Short messages, long reach Twitter by its nature helps facilitate mass discussion, and the evolution of hashtags means that it’s even possible to (mostly) keep these discussions organized and on-topic. My favorite part of this is that it enables professionals around the world, who might otherwise have no contact with …
SEO Works
It’s not voodoo – SEO pays by preventing crises My dear mother forwarded me an email today with the subject line, “Target Says “Veterans do not meet our area of giving.” It was one of those emails that had been flashed around the world and the string was filled with …
PR/Marketing
Changes in technology have shifted priorities Public relations and marketing have always served similar functions, but in decidedly different arenas. In their evolutions, though, the two disciplines have grown increasingly closer, resulting in some organizations naming one person to hold both CMO and CCO roles. One example is American Airline’s …
Internal Communication
Don’t keep employees out of the loop Many businesses plan for ways to communicate with the public and media during crises, while neglecting internal communication plans. While obviously external communication is important, well-informed employees are a necessity for proper crisis management. In this quote from a New York Examiner article, …
Recovering from Social Media Crises
Mistakes happen – fix them with a plan While Twitter and Facebook are great at attracting potential customers rapidly (potential being the operative word), you can lose them just as rapidly via a silly or careless remark. Just weeks earlier one of the bosses of a PR firm got annoyed …
Twitter Hashtags Evolving
Back in 2008, I suggested that an eyewitness tag on Twitter, such as #EW, would help people identify relevant material from the vast torrent of tweets that were being posted about Mumbai. In 2011, Twitter users have taken things beyond my rather simple idea by organising a number of separate …
Who’s Driving?
Do you know who’s manning your social media accounts? The pressure to get involved with social media is coming at organizations from all angles, and rightly so. One common mistake made by those looking to jump in as quickly as possible, though, is to just let whoever knows how to …
Coping with Social Media Attacks
A proactive stance can stave off baseless allegations Social media has forced a change on crisis management and public relations as a whole, altering the way we communicate and respond to situations drastically. As the following quote from a TrendyMinds article explains, what was a hard and fast rule as …
Let ‘Em Know
Don’t duck your head during a crisis It may seem redundant to say so, but the key to a successful crisis communications plan is to focus on communication. There is often an instinct to withdraw from the public eye during times of crisis. However, during a crisis, people seek strong …
Chrysler’s Social Media Crisis Management
Strong crisis communication prevents trouble for automaker As social media opens up new communication and crisis management avenues, it also presents new dangers. One of the most common types of trouble that comes to companies using social media is inappropriate postings by employees. Auto giant Chrysler found this out first …
Be The Source
Take charge of communication You always want to be the primary source of information in a crisis. The best way to do this in today’s climate of near-instantaneous communication is to answer stakeholders’ questions before they’re ever asked, a crisis management tactic described here in a quote from a Mashable …
Crisis Communication
Give the people want they want While communication will fall flat on its face without actions to back it up, in the immediate aftermath of a crisis the first thing the public wants is information. In a recent post on the LawFirmsPR blog, my colleague, crisis communication expert Rich Klein, …
Answering Questions
Active crisis communication always pays off In the past, when all hell broke loose, regular sources of information could be hard to come by, unreliable, intermittent and downright infuriating; a phone number with a taped message on the other end, a sliver of advice, half-heard from the radio or a …
Red Cross Twitter Mixup
Strong crisis communication prevents reputation damage The Red Cross is extremely experienced with social media, having been an avid and active user for years now, so when a rogue tweet went out from its Twitter account at nearly midnight last night, the organization was not caught flat-footed. The Tweet, from …
Too Little Too Late
Be ready for online crisis response…or else The Internet is the center of information today. What this means for businesses is that when a crisis breaks, their fans, critics, and everyone in between will flock to the Web for the latest details. If this happens and the business has no …