Crisis Communications

Regardless of what you might believe, there IS a crisis in your future... maybe next week or next year or even five years from now... but it's lurking there. The only real uncertainty is whether you'll be ready for it. Will you handle it on the fly? We hope not... and we've selected this week's articles to help you plan for the crisis in your future.

This list of do's and don't's can help you stay ahead of dealing with a crisis and handling it in the best possible way. (Item #1)   The basic steps of crisis communications are not difficult, but you do have to be prepared in order to minimize damage. (Item #2)   In today's social media climate, the mainstream media is not always as careful as it should be in the rush to be first with the news; how can you cope? (Item #3)  

Like it or lump it, Twitter has become a key tool in crisis management; better learn to manage it. (Item #4)   Businesses, brands, and organizations, we'll say it again: Get your crisis comms plan ready. (Item #5)   What can we learn from the tech companies that made business mistakes and didn't address them immediately? (Item #6)  

As always, we look forward to hearing your comments & insights regarding business continuity. If you have a topic you'd like us to cover, email me at [email protected].

Bob Mellinger, President
Attainium Corp

1. Trial by Media-Do's and Don't's

Here's a checklist of do's and don'ts when it comes to dealing with the media in times of crisis or otherwise. You must be prepared to deal with any situation that is threatening or could threaten to harm people or property, seriously interrupt business, damage reputation and/or negatively impact share value.
http://www.bernsteincrisismanagement.com/docs/trial_by_media--dos_and_donts.html

2. The 10 Steps of Crisis Communications

Every organization is vulnerable to crises. The days of playing ostrich are gone. You can play, but your stakeholders will not be understanding or forgiving because they've watched what happened with Bill Clinton, Enron, Worldcom, 9-11, the Asian Tsunami Disaster, Hurricane Katrina and Virginia Tech. If you don't prepare, you WILL take more damage.
http://www.bernsteincrisismanagement.com/docs/
the_10_steps_of_crisis_communications.html

3. As media standards slide, PR pros must prepare for the fallout

The media landscape is changing and crisis communicators are all too aware how one negative article, blog, or tweet can snowball and poison a reputation that has taken years to build. To avoid some of these potential landmines, here's a basic checklist to enact if you're faced with a crisis.
http://www.prdaily.com/Main/Articles/As_media_standards
_slide_PR_pros_must_prepare_for_8684.aspx

4. Five Rules for Managing Twitter When a Crisis Strikes

Twitter is the new police scanner. It is a barometer for fascination, education and obsession. But most of all, Tweets are real-time - so in a crisis, raw emotion is as frequent as real news. Twitter information will always be someone's perception of what they witnessed, what they have seen, what they have experienced. It is the voice of the people. What this means that organizations MUST respond very quickly indeed to rumors, misinformation, false and/or misleading reports.
http://www.mrmediatraining.com/index.php/2011/06/08/five-rules-for-managing-twitter-when-a-crisis-strikes/

5. Add Anti-Hacking Efforts to Your Crisis Communications Plan

Two big names in data breach - LulzSec and Anonymous - have issued a release saying that they're joining forces to "attack any government or agency that 'crosses their path.'" LulzSec says that hackers will be targeting classified government information with this Operation Anti-Security, but judging from the companies have fallen victim, the group isn't against going after anyone it has an issue with.
http://www.mediabistro.com/prnewser/add-anti-hacking-efforts-to-your-crisis-comms-plan_b22983

6. Ten Biggest High-Tech Cover-Ups: Shut Up and Act Like Nothing's Wrong

Like any industry, high tech has its share of scandals. But they are invariably made worse by companies that react to bad news by hoping no one will notice. As the saying goes, it's not the crime, it's the cover-up that kills you. If execs just spoke up, they'd save their companies time, money and damage to their reputations.
http://www.networkworld.com/news/2011/050311-coverups.html?source=NWWNLE_nlt_daily_pm_2011-05-03