Before Disaster Strikes: Creating an Effective Crisis Communications Plan

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Before Disaster Strikes:

Creating an Effective Crisis Communications Plan

Sandra Fathi

President, Affect

Email: [email protected]

tweet: @sandrafathi

web: affect.com

blog: techaffect.com

WOMMA Webinar

December 10, 2014

tweet:

@sandrafathi

@teamaffect

tag:

#WOMMWednesday

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About WOMMA WOMMA, http://www.womma.org, is the official trade association in the word of mouth and social media marketing industries. WOMMA and its members are committed to developing and maintaining appropriate ethical standards for marketers and advertisers engaging in such marketing practices, identifying meaningful measurement standards, and defining "best practices" for the industry. WOMMA benefits are extended to your entire staff including marketing, social media, digital, advertising, legal, ethics/compliance and consumer research departments. Want to learn more about WOMMA? Contact Juliana Fabiano, Membership

[email protected] @JulFabiano 312-853-4400

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Governing Members

QUICK FACTS

- Nonprofit Trade Association - Founded in 2004 -200+ Member Companies Globally

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PRESENTER BIO

SANDRA FATHI

•  Founder and president of Affect, a public relations and social media firm specializing in technology, healthcare and professional services

•  20+ years industry experience working in B2B and B2C marketing and public relations from startups to multinational public companies

•  Active member of the public relations community:

o  Tri-State District Chair, PRSA

o  Past President, PRSA-NY Chapter

o  Past President, PRSA Technology Section

[email protected] @sandrafathi

Before Disaster Strikes: Creating an Effective Crisis Communications Plan

Sandra Fathi

President, Affect


tweet: @sandrafathi

web: affect.com


WOMMA Webinar

December 10, 2014

tweet:

@sandrafathi

@teamaffect

tag:

#WOMWednesday

CRISIS COMMUNICATIONS

CORE CONCEPTS

4 Phases of Crisis Communications

•  Readiness

•  Response

•  Reassurance

•  Recovery


RECOGNIZING CRISES

Internal

•  Employees

•  Facilities

•  Vendors/Suppliers

•  Distributors/Resellers

•  Product

External

•  Acts of Nature

•  Market

•  Legal Restrictions/Law

•  Customers

•  Advocacy Groups

Anticipating & Understanding Threats to a Business

People, Products, Facilities, Environment


CRISIS SCENARIOS

1.  Senior manager accused of inappropriate conduct including lewd photos with employee – Now on Instagram

2.  Employee arrested for hit and run accident – Now Appearing in Google Search

3.  Employee abusing drugs – Now Posted on his Facebook Profile

4.  Customer credit card details leaked – Now On Twitter

5.  Employee posts rant on company and exposes confidential information – Now on YouTube

6.  Company accused of making children’s toys with poisonous lead paint – Now on a Mommy Blog

Anticipating a Crisis

1.  Crisis Mapping (SWOT Analysis)

2.  Policies and Procedures (Prevention)

3.  Crisis Monitoring

4.  Crisis Communications Plan

5.  Crisis Action Plan

6.  Crisis Standard Communications Template


READINESS


RESPONSE TIMES

How long before the $@!& hits the fan?


EXAMPLE: GENERAL MOTORS


EXAMPLE: GENERAL MOTORS

1. Develop materials:

•  Messages/FAQ

•  Prepared statements

•  Press release template

•  Customer letters

2.  Train employees

•  Awareness

•  Anticipation

•  Organizational Preparation

3. Prepare channels:

•  Hotline

•  Dark site

•  Social Media


RESPONSE: CRISIS TOOLKIT


RESPONSE

Preparing a Response

1.  Don’t delay

2.  Acknowledge situation

3.  Acknowledge impact and ‘victims’

4.  Commit to investigate

5.  Commit to sharing information and cooperation with relevant parties

6.  Share corrective action plan if available

7.  Respond in the format in which the crisis was received**


REASSURANCE

Who to Reassure? How to Reassure?

1.  Develop full response plan

2.  Put plan into action: Immediate remedy

3.  Communicate results of plan and impact

4.  Reaffirm commitment to correction

5.  Demonstrate results of program


RECOVERY

Preparing a Long-term Recovery Plan

1.  Review need for operational, regulatory, environmental and employee changes

2.  Develop long-term plan including policies and prevention tactics

3.  Reassess crisis plan

4.  Regain customer/public trust


EXAMPLE: ConEd & MTA


Hurricane Sandy Social Media Facts: Con Edison

•  6,500 Twitter Followers to 23,000 within 2 Weeks

•  25 videos posted on pre-Sandy preparation

•  100,000+ views and multiple broadcast airings of videos

•  2500 Press Release RTs

•  140,000 Flickr restoration image views





Hurricane Sandy Social Media Facts: MTA

•  Empower street crews

•  Empower consumers

•  Update MTA.info, YouTube, Flickr, Twitter, FaceBook

•  Utilize Urban Digital Panels

•  Email/Text Alerts

MTA’s 4 Categories of Media Shared:

•  Before: Preparation

•  During: Storm Hits

•  Aftermath 1: Damage

•  Aftermath 2: Restoration





EXAMPLE: MICROSOFT


EXAMPLE: MICROSOFT


EXAMPLE: AMERICAN APPAREL






EXAMPLE: TIDE LAUNDRY PODS


EXAMPLE: TIDE LAUNDRY PODS


10 THINGS TO KNOW

1.  Implement Policies to Address Potential

Vulnerabilities

2.  Use Social Media as a Tool for Crisis Monitoring

3.  Understand the Response-ability of Social Media

4.  Establish a Framework for Response

5.  Build a Social Media Crisis Toolkit

6.  Know Where to Respond

7.  Prepare Your Employees in Advance

8.  Establish the Proper Tone

9.  Kill the Automation Switch

10.  Be Honest, Be Transparent


10 THINGS TO KNOW


RESOURCES

White Paper:

Crisis Communications in the

Social Media Age

Download at: Affect.com

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QuesOons?

Sandra Fathi

President, Affect


tweet: @sandrafathi

web: affect.com


tweet:

@sandrafathi

@teamaffect

tag:

#WOMMWednesday

Slides Available: Slideshare.net/sfathi