Jacob All large businesses share one aspect in common. That is, they have a platform to influence.
That platform can be a social networking site, it can be a blog or a presence through TV ads. Or it can include all of the previous.
Regardless, part of growing your media presence involves creating a contingency plan. You will need that to deal with crisis that threaten your brand image, therefore your sales.
Today, we will help you with that. We will show you the 5 rules of creating a media crisis plan. Follow it and protect your brand!
#1 – Develop a Crisis Management Team
Any business can develop a crisis management team, regardless of size.
A crisis management team is a necessity. Your responses to media crisis should be measured. That is, you need experts specifically trained to interact with media outlets. Impulsive replies might drag you into further controversies that can be used against you.
If you are running a large business, that’ll be a special team with its own department. Members can include public relations experts, and trained spokespeople that represent your company. But if you are running a small business, then that role might be taken up by an individual in your group.
Only trained spokespersons should communicate with the media. Make sure they are well-trained to maintain a friendly image. Also, they should be able to handle interview traps or questions that would seek to extract a controversial reply.
#2 – Set in Place a Communication Policy
All crises have one trait in common – they go viral. So, you need a policy that does as much damage control as possible. Also, that policy should help you recover your brand’s image post-crisis.
A perfect example would be the PepsiCo and Kendall Jenner Controversy. In April 2017, PepsiCo launched an ad campaign titled “Live for Now – Moments.” PepsiCo tried to project an image of a millennial-friendly company concerned with prominent social issues.
Unfortunately, the company would receive backlash on social media. Its ads (which revolved around a protest scenario) were seen as an insult to the efforts of the Black Lives Matter movement.
Here’s Pepsi’s Twitter response to the crisis going viral:
“Pepsi was trying to project a global message of unity, peace and understanding. Clearly, we missed the mark, and we apologize. We did not intend to make light of any serious issue. We are removing the content and halting any further rollout. We also apologize for putting Kendall Jenner in this position.”
As you can see, Pepsi’s reply was based on honesty, which should form the core of your policy. The company tried to clarify its position and intention as much as possible. Additionally, it took responsibility for its errors while apologizing to all parties involved.
Another policy is to avoid arguments. A good policy does not fight against media outrage. It tries to reach a constructive conclusion with other parties. Instead of forcefully exporting its vision as correct, it tries to correct misconceptions that public outrage may promote.
If this is too much to remember, then keep in mind that your goal is to protect your brand image. After all, a bad image leads to losses. Your business loses clients if it is seen as insensitive and argumentative.
Also, with a bruised company reputation, you risk losing the trust of your employees and shareholders, who will feel less safe contributing to the company.
This leads us to the next point…
#3 – Plan How You will Communicate with Your Resources
Your resources matter as much as the media.
Those resources do not only include employees and shareholders. They also include collaborators (individuals or companies) who might want to distance themselves from controversy. Or they might include important individuals with sensitive views related to your crisis.
Similar to media communication, do not delay communication with employees. Use managers as a communication network to spread details on the crisis, and how it should be handled.
Also, be sure to provide positive reinforcement and room for feedback. Appeal to your employee’s emotions and sense of pride for being in your company. The reason is, during a crisis, many employees may end up worrying about their job conditions, security, etc.
You should follow a similar approach when dealing with shareholders. Transparency is key, and a reassuring tone can help your company stabilize any internal conflicts.
Beyond assurance, instructing employees on how to deal with the media and outraged customers is necessary. Additionally, you need to instruct employees with sensitive information not to communicate with the media.
#4 – Prepare for a Crisis Before it Hits.
By now, you should have a crisis management team ready. You should have the right communication focus with a clear policy. And you should also have your employees and stakeholders in mind.
The next step is to prepare. Preparation includes learning how to detect a crisis before it spirals out of control. This includes anticipation, having the right tools to monitor media reactions and perception metrics, and having a plan on how to properly communicate with shareholders.
You will need to invest most of your planning efforts in the monitoring process. Your monitoring has to be efficient and accurate, with metrics that can be updated to the day (that is how fast a crisis can go viral).
Effective monitoring methods include video analytics that focuses on mentions of your brand. They also include frequent surveys and analyses, which seek to understand customer satisfaction rates with regards to your products, brand image, etc.
With that info in mind, damage control becomes easier when a crisis hits.
Going back to the PepsiCo ad controversy, it took the company 9 months to recover its perception scores, where it did crawl back to pre-crisis levels.
#5 – Understand the Rules of Effective Communication
To start, all media outlets matter. TV interviews and social media statements are important, but so do the opinions of prominent influencers, like blogs or podcasts. Those influencers’ pages can go viral through search engine results and are excellent reference material to help you prepare a response statement.
Second, react fast and be clear. Crisis can go viral within days thanks to online news operating 24/7 and social media sites. With a quick response, you can start repairing damage before unnecessary statements and speculations are made about your company’s integrity.
Keep constant contact with the media. Your company’s relationship with the media (influencers in your industry) should be strong to begin with, as they will act as a buffer to ward off public outrage when a crisis strike. That is, the media is not necessarily an antagonist. They can also be indirect support to your brand with the right connections in place.
In Summation – Structure is Key
Media crisis are unpredictable. If they were, they would be easy to prevent.
Regardless, any company can handle them. With the right training and infrastructure, you can save your company’s reputation while making a swift recovery!
