PR 2.0 Tips for Damage Control
On April 14th, the #PRStudChat community was faced with its first small crisis. Valerie Simon and I had planned another dynamic chat session that would focus on our graduating PR seniors, jobs and the hiring process. Everyone was gathered and ready; our PR pros, students, educators were present and our special guests were just introduced. Unfortunately, we didn’t get very far into the chat as we immediately realized that Twitter was down. Valerie and I had to assess the situation, respond quickly to the community and then continue with our damage control.
Granted, our crisis situation was not a major catastrophe, but at the same time we had to act quickly. We didn’t want to waste anyone’s time and we also wanted a quick solution, so our members, who were looking forward to this session, wouldn’t be disappointed. With respect to our special guests, we had lined up very busy PR and recruiting professionals, who gracefully accepted the invitation to participate on our chat panel. We realized that rescheduling the session might be difficult to coordinate with their demanding schedules.
Valerie and I worked with our community so everyone understood the situation, and then coordinated with the experts to secure our plan to move forward with a rescheduled #PRStudchat date of 4/21 at noon. When I think back, I realize that the steps we used may aid in other unexpected situations.
Here are the quick steps or tips to help get a situation under control and back on track:
- Listen and assess what’s happening quickly; don’t sit back for too long, especially if your community is asking, “what’s going on?” Have a spokesperson who can communicate the facts and let people know that you are aware and managing the situation. If you don’t respond, frustration can surmount and lead to increased confusion and anxiety.
- Let people know that you have a plan or next steps are in place that will be shared with them shortly. Make sure you deliver on the plan or next steps as soon as possible.
- Direct people to a place where they can find updated news regarding the situation and accurate information. Many companies prepare for crisis by setting up a crisis site or “dark” website. Dark sites are pre-developed and non-public sites that go live when a company moves into damage control mode. When live, these sites are updated regularly and provide news, company information and procedures to rectify the situation at hand, so people don’t have to speculate.
- Answer questions as they arise and offer facts and accurate information. If you can answer questions and be responsive, you will calm the nerves of the people involved, it will make the situation more manageable.
- Keep listening and monitor the conversations even after the crisis is over. People may continue to talk and share their thoughts, comments and even ask questions regarding what’s happened after incident has passed. Your job is to keep monitoring the conversations and answer those questions. You want too make sure that no misinformation is present in the dialogue and that the situation is, in fact, back on track.
Of course, we were very fortunate that the #PRStudChat community is one of the best communities, with extremely forgiving and super supportive members. Not every crisis situation has a community with this level of understanding. But, if you can keep these helpful hints in mind it just may ease the situation as you work through your damage control efforts.
What other steps or tips for damage control would you recommend when an unexpected situation occurs?
April 16, 2010 @ 11:23 am
This is my first time hearing about a “dark site”. I like the “dark site” tactic because it takes the audience off the problem to a forum where you control the conversation and can easily listen.
April 16, 2010 @ 12:47 pm
Hi Kyle! Dark sites are great because you can prepare in advance and then have that forum ready to answer questions and give the right information during a crisis. Thanks!
April 18, 2010 @ 9:14 pm
Keeping communication open and flowing is definitely the key to keeping almost any crisis under control. Honestly and open communication is never as bad as the rumors that’ll start swirling around if nobody can get any accurate info.
I’d actually never heard about the “dark site” idea either. Seems like a really good way to be prepared for anything!
April 19, 2010 @ 7:46 am
Hi Marek! Thanks for sharing you thoughts. Yes, honesty and open communication is the best approach during a crisis. The dark site is a great way to be prepared for unexpected situations. Many companies build them as a part of their crisis communications plans and turn them on immediately to start the proper communication flowing.
April 22, 2010 @ 2:28 pm
Sorry I was not able to join the #prstudchat, but kudos to Deirdre and Valerie for their immediate response and for sharing how you all dealt with the situation. Looking forward to the next #prstudchat
April 25, 2010 @ 3:56 pm
Deirdre, I liked your post on how to perform damage control while using a web 2.0 application. I like to use twitter and I noticed that it is down sometimes and I would usually wait or do something else when that happens, but you listed steps I could take just in case that happens again. The thing I am intrigued with the most is the dark website. I did not know companies had a website prepared and only goes active when something like this happens. I guess the companies don’t publicize them because there are not used as much.
Thank You
Trent Callier
April 25, 2010 @ 4:32 pm
Hi Mary! Sorry you couldn’t join us for the #prstudchat session. We tried to be immediate with our response to the situation and keep everyone in the communication loop. We’re lucky to have a very understanding community! The next #prstudchat is going to be a great session. We’re celebrating the Class of 2010 on May 12th at 9:00 p.m. Here’s a link to more information on the Examiner.com: http://bit.ly/ds97ZK. I hope you can join in our next discussion!
April 25, 2010 @ 4:40 pm
Hi Trent, thanks for commenting 🙂 I’m glad you liked the post. Twitter is great for continuous monitoring of the conversations during crisis, getting the right information to your followers and directing them to the crisis website (the dark site turned “live”). Twitter does have it’s glitches, so we have to make sure that communication during a crisis is not confined to one channel. There are companies that use YouTube to communicate statements from executives during a crisis (especially if the original damage came from a YouTube video as in the case of Dominos Pizza). As for the dark sites, I guess you’re right, they’re not publicized or mentioned prior to crisis. As long as they are turned on and the company is better prepared, that’s all that counts. They serve a very useful function and I find most of the information about dark sites in PR, Advertising and Marketing discussions.