How to get your crisis untangled quickly online
With the tide of bad-news business stories seemingly never-ending, Jonathan Hemus, director of Birmingham-based reputation management and crisis communications specialists Insignia, explains why now is the time for digital agencies and PR consultancies to focus on online crisis management.
Every morning, my radio alarm goes off at 6.59am and a new tale of business woe is on the 7am news – the names are changed, but the story’s the same.
Consequently, there’s a real temptation to press the off switch, give in to the tide of gloomy commentators telling us that there’s no point trying to do business this year and settle for a duvet day.
But the reality is that there is business to be done and in this economic environment, there is in fact one area of urgent need: crisis management and in particular, online crisis management.
With businesses seemingly disappearing at the blink of an eye, prudent executives know that a robust approach to reputation protection is essential.
So for those digital agencies and PR consultancies suffering a dip in revenue from brand-building or promotional activity, it’s the right time to develop services designed to help protect Midlands’ businesses through the downturn.
Doing so not only brings in much-needed revenue, but it also provides an extra layer of protection for clients whose businesses may be more vulnerable today than ever before.
Crises do not have to destroy an organisation: research by Oxford Metrica shows that it is not the fact of a crisis that damages a business (indeed, they even demonstrate that some businesses appreciate in value following a crisis).
What really counts is how the organisation meets the challenge thrown down by the crisis: taking control quickly, showing compassion and acting to put things right should mean the organisation is likely to prosper.
Dither, hide or give the impression of not caring and tough – or even terminal – challenges may lie ahead. Midlands’ agencies have the expertise to help their clients avoid this fate using the latest online tools and expertise.
A good starting place is an online monitoring service. We all know that a crisis prevented is cheaper and much less painful than a crisis handled, so we need to provide our clients with the tools to constantly review what’s being said about them on-line.
This begins with the basics – Google alerts and subscriptions to websites like Newsnow – to identify news stories that may affect clients.
A more thorough approach also involves keeping an eye on key blogs, message boards and chatrooms. Of course, these nuggets of information need to be presented to clients in a timely, clear format so that they have the opportunity to take control of the issue, rather than the issue taking control of them.
Even the big boys can find themselves apparently chasing their tails. Just recently, Sky announced a recall of its Pace HD box but not before many online forums had been chatting about it for days beforehand. Developing monitoring packages to act as the eyes and ears of clients is crucial to avoid surprises.
If monitoring provides early warning, how can we also ensure rapid response capability? The old rule in crisis management was that the first 24 hours were crucial in deciding the fate of an organisation. Nowadays, 24 hours is an eternity – it’s the first hour that counts.
So, we can help our clients by putting the online infrastructure and capability in place to take control of a situation. A good starting place is developing “darksites” – pre-prepared website sections to be made live in the event of a crisis to quickly establish the organisation as the authoritative source of information.
The darksite should contain statements, helpdesk information, frequently-asked questions, contact points and other vital communication material to be made available in the event of a crisis. It’s an insurance policy which organisations hope they never have to use, but which pays dividends if they do.
Tesco proved the point a couple of years ago when it used a darksite very effectively to communicate information to concerned motorists affected by contaminated petrol.
Finally, digital tools can be used to fill the information vacuum and maintain the organisation’s position as the key information source. Online video and audio can be produced and posted to the darksite and beyond (Mattel used this technique to great effect when they had to recall many toys in 2007).
Social media can be used to get messages to customers and other audiences, but also to listen to views and perceptions from the outside world.
Search engine optimisation (SEO) is never more important than in the heat of a crisis so that the organisation’s perspective is not swamped by the comments and speculation of third parties.
Many client organisations are still unsure as to how to use today’s digital tools to best effect and this is why there is a clear opportunity for the region’s specialists to help.
Agencies with the ability to support their clients with online crisis communication capabilities should be in high demand at this time of uncertainty.
And so, despite the doom mongers, Midland communication consultancies may have to postpone the duvet day a while longer...
