CRISIS COMMUNICATIONS

IN A DIGITAL WORLD
Some rules changes. Some rules don’t.

"Crisis in social media is like a balloon bursting every day! Traditional media
have editorial teams to review, verify stories but once it's out on social
media, there is no control over the form a crisis will take."

12 Lessons From Our Panel

Don't just depend on an external team for alerts. Set in motion your own
search tools and monitor them at regular intervals. Include Google alerts
in your plan.

Ensure you have a threshold established (of social media noise) that will
help determine when an issue could turn into crisis
Stay updated and keep reading all you can to determine how to respond
to and handle a crisis. You will need to calibrate your responses
accordingly.
Responding in a timely manner is critical. Brands must respond in a
manner that builds confidence, trust and reassurance.

Be honest. Be sincere.

Communicate regularly and clarify information as required to the media

and others.

Use third party validations – industry spokespersons, testing labs,

industry associations – to build credibility for your messages.
Humour can diffuse an issue at times but use it judiciously and well.

Writing an apology is always tough. If an apology is sincere, its word count

is not relevant. A well-written, sincere apology can build a connect with an
audience and help diffuse a situation.
A localised crisis may require responding in local languages – work with
someone who is experienced in using words well.
Content can create or kill a crisis. Work with legal teams but don’t let
legalese overpower your sincerity and message.
The shelf life of a product can determine the impact of a crisis. The shorter
the product shelf life, the more immediate the impact – example Maggi
Noodles viz a viz a Samsung Note.

Some Reading

How to Manage a Social Media Crisis – A Practical

Guide for Brands

Your 5-step crisis management cheat sheet

Social Media Crisis Management Examples (and

Lessons)

The Anatomy of a Social Media Crisis: Lessons from

the Fashion and Food Industries

By PRune,a knowledge sharing forum for the PR & Corp Comm fraternity on trends that
impact and shape the PR industry. pruneblr@gmail.com. PRune on Facebook