As the saying goes: “smooth sea doesn’t make
skilful sailor”. As an entrepreneur fights the battle of establishing a robust
foundation for an organisation, he or she needs to be able withstand the test
of time in expecting a number of ultimately unplanned activities, including
crises. In a time when the advancement of technology outpaces our ability to
fully understand the impact of a vast array of PR crises, ranging from the
Samsung Galaxy Note 7 fiasco, rats running amok in a food outlet, to the MH370
plane crash, ‘firefighting’ has now become a way of life for many organisation’s
leaders.
While some organisations may think that there
is no need to prepare for the worst, the recent Samsung phone issue, and
Tesco’s chilli rodents have proved otherwise. Recognising that timeliness and
certainty are the keys to managing a crisis, an organisation or a company that
embarks on deliberate steps to prepare for the unthinkable will eventually
succeed in averting a crisis. Often, it is only times like this that would
spark the debate about the best way in managing a crisis.
That said, a crisis communications plan would
certainly help us to respond quickly when a crisis hits. However, living in the
digital world has allowed citizen journalists to spread news a lot faster than
we can control. Therefore, there is a need for organisational leaders to delve
a little deeper for a more flexible, personalised ap[PR]oach upon addressing the concern of the crisis those affected.
Take a look at the following article
shared by Joe Escobedo, a contributor at Forbes, who had interviewed Vanessa
Seow, a seasoned public relations practitioner who had protected some of the
world’s largest brands, for her best advice in managing PR crises in the
industry.
________________________________________
Before you can manage a crisis though, you
first need to understand what constitutes a “PR crisis.”
When Is An Online Crisis A PR Crisis?
Sometimes crises are a build-up of smaller
issues that eventually become a disaster of global proportion. She cites the recent Samsung case as
an example of a major PR crisis.
“In the early days of the Samsung Note 7 self-combustible
phone, it was not clear if it was a one-off product fault or otherwise,” says
Vanessa. “When a YouTube video of a burning phone went viral on social media,
the mainstream media caught hold of it and what followed was a series of
unfortunate events that ended in a big financial write-off.”
According to Vanessa, an online crisis becomes a PR crisis when…
• There is an obvious loss of lives,
properties, environmental and reputational damage of a huge magnitude, such as
a commercial airline crash.
• A negative video clip or photo is going
viral on online media and social networks and is subsequently picked up by
traditional, mainstream media.
• An irate customer posting about a nasty
customer service on a company’s Facebook page is not a crisis. A customer
posting a YouTube video showing wriggling maggots in the food he just bought
made it to the evening news. This is a crisis! (True story. That event was
later referred to the food safety regulators and the company had to battle
reputational damage for a long time after.)
What and How You Say It Matters
In these cases, companies should acknowledge
the facts and keep it consistent, whether it is provided over social or
mainstream media.
Vanessa suggests that templates are good for
when you need something to dish out when faced with an onslaught of journalists
pushing microphones into your face for a statement. But what do you say on
Twitter, Facebook and the likes when the factory continues burning in the
background and netizens are busy snapping away?
Vanessa says statements like, “We are
investigating and will update you soon.” sound robotic and clearly comes from
that said “template”. “‘We hear you – we are working hard to solve this and
promise to give an update,’ sounds more likely to come from a human.”
See the difference? Which would you rather
receive?
Next Vanessa shares the case study of the
AirAsia QZ8501 crash in 2014. CEO Tony
Fernandes tweeted within hours of
receiving news of the missing airliner.
AirAsia CEO Tony Fernandes tweets during the
Flight QZ8501′s disappearance. (Twitter)
“In the subsequent days, he frequently
tweeted, along with print media reports to support a consistent message. He
communicated in an empathic and genuine manner. It made a huge impact on how
the crisis rolled out under control,” says Vanessa.
Who Says It Matters
In the case of the AirAsia QZ8501 crash, the
CEO clearly stepped up. When a crisis involved loss of lives, properties,
serious environmental and reputational impact, it matters that the person at
the top takes control and responsibility. If the CEO is not available, the next
in command should provide an update until the CEO returns to action.
“This is, however, easier said than done,”
says Vanessa. “In a 2015 research conducted by CEO.com, 61% of CEOs have no
social presence whatsoever. When a public figurehead is lacking in active
online presence, the company public pages should take over the communication
role. The downside is netizens are still facing a non-human entity and this may
get them all fired up.”
The recent case involving hackers bringing a halt to Singapore
telecom player StarHub’s services is
a good example. It did not take long for more than 1,600 angry customers to
take to their keyboard, airing their grievances on the company’s Facebook page.
The CEO, Tan Tong Hai, does not seem to have an active social page. This added
to some angst and negative comments.
Vanessa says “Most companies forget that their
front line of defense is actually their employees. In today’s connected world,
someone is bound to be a friend or family of an employee. Guess who they will
turn to if they want to know the latest rumour? Ensure employees are kept
updated of established facts and adhere to a code of conduct required during
crises.”
Where Are The Battlegrounds?
Marketers complain that there are too many
social media networks now to catch up with, and increasingly private networks
like Snapchat and WeChat are keeping organisations out of the real
conversations. Fortunately for marketers, when an issue does indeed become a
crisis, it usually takes place in public spaces, such as Facebook, Twitter or
made viral by popular news sites that drive huge traffic.
“If the onslaught of negative customer
comments started on Facebook, focus your efforts on driving the conversation
there first, then address other comments from secondary channels, such as
Twitter, LinkedIn,” advises Vanessa. “If the negative news is made viral by
news sites, focus on communicating with journalists to tell your side of the
story.”
Very often, companies use social media listening tools that tell you before something
snowballs. Such tools will give you a good indication to where you should focus
your budgets and efforts in damage control.
Social media listening tool,
Digimind. (Digimind)
However, companies are often slow to react, netizens take their
battlegrounds to where they can most effectively air their grievances. These
are typically a company’s Facebook page, Twitter feed or even Instagram
account.
The Post-crisis Mop Up
When the dust settles, it’s time to look back
and repair the damage.
Vanessa shares some post-crisis actions you
may want to consider:
• Keep a log of every tweet, response, news,
customer and journalist whom you were in touch with during the crisis. Assign
resources to keep in touch with the key influencers in this group. They will
appreciate the follow-up and in the long term, could prove to be a positive
advocate for your company.
• How did you react? Was it timely? Was
it done in a human tone? Update your crisis playbook with the latest workflow
that has proven to work.
• Review your crisis committee team and
evaluate if there should be other departments or personnel who needed to be
included should the next crisis strike again.
• Review your social media presence (or
lack of) and tools that helped you during the ordeal.
• And finally, practice, practice,
practice!
Just as the militaries around the world
conduct simulation exercises regularly, so should organizations be prepared in
good times. Many PR firms and risk management consulting companies have
proprietary software that helps you conduct a social media crisis simulation
exercise covering different scenarios. Have your team go through such exercises
at least once a year.
Inspiration: How to Survive PR Crisis in Asia
Image: (1) communicatemedia.com(2) forbes.com(3) forbes.com
Chia Yi Jing | Bubbling with enthusiasm, bright ideas, and confidence, Yi Jing set foot in the PR world with Orchan Consulting, where she was offered permanent employment after a successful internship. She is determined to make her mark in the industry, and her bosses know that she will. 
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