Crisis response planning and crisis communications are two essential aspects of managing a brand's reputation on social media. However, they are not the same thing and require different strategies and skills. In this article, you will learn the difference between them and how to apply them effectively in a crisis situation.
Crisis response planning is the process of preparing for potential crises that could affect your brand, your customers, or your industry on social media. It involves identifying and assessing the risks, developing scenarios and contingency plans, assigning roles and responsibilities, and creating guidelines and protocols for communication. Crisis response planning helps you to anticipate and mitigate the impact of a crisis, as well as to respond quickly and consistently.
Crisis communications is the actual execution of your crisis response plan on social media. It involves monitoring the situation, engaging with your stakeholders, providing accurate and timely information, addressing questions and concerns, and managing the tone and sentiment of your messages. Crisis communications helps you to maintain or restore trust and credibility, as well as to protect and enhance your brand image.
Crisis communication is not only when something blows out of the water and you know it's BAAAD, but it can also be small situations that are harming your brand, such as a bad review, someone talking about you on social media sharing their experience with your product or service etc. In my experience, before answering or giving a public response, try to understand exactly what happened: look through your backend, how when why this person used your product, why are they saying what they are saying, maybe even have the guts to ask for clarification information "in public". This will show you own your process and you're really trying to solve the issue, instead of just asking someone to DM you, or just say sorry.
The main difference between crisis response planning and crisis communications is that the former is proactive and the latter is reactive. Crisis response planning is done before a crisis occurs, while crisis communications is done during and after a crisis. However, they are not mutually exclusive and should be integrated and aligned. A good crisis response plan will inform and guide your crisis communications, and a good crisis communication will reflect and reinforce your crisis response plan.
The planning is proactive, and the communications are more reactive. And both are necessary in the face of a real crisis or emergency. The planning phase provides your team with scripts and talking points to help during the communications phase of a crisis. The planning phase can also help you set the tone for any future crisis communications. You absolutely DO NOT want to appear condescending or lacking empathy when communicating with someone currently suffering a crisis. The communications can use a script or planned talking points as a starting point, but it's important during the planning stage to help your team understand when and how to go off script, to better meet the emotions and specific needs of those in crisis.
The benefits of having a clear distinction between crisis response planning and crisis communications are manifold. Firstly, it helps you to allocate your resources and efforts more efficiently and effectively. You can focus on preparing for the worst-case scenarios in advance, and then adapt and improvise as the situation unfolds. Secondly, it helps you to avoid confusion and inconsistency in your messages and actions. You can have a unified and coherent voice and vision across your social media channels and platforms. Thirdly, it helps you to measure and evaluate your performance and outcomes. You can compare your actual results with your planned objectives and learn from your successes and failures.
The challenges of differentiating between crisis response planning and crisis communications are also significant. Firstly, it requires a lot of research and analysis to identify and assess the potential crises that could affect your brand on social media. You need to consider the likelihood and severity of each risk, as well as the best and worst possible outcomes. Secondly, it requires a lot of creativity and flexibility to develop and implement your crisis response plan and crisis communications. You need to consider the expectations and emotions of your stakeholders, as well as the dynamics and trends of social media. Thirdly, it requires a lot of coordination and collaboration to ensure that your crisis response plan and crisis communications are aligned and integrated. You need to communicate and cooperate with your internal and external partners, as well as with your target audiences.
The tips for achieving a balance between crisis response planning and crisis communications are simple but effective. Firstly, be proactive and prepare for the unexpected. Have a crisis response plan that covers the most likely and impactful scenarios, and update it regularly. Secondly, be reactive and responsive to the reality. Have a crisis communication that adapts to the changing situation and responds to the feedback and concerns of your stakeholders. Thirdly, be consistent and transparent in your messages and actions. Have a crisis response plan and crisis communication that are aligned with your brand values and goals, and that are honest and respectful to your audiences.
I would say, a brand should think of the worst possible scenarios when planning and an apt response which will act as the basis of communication. However, it should never be a template approach and should have an empathetic delivery at the core while answering any prospective questions to showcase better transparency. Best crisis management understands the need to be transparent to lessen any aggravated situations while being tactical and diplomatic to safeguard the key people involved.