history

The scandal at Penn State is on the tip of everyone's tongues, and the series of wrong-way crisis management decisions made by the university's top brass are only cementing the reputation damage that's being done.

Interviewed this morning by host Bo Bounds on the “Out of Bounds” ESPN radio talk show out of football-crazy Jackson, Mississippi, Jonathan Bernstein gave his thoughts on the entire sordid situation.

Many thanks to the folks at "Out of Bounds" for making Bernstein Re Penn State Scandal immediately available to us.

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

Turn Bad Publicity Around

When life hands you lemons...

Every business makes mistakes, and at some point or another the media's going to pounce on one of yours. When this happens, it will be your reaction that determines whether your reputation bounces back or takes a pounding.

In every case you should apologize and demonstrate what you've done to fix the issue at hand, but taking things further can actually bring you out of crisis stronger than you went in. Here's one example, from a PRDaily article by Crenshaw PR's Dorothy Crenshaw:

Share your lessons.

Office Depot, a client of my former firm, took advantage of its own experience weathering successive hurricanes at its Delray Beach, Flor., headquarters over a period of years. It turned adversity to advantage with a PR campaign that focused on disaster preparation and management for small businesses, a key customer segment.

It's common for crises to offer opportunities to actually advance your reputation, so keep your eyes open in the midst of all the action.

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

Protect Your Rep

Safeguard this valuable asset

Reputation matters. People are Googling companies before they buy product, invest, or attend events. Heck, it's not unusual for us to use our smartphones to assess a manufacturer while literally standing in a store looking at one of its products.

The question this should raise for business owners is, what does the Web say about you? It's easy enough to check, just type in your organization's name and see what comes up. The most likely scenario, unless you've found yourself in trouble recently, is that you see press releases, or even nothing at all. While some may breathe a sigh of relief at that, you'd be falling into a common trap. With no information out there, the first bad report that hits the net is going to spring to the front, and guess what these eager customers are going to see when they're deciding whether to do business with you?

On Tuesday, December 13, BCM president Jonathan Bernstein will be presenting a free online reputation management webinar titled, "Reputation Combat: Protecting Your Company's Online Reputation" to help you get safeguard this extremely valuable asset, as well as plan crisis management strategies in case it should be compromised.

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