PR Crises Occur at Broadband Speeds
The timing on this one couldn’t be better. As JetBlue works to dig itself out of Snow Crisis 2007, they might want to join you in checking out “How to Make Crisis Communications More Effective with Media Monitoring” published today by CustomScoop and written by yours truly. The publication is available to download for free as a PDF.
Here’s the premise:
Managing your brand’s reputation in a crisis becomes more challenging every day, given the explosion of information sources accessed by consumers and key constituencies. With reporters, columnists, producers, bloggers, and even average citizens writing or broadcasting about a crisis within minutes of becoming aware of it, the spigot of information you must be aware of can seem never-ending. Worse, these individuals may even be the cause of the crisis in the first place if they jump on incorrect or misleading information and use the media megaphone to trumpet it to the masses.
Effective crisis communications depends on timely and accurate media monitoring efforts to understand the messages being communicated to the public. By arming yourself with the knowledge of how information is being interpreted – and what friends and foe alike are saying – you can be better prepared to respond rapidly and proactively communicate your own messages.
And here’s a thumbnail sketch of the solutions discussed:
Key elements of your pre-crisis media monitoring plan should include:
- Detecting signs of a crisis before it occurs
- Identifying key media outlets likely to write about your company
- Understanding the tone of existing coverage
- Establishing a trusted dialogue with reporters and bloggers
During a crisis, you should seek timely awareness of:
- Stories in key targeted publications
- The evolution of online conversations
- Patterns of message travel
- Tone and content of stories
You can take a deep breath when the crisis concludes. You can even probably go home and get a good night’s sleep for the first time since the crisis began. What you can’t do is stop monitoring. Instead you should:
- Watch for a rebirth of the last crisis
- Learn from your experience
- Return to your pre-crisis monitoring plan
Go ahead and read this 12 page report for yourself and then feel free to come back here and share your feedback.