Doing crisis management right often means finding your own silver lining When you hear the name Marilyn Monroe, deep thoughts are probably the last thing that comes to mind, but poke around a bit on the web and you’ll find the woman known best for her glamorous image was surprisingly …
Social Media in 2013
A lot has happened in the fast-moving world of social media already this year The way we think about and make use of social media is constantly changing as new trends rise, the popularity of various platforms shifts, and the the market (whichever yours may be!) evolves. One way to …
The Advantages of Multimedia Crisis Management
Try a multimedia approach to help your crisis communications grab stakeholder’s attention Let’s be realistic – ANY communication you’re putting out these days is just a drop in the Internet Sea. How can you help ensure people, and specifically your stakeholders, receive and understand your message in a crisis situation? …
2Day FM Chairman’s Crisis Communications Fail
[Editor’s note: Thank you to our friend and colleague, Issue Outcomes’ Tony Jaques for bringing this story that’s burning up the headlines overseas to our attention.] “Shit happens” should not be in your vocabulary when it comes to crisis communication The chairman of a large firm should, in theory, be …
Jonathan Bernstein’s Crisis Management Advice for the Catholic Church
Step one: stop lying. The Catholic Church just can’t seem to figure out how to deal with the seemingly endless stream of sexual abuse cases involving clergymen. Of course, as Bernstein Crisis Management President Jonathan Bernstein revealed in an interview with columnist Ruben Rosario of the St. Paul Pioneer Press, …
Facebook’s Latest Privacy Change and You
Make sure you know who can see your posts! Have you been using the “Who can look up your Timeline by name?” setting on Facebook to keep your online actions hidden away from employers and coworkers? If you are, Facebook has an announcement for you; this setting is being removed! …
Social Media Crisis Management: Don’t Drink and Post
Should you really even need to be told? Most people wouldn’t hold a press conference or shareholder meeting after spending a few hours at the bar, yet for some reason many of those same people feel strangely comfortable sharing to social media when they’re in the midst of tying one …
Constant Contact Doesn’t Live Up to Its Name
Venting after a pair of poor customer service experiences What do you do when a paid service you’ve used for years decides customer service isn’t a priority? In the past the answer may have been wading past multiple levels of rage-inducing robotic phone services or digging through directories to find …
Sober Honor Student Punished for Driving Drunk Friend Home
Blindly following policy is asking for a crisis management mishap We’ve discussed before how a refusal, or inability, to flex your policies in special circumstances can create crisis management issues for organizations, and now yet another example has reared its head, this time in Massachusetts. 17-year-old Erin Cox, honor student …
L.A.’s DWP – How NOT to Handle the Media
Communicating with media is a crucial crisis management skill Once upon a time, the thing to do when you came under scrutiny was batten down the hatches and avoid discussing the matter altogether. We’ve long since moved past that school of thought, but unfortunately many organizations insist on doing things …
Why You Shouldn’t Copy the “I Quit” Video
Immortalized online…but is it a good thing? The latest YouTube video to go viral features a young woman quitting her job in what most certainly is a creative manner, but was it a smart move? Let’s watch: Marina Shifrin is the woman in the video, and it was filmed at …
Crisis Management Musts: Media Trained Leadership
If you’re not ready to be the face of your organization, don’t take the helm When you’re the face of your organization, you need to understand how to interact with the media. It doesn’t matter if you’re CEO of a corporation, captain of a football team, or, as in the …
Business Insider CTO Canned Over Twitter Posts
Not watching what you say and do on social media can cost you dearly Last week, Business Insider CTO Pax Dickinson joined the continuously swelling ranks of those who have lost their jobs because of careless social media use. Dickinson was (quite understandably) canned the day after being called out …
The Next Generation of Crisis Communication Pros
Newcomers to the field bring hunger, fresh perspective Graduates of communications programs are leaving school more prepared than ever to do the daily work required to excel in the fields of PR and crisis management. Of course, a student’s thesis is where they really get to flex the mental muscle …
3 Steps to Social Media Reputation Management
Social media can be a valuable tool, or a painful nuisance. It’s all about the effort you put in. Far too much crisis management is done in reaction to negative circumstances, when the most opportune time is before trouble ever rears its ugly head. This certainly holds true for social …