You're a PR professional dealing with a crisis. How can you keep track of the situation?

In a crisis, clear comms roles = lifeline, with the historian being essential. This role involves diligently logging every event and communication. These detailed records are not just for maintaining order; they're critical for legal accountability and for post-crisis analysis. While electronic note-taking will feel natural to many of us today, those notes need to be backed up, and notes still need to be taken. The historian's responsibilities include gathering storytelling assets, like photos and videos, to help communicate the crisis narrative internally and externally. Like any critical role, there should be a backup for continuity in documentation. Having a note-taking template, both in electronic and printed forms, will help.

I think it's important to set up a crisis team ahead of an event. As a colleague used to say -- A crisis isn't the time to hand out business cards. This group should be meeting quarterly to review messaging plans, procedures, etc. This way, should there be a PR crisis, the team is better prepared to execute their specific roles. This allows core team members to do focus on those roles but also provide support to those who may be involved but are not regularly part of the crisis teams.

The members of the crisis management team should be thought about before a crisis occurs. During a crisis, there is not enough time to form a crisis management team or think anout it. The crisis management committee should conduct test maneuvers before a crisis occurs.

A diverse, ready-to-go crisis team is crucial to limit damage and restore normalcy. Their job is to monitor the situation and make decisions. Stay updated on the company mentions via media, using tools like Google Alerts. Establish a central hub for crisis info accessible to your team. Regular check-ins are key for updates and coordination. Maintain open communication with all stakeholders to manage perceptions. Post-crisis, review what worked and what didn't for future improvement. Every crisis is different, so it's important to remain flexible and adapt your approach as needed.

Experience indicates the main element in dealing with a crisis situation in terms of communications is to acquire the fullest amount of information possible surrounding the case and its circumstances. The better the knowledge and understanding of whatever reality is being dealt with, the more effective and credible a response can be, minimizing unexpected consequences and granting the team flexibility in responding to emerging situations. The success of any subsequent methodology will depend on this knowledge and understanding of the case and its ramifications.

In navigating a crisis as a PR professional, organization is key. Form a dedicated crisis team with defined roles, use media and social media monitoring tools to track coverage and sentiment. Maintain a detailed timeline of events and track communications. Conduct regular briefings, implement an issue tracking system, and stay abreast of legal implications. Establish strong internal communication channels for team coordination. Continuously evaluate and adjust strategies to effectively manage the crisis with transparency and agility.

If you have an analytical brain, then a crisis dashboard serves as a real-time compass, offering a comprehensive view of unfolding events, social media trends, and stakeholder sentiments. The key is to leverage this dashboard for swift decision-making. Monitor the crisis landscape, identify emerging issues, and analyze data trends. Use it as a centralized hub for communication coordination, ensuring consistent messaging across various platforms. Additionally, track the effectiveness of your responses and adapt strategies dynamically. A well-utilized crisis dashboard not only provides clarity amidst chaos but empowers proactive crisis management, allowing you to steer the narrative and safeguard your brand's reputation.

Implement a crisis dashboard to monitor key metrics like media coverage, social media sentiment, web traffic, and customer feedback. This tool aids in recognizing trends and gaps in your communication strategy, allowing for timely adjustments. Utilize platforms like Google Analytics or Hootsuite for dashboard creation and updates.

Um dashboard de crise pode ser t?o simples quanto um "jornal"- um documento em word onde se registra, de forma organizada, os acontecimentos, statements em uso, responsáveis por a??es e assim por diante. Ferramentas mais avan?adas, com capacidade de apresentar de forma sucinta e clara o que está acontecendo na imprensa, redes sociais e mais, auxiliam muito em situa??es assim. O importante é planejar e testar seu funcionamento durante a calmaria.

Dimensionar la magnitud del evento. Generar un check list de afectados, involucrados, testimoniales, efectos legales, de salud, éticos, morales, económicos que la crisis puede traer con ello. Determinar si existe oposición externa o interna para resolver la eventualidad. Analizar si se recurre a la autoridad de forma inmediata, a los medios de comunicación social o se da el tiempo necesario para resolverla por parte de los responsables para minimizar los da?os o en caso contrario para reducir responsabilidades

I’d personally go a bit out of the box and try to create and maintain a comms line with “hostile” or objective actors. Create a list of media or journalists, influencers etc that are working against you, and where possible, create and keep up with constructive communication. Try to build bridges or provide helpful facts to those who care to provide an objective picture. If possible to create a media referee role, being someone/outlet who cares to represent objective facts, do that and keep them involved in the loop of the process. That’ll give you ammunition and scores for transparency and efforts to build consensus and resolving the conflict.

Measurement is as important as monitoring. That is measuring the potential impact of media and social channels. Twitter/Reddit is not real life. You need to be grounded in the reality of the scale and how likely your average stakeholder is to be impacted by it. In one word: Perspective

N'oublions surtout pas les réseaux sociaux. Ce qui est déjà arrivé c est de découvrir une crise à travers des Tweets alors que personne au sein de la cellule de crise comprenant des dirigeants n étaient au courant. L information avait été cachée par le terrain...

In today's digital age, traditional and social media play a significant role in shaping public perception. It is crucial to monitor both traditional media outlets, such as newspapers and television, as well as social media platforms, including Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Use media monitoring tools to track mentions of your organization, relevant keywords, and industry trends. This will help you stay informed about any news or conversations related to the crisis.

For blockchain- basis crisis, including fake airdrop token scams and Defi Hacks, I strongly recommend working cross-functionally with security and/or engineering team and social media managers which serve as direct customer outreach. Depending on the type of crypto crisis, it’s crucial to communicate to all parties who could be involved or targeted. Sending out unified messaging on X and Telegram will decrease any community confusion until the breach is handled. This is just the basics; I’d also consider other strategies and methodology!

Empieza aceptando tu responsabilidad, nadie odia mas a una persona que no admite su culpa y que trata de desvincularse de ella.

Additionally, sometimes not engaging at all is also a viable and sometimes preferred solution. For example, if the answer or explanation to the situation is too nuanced to be digested properly via social media, all it may do is add 'fuel to the fire', and contribute to further engagement. Also keep in mind that focusing on a different method of communication to engage doesn't mean it would be disseminated elsewhere inefficiently. So for example if you decide social media isn't a great way to convey your message, and decide to instead send out an email or PR statement, recognize it will still be copied without context and potentially misquoted by others across social media anyway. One platform doesn't exclude dissemination on others.

Show empathy, be upfront about what you don’t know yet, while being clear about the fact that everything possible is being done to address the issue. Control the pace of your communication, but make sure you have a concise statement asap. Usually you have about 20 minutes before the phone will start ringing off the hook. Use it to draft a statement with your HSE and crisis team. Don’t ever speculate, accept that some things are unknown at the moment. Don’t be afraid to actually contribute to the discussions to solve the issue. The fact that you’re a comms person may give you a broader perspective. Your HSE team may be focused on “going in there and fixing things” and overlook the wind direction (happened).

Fale! Tome controle da situa??o e principalmente da narrativa em um momento de crise. Fale, mesmo que seja para comunicar que você está tomando pé da situa??o e que retornará em breve. A ausência de mensagem da companhia abre espa?o para que outras pessoas ou institui??es ocupem esse espa?o, tornando a tarefa de controlar a situa??o e construir valor, muito mais complexa.

When facing a crisis, it’s crucial to not only address the immediate problem but also the underlying issues that contributed to it. Every PR crisis I’ve encountered (mostly litigation) has had more problem than what it seems. How do you do this? Dive deep into the underlying problems. Take time to investigate and gather solid intelligence about the situation. I usually submerge my self deeply that people believe I’m one of them. This includes reviewing documents, talking to key stakeholders, interviewing individuals for intel, and building rapport with influential target groups for leverage and support. By diving deep like this, you can develop effective crisis communication strategies that hit the right targets.

Maintain Open Lines of Communication. Stay in close contact with key stakeholders, including employees, clients, customers, and the media. Respond promptly to inquiries and provide accurate information to maintain trust and control the narrative.

Keep a constant tab on what is being said / written about you across all media platforms. Quell any rumour or misinformation immediately through your trusted channels.

To stay on top of the crisis, conduct regular situation analysis. This involves assessing the current state of the crisis, evaluating the effectiveness of your communication strategies, and identifying any gaps or areas for improvement. Use this analysis to adjust your crisis management approach and ensure that you are effectively addressing the situation.

The last tip to keep track of a PR crisis is to evaluate your performance and learn from your mistakes. You should measure the outcomes and impacts of your communication strategy, such as the change in awareness, attitude, behavior, or loyalty of your audience. You should also collect feedback and insights from your crisis team, your media contacts, your stakeholders, and your competitors. You should use tools such as surveys, interviews, focus groups, or audits, to evaluate your performance. You should also document the lessons learned and best practices for future reference.

From my perspective, an essential step in managing a PR crisis is thorough evaluation and learning from the experience. Measuring the outcomes and impacts of the communication strategy, including changes in awareness, attitude, behavior, or loyalty, is crucial. Gathering feedback from the crisis team, media contacts, stakeholders, and competitors through surveys, interviews, focus groups, or audits provides valuable insights. Documenting lessons learned and best practices ensures continuous improvement for future crisis management efforts. This reflective approach is vital for refining strategies and enhancing overall crisis response capabilities.

Three areas we often overlook that cause delays in responsiveness during crisis are; 1. Ensure you have decision makers in your crisis team. 2. Finance, support and logistics need to be at the ready to mobilize as required. If relationships with media permit arrangements in place for urgent press releases or broadcast interviews. 3. Crisis planning and preparation - crisis teams need to discuss and thoroughly analyze potential scenarios and have a documented response on plan, rehearse, rehearse, rehearse! Last one just to round off the discussion. Your internal stakeholders (staff) are critical to your narrative. Have them onside, they are the coal face champions of your crisis management story.

Me llama la atención que no se tome en cuenta la necesidad de velocidad de reacción y respuesta comunicativa ante una crisis. Las redes sociales, hoy el principal medio de comunicación y de noticias, ante una respuesta tardia, reaccionan agresivamente ante el silencio. El stakeholder, incluso aquel que no tiene nada que ver con la crisis, también puede ser un verdugo que castigue con ferocidad el centro del tema de la crisis. El tiempo, cuando es bien manejado, resulta ser un aliado en la modulación de la gravedad del caso.

In managing a PR crisis, two crucial elements often overlooked are the need to control the narrative and the importance of empathy in communication. Being first to respond allows you to shape the story from the outset, rather than being reactive to others’ interpretations. This proactive approach demonstrates responsibility and transparency, key factors in maintaining trust. Equally important is the use of empathy. In your communications, it’s vital to acknowledge those affected, show understanding of their concerns, and express genuine care. This not only humanizes your response but also fosters a deeper connection with your audience, showing them that your organization is not just about business, but also values human sentiments.

Antes de responder a cualquier crisis, lo primero que se debe hacer es crear un comité multifuncional, donde se cuente con una mirada desde el punto de vista legal, de recursos humanos, de finanzas, de marketing, de riesgos y de toda persona que pueda sumar con una mirada distinta a analizar el evento. Luego de analizar la situación y establecer un camino de acción, el siguiente paso es designar un vocero que sea el responsable de hablar con los medios, de calma, comunique cuál es la situación y las acciones que se están realizando para resolver la crisis. Cada paso posterior debe ser acordado previamente con el comité de crisis para tomar la mejor decisión.

In addition to the mentioned strategies, it's crucial to anticipate potential scenarios and prepare contingency plans for different crisis situations. Proactive scenario planning allows for quicker and more effective responses when unforeseen challenges arise. Furthermore, maintaining open lines of communication internally is essential to ensure all team members are informed and aligned during a crisis. Additionally, fostering relationships with key stakeholders during non-crisis times can contribute to a more supportive network when facing challenges. Finally, staying updated on industry trends and shifts in public sentiment can help PR professionals navigate crises with greater foresight and adaptability.