Social media has turned communication into a real-time, instant reply medium. Traditional public relations had a bit more leeway and time to decide on an appropriate course of action when a crisis struck. Now, replies and statements are expected to come quicker.

Crisis communications will throw a person into pure adrenaline, and sometimes borderline panic. The key to keeping a cool head is to focus on specific tasks, and only release information that is 100 percent factual. Even stating that “This is a matter we are aware of and we will keep you posted” is better than silence. It also will ensure that you have a bit of time to investigate what occurred, create a correct response and understand how to execute.

But, how can you prepare for crisis communications? It’s easy to state that you need to issue statements of information in a timely fashion, as accurate as possible. The five areas below will help to prepare for a potential crisis and outline the type of engagement needed. The agency-client dynamic should work together to decide what part each sector is active in.

Create a Crisis Communications Plan

A crisis communications plan is vital to any branded organization. It should include what constitutes as a crisis, members of the crisis communications team, phone numbers, legal team information, 1-sheeter on organization facts, responsibilities, example statements and a team lead. The team lead is important because it’s the person with the “checklist”: Checking that each step is met; Checking that all team members know their duties; Checking that the next step is correct; and generally checking in with C-Suite. All crisis communication plans are laid out differently.

Example Statements

In a crisis, time is everything. Most statements, before hitting any medium, will need to go through an approval process. Having blanket beginner statements approved will give the team time to issue it quickly, then work on evaluating the situation and issuing a response. You won’t have all the time in the world, but acknowledging awareness at the first is imperative.

Once news hits, its possible that it will be RT’ed, blogged about or discussed on forums. Instead of linking every single person to the statement (copying and pasting) post your statement, with updates, to all channels. If the volume isn’t high, you can alter the beginning statement to each individual.

Example of beginning statement:

“We are aware of *INSERT SITUATION*. We are currently looking into the situation and will provide information and answer questions as soon as possible.”

A beginning statement will let consumers, stakeholders and media know that this is a top priority and that your brand wants to provide factual information. When a statement is not released in the first few hours, speculation will start, taking the wheel out of your hands.

It’s also important to have sample statements regarding negative chatter at brand and how to handle incorrect information.

Review the Plan every 6-12 months

With how quickly the landscape is changing, the plan also needs to be reviewed and kept up-to-date. Some organizations review and update their plan for every large event they host. Find a review time span that is specific to your brand, and what makes sense. Reviewing the plan at least annually will keep the plan up to date, on par with organization facts and easily understood by crisis team members.

Monitor your brand

Knowing what chatter is out there can help identify the type of situations that can occur, what is being said and who is saying it. Monitoring can also pinpoint when a crisis happens, sometimes before even the media catches wind. Although monitoring can pull in a lot of chatter about your brand, it’s important to identify what qualifies as an actual crisis (needing a plan) and what requires just a response with follow-up. Detailing out these instances in your crisis communications plan and in strategy will make it easier to monitor/alert when a crisis hits. The small hurdles can also be great practice for engaging with a consumer or media when negative hits.

Practice scenarios

It might seem silly to do, but practicing the actual scenario and how you will respond to different questions can help. Take the crisis communications team once a quarter and split them into groups. Give each team a card with a different scenario on it, one that is pertinent to your brand. Give them 30 minutes to craft a plan based on the general crisis commmunications plan, detailing out: team lead, responsibilities, sample statement, sample negative reply and brand response, sample media pitch and response, and if the situation requires the legal team to review or not.

After 30 minutes, have each group present. As a collective team, break down what is right and what could have been done better. Each quarter should have different scenarios.

What do you think? What does your brand/agency do to prepare for a crisis situation? What role does the agency and brand play?

Tags: brand monitoring, crisis communications, crisis in social media, Social Media