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, summed up exactly how to give it to them:
3) Speak – Using traditional media but especially social media like Twitter, Facebook & YouTube, a company must respond 24/7 to media/blogger inquiries as well as the concerns of a company’s critical audiences (employees/loved ones, customers/clients, government officials, investors, etc.). “Speak” also means “write” — so any backgrounders, fact sheets, press releases and social media posts that can be prepared in advance will make it easier to navigate a serious crisis. Spokespeople previously designated should have access to live video tools like Skype, iChat, Facetime, UStream, Justin.TV and Google Chat. This will allow critical audiences to actually see and hear from the “face” of the company, which helps an organization to build/rebuild trust much faster. But that’s assuming the written and spoken messages put out by the company are entirely credible. In addition, most of these “apps” are available on a growing list of mobile devices.
The idea of using web-based video for crisis management has already been tested with success in several high profile cases, and although these were largely based on YouTube and not streaming live, the skyrocketing popularity (and near-zero cost) of these services makes them very strong communication tools when used in combination with the rest of your arsenal.
The BCM Blogging Team
https://www.bernsteincrisismanagement.com/