WeatheringThe

Storm:Crisis

CommunicationEssentials

“Tell it All, Tell it Fast, Take Responsibility”

Understand the Weather Patterns:Four Stages of a Crisis (Jane Jordan-Meier)

1. Stage One: Fact-Finding & Breaking News Stage

2. Stage Two: The Unfolding Drama

3. Stage Three: Finger-Pointing Stage or The Blame Game4. Stage Four: Resolution & Fallout

Plan and Practice

Plan: Organizational or Chapter?• Part of operations• Lines of responsibility• Template messages• Spokesperson responsibility• Media Relations POA (logs, press

conference skeds, etc.)• New Media POA• A word about lawyers

Plan and Practice

Practice: • Training manual• Must include social media policy

and procedures• Delivery online

• Training exercises• Media Training for spokesperson

Digital and New MediaFirst response: Twitter Facebook recommendations• Consider distracted community nature• Consider disabling posting (not comments)• Make sure a posting policy is there Dark website page readyLive bloggingYouTube and Flickr (photo galleries)

A Word On Social Media…

Build online ambassadors now…

Set up online monitoring now…

Monitor and measure during crisis…

Post Crisis Evaluation Must Include:

• A look at the statistics: sentiment analysis• Review of all media interaction• Survey of stakeholders (internal, external,

media)• Adjustments to plan

Resources:• The Four Stages of Highly Effective Crisis

Management by Jane Jordan-Meier• When the Headline is You by Jeff Ansell• Blogs:– Bernstein Crisis Management blog (Jonathan Bernstein)– Bulletproof (Levick)– Crisisblogger (Gerald Baron)– Mr. Media Training (Phillips Media Relations)– ReputationXChange (Leslie Gaines-Ross)– www.cksyme.org (Social Media Strategy Primer)– Social Media Examiner (social media how-to)

Resources for Social Media Management

• 30 Useful Social Media Monitoring Tools (Tripwire magazine online) http://www.tripwiremagazine.com/2011/07/social-media-monitoring-tools.html

• List of Social Media Management Systems (Jeremiah Owyang) http://www.web-strategist.com/blog/2010/03/19/list-of-social-media-management-systems-smms/

Contact Information

• Blog: www.cksyme.org• Twitter:@cksyme• Email: chris@cksyme.org• Facebook: CKSyme.org.Bozeman

Four Stages of a Crisis: What to Expect, What to Do…

Stage One Characteristics:Speculation, rumor and misinformation flourishOnly a minimum of facts are knownPhone lines are congestedPanic is possibleVox pops (short sound bites from eye witnesses) are used as a reflection of popular opinion.News may break on social media with instant news distribution on TwitterThere may be updates on WikipediaChatter on social media sites begins to spikeCitizen journalists are breaking the newsYou are the butt of jokes and newspaper cartoons

Expect the media to:Seek confirmation on the facts—who, what when, where. Is it truth or rumor?Assess impact—how big a deal is this? The “st” factor (most, best, worst) and currency (what is topical now?) are key news values. The st factor can relate to a number of news values that determine where it will be placed. Gauge implications—so what? What are the personal, social, environmental, and economic implications?Start to speculate on the cause

What to do:-Take responsibility, act fast, and meet deadlines-Demonstrate concern and empathy. Remember this is a reputation-forming (good or bad) time-Collect facts—Assess the situation, anticipate possible escalation points, and get facts out as fast as possible—use social media as well here.-Dispel rumors—Only say what you know to be correct-Activate a crisis communication plan: inform employees regularly—Remember they talk often and to lots of people.-Authorize (trained) spokespeople—Think carefully about putting your key spokesperson, particularly the CEO, at the “crime” scene.-Decide on your key message for the crisis and stick to itIssue standby statements (showing that you are activating a plan is reassuring)-Call in external support—Incident-specific and content experts.-Think ahead—who can be exploited? Where and what are the vulnerabilities? Who are the self-appointed critics? Who will grandstand? Who will be the instant experts? What favors can you pull in?-Research similar incidents that may surface again in the context of your crisis. Learn how they were handled by the organizations or people at the center of the storm.-Think about how the crisis will be symbolized (birds covered in oil?) Symbols and names will be remembered forever.-Activate your ghost website and dark groups

Stage Two Characteristics:What might be happening:-Third party analyze the crisis-The media ask hypothetical questions and seek someone to blame.-Everyone is judging you.-“unofficial spokespeople” talk and connect-The crisis has gone viral, spreading like wildfire around the Internet via YouTube-Local media sites provide updates from any local resident with an Internet connection and information to share.-Rallying escalates on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter-Intense personal and local stories appear on the hyperlocal news sites-Discussions and forums begin to appear on sites like LinkedIn.-Hashtags are appearing on Twitter-Comparisons to other crises, particularly if they were associated with your organization or industry (BP)-Expect the media to:-Look for answers to –How? Why?-Seek context – The “big” picture and wider implications-Analyze – How you’re handling the situation-Seek eyewitness reports-Compare your crisis w/similar ones-Scrutinize your response-Provide more background w/special features-Fill the backstory-Call in the “experts” for reporting

What to do:-Put the incident in your own context, provide the “big picture”, and have a hey message to address your response, policy or procedures-Keep the media updated on the actions you have taken and plan to take. Make sure to inform the media about your “quick wins”-Debrief with those involved in stage one-Assess spokespeople have them rehearse; think about the impression you want to create. -What first with the values of your mission statement?-Assess messages and match them to where the major concern is—has it changed?-Manage emotion and outrage, and forecast the questions people want answered—it is very important that you pick the panic. -Think about the media logistics and management (refreshments at presser, parking, etc.)-Anticipate what else (the self-appointed critics and dial-q-quotes) the media might dig up.-Monitor the Internet, including key bloggers, Twitter, YouTube, and other key social media, very closely-Monitor employee feelings and attitudes, and address major concerns very quickly. Employees talk, so inform them regularly.-Activate friends and allies. Watch reactions of foes-Brief and communicate regularly with partners and key influencers

Stage Three – Finger-Pointing Stage = Blame Game-The finger-pointing stage. Everyone has an opinion about you—lots of woulda, coulda, shoulda.-The “told-you-so” syndrome has taken over.

-Expect the media to:-Seek third party comments from experts-Look for scapegoats-Pit parties against each others-Compare similar situations and crises (in-depth)-Ask questions-Expect answers-Reference columns from analysts, academics and social and political commentators-Write op-eds and blogs-Contribute to the social media frenzy-Increase visibility of the crisis through SEO-Cast your organization as a villain -Ridicule you in cartoons

What to do:

-Keep your dirty laundry private, and avoid blame and mudslinging matches-Highlight “quick wins”—what have you achieved so far?-Show you’re talking to critics, if appropriate-Remain available to the media and other stakeholders, and comment appropriately, often, and consistently-Reassess spokes people, for example, is it time to roll out the big guns?-Be careful to avoid others’ disorder—only join if it is strategically important or appropriate-Continue to monitor the media aggressively , but avoid letting the media and other commentators drive your strategy.-Respond appropriately to talk of threats and legal action. -Monitor and engage social media as needed. -Keep your website active, engaged, and up-to-date-Broadcast your side of the story on YouTube.

-The key question in stage four is: what are you going to do to ensure that this will never happen again?

-The opportunity is to highlight what you have learned and what you have done or are doing to fix the problem. Make sure your story is told where stakeholders are.

-Expect the media to:-Look for inconsistencies between what was said during the crisis and after the crisis.-Expect answers on compensation-Find the person who will accept responsibility and provide assurances on how this will not be allowed to happen again.-Look for what has changed since the crisis began.-See evidence that it is over

What to do:-Maintain consistent messages-Demonstrate solutions and resolutions-Work on rebuilding relationships, particularly with social networks where you have made connections and critics.-Manage any residual emotion and continue to demonstrate appropriate empathy and concern toward the victims-Provide as many facts and information about what you learned and achieved as possible-Review the crisis-Keep monitoring the media and keep a very close eye on the internet.Mark closure.