No organization wants to face a crisis, but unfortunately, crises are inevitable. They don’t have to be major events. Anything that potentially casts a brand in a negative light could – and should – be considered a crisis. A reputable brand that took years to build could bleed away like sand through an hour glass in a short,  but sustained,  social media storm. Is your team prepared to respond quickly?

To find out if you are prepared you need look no further than your crisis communications plan. In Part 1 of “Social media, crises and ‘Who,’” I shared the first five of 10 suggested strategies to consider for who should be included in your crisis communications plan from a social media perspective. I advocated that social media must be an integrated part of a unified crisis plan but too often it is a secondary priority; something to get to when you have time during a crisis. That’s dangerous. You must account for it. Continue Reading…

Established fact: Social media has seemingly limitless benefit for organizations in today’s socially – and globally – networked world. It can also be the proverbial gasoline on a fire during a crisis. Bad news travels at the speed of a Tweet; and often gathers social momentum like a runaway train. Ten minutes earlier social media may have been a corporate communicator’s dream vehicle to the organization’s audience; now it’s a crisis communicator’s nightmare. Are you ready?

Let’s face it, every organization is going to face a crisis, and let’s consider a crisis anything that potentially diminishes the reputation of an organization. Unfortunately, the range of issues that threaten a brand is endless.

Because of the speed of communication through social media, corporate communicator’s can often find themselves behind in their crisis response before they know it. That’s why preparation is critical so that the crisis communications plan is thorough, and the best place to begin is by asking, “Who?” Continue Reading…