"Crisis Communications and Social Media" - Jim Rettew (The Red Cross) - 2009 AIM Conference

Crisis Communication & Social Media Jim Rettew, Chief Communications Officer American Red Cross Mile High Chapter May 1, 2009

Question…
How many spokespeople does your apartment company/complex have?
Answer: As many residents, employees, friends, family members, suppliers, colleagues, and associates of your business…that’s how many.

First Things First
How many of you have a written crisis communication plan? (or even a crisis plan?)
If you don’t have a communication plan, social media won’t help you.
You’ll just have more areas to screw up.

Fundamentals of a Crisis Comm Plan
Situational Awareness
What’s going on? Where? When? Who?
Operations
Who’s in charge?
Who says what?
Message Development
Victim Management
Afterwards…how to rebuild trust and credibility.

Crisis Comm Nuts and Bolts
1. Phone/E-mail List – Disseminate an emergency list with phone numbers,
2. Perform annual communication audit and Strength Weakness Opportunity and Threat (SWOT) analysis.
3. Media Training – Identify and train organization spokespeople.
4. Crisis Management Checklist – Update the Crisis Communication Checklist for staff to have with them at work and at home, including crisis procedures, policies regarding media inquiries, communication priorities and best means to reach the crisis manager.
5. Key Audience and Media List – Keep contact information for key audiences updated so that they can be easily contacted in a crisis.
6. Key Messages – Spokespeople should be familiar with organization’s key messages. At the time of crisis, relevant messages will be created by the Crisis Communications Team.
7. Pre-approved Statements – Responses for common media inquiries should be created and approved by the board as necessary.
8. Emergency Personnel – Maintain contact information for police, fire, hospitals, the health department, utilities and paramedics. Make sure staff know how to access the information.
9. Off Site Alternatives – Determine a location to convene and/or from which to stage communications if the crisis situation prevents staff from getting to or using the office.
10. Equipment – Identify resources necessary prior to a crisis including extra cell phones, computers, etc. Determine how that equipment would be gathered and who would be responsible for operation.
11. Drill Session – At least quarterly, review and practice crisis communications plan.

So Why Pay Attention to Social Media?
It can start a crisis.

Brands that Got Punk’d by Social Media
Dominos
Wholefoods CEO trashing competition online
Dell laptop catches fire on YouTube
AOL recording not letting customers cancel

Dominos
“ We got blindsided by two idiots with a video camera and an awful idea,” said a Domino’s spokesman, Tim McIntyre.
“ Even people who’ve been with us as loyal customers for 10, 15, 20 years, people are second-guessing their relationship with Domino’s.” NYT

Here’s what could happen to you…
Fire
Explosion
Government investigation
Controversial law suit
Accusation of discrimination based on race, sexual preference or gender
Product recall
Serious injury to someone within or outside of the organization
Protest
Strike
Physical violence between co-workers
Illegal workers booked by INS
Theft by an outsider (ideas or physical assets)
Embezzlement
Hostile takeover
Outbreak of food poisoning caused by your company (maybe even at your company picnic)
Death of top executive
CEO gets arrested for drunk driving
Natural disaster
Plane crash
Stolen credit card data
Books were cooked
Major interruptions in service
Computer system crash, causing you to lose all data
One of your employees is accused of a high profile crime
Sexual harassment case
Rape on your premises
Dramatic downsizing causing significant job loss in a geographic region
Chemical spill
Radiation leak
A major competitor has a huge crisis, throwing attention on your company
Caught in a lie
False advertising accusation
Celebrity spokesperson embroiled in personal scandal
Closing of a facility
Production sourcing internationally or at a non-union facility
Union grievance
And, of course, alien abduction of your entire management team

Why Pay Attention to Social Media?
It can fuel a crisis.

Dominos Bad Word-of-Mouth Skyrocketed

Why Pay Attention to Social Media?
It can fuel a crisis.
It’s effective at informing people in a crisis.

Informing – California Wildfires 2007
Of the 307 people surveyed affected by the fires…
A majority (54 percent) indicated they used mobile phones to contact friends or family to get tactical information about the fires (road closures and fire line status)
A significant majority (76 percent) consulted information portals and websites.
Just like you wouldn’t ignore TV, radio, or print; online communication is the fourth table leg in any plan.

Other Benefits of Social Media
Decrease the demand from the media.
Manage communications remotely.
Influence the message.
Direct connection to the public
No media filter
Quick implementation.

How is Social Media A Different Animal?

What is Traditional PR?
“Public relations is the practice of managing the flow of information between organizations and the public.”
Managing Public Relations, by James Grunig and Todd Hunt.
Traditionally, PR practitioner try to function as gatekeepers of information.
USED TO BE all about control

But You’re Too Late!
The discussion is already out there.

Now, Social Media puts the ‘Public’ Back in PR
Social Media is less about…
One-way communication
Control
Hierarchy
News reporters
Spin
… and more about….
Two-way communication
Influence
Findability
Community
Authenticity

The Conversation is a Two-Way Street
TV, Radio, Print – one-way communication
Top down approach. We are always the audience.
Social Media Online
Interactivity – the audience is also the author
User-generated content
Spurs community and commitment
In this environment, you no longer have complete control.
But what you can do is…

Influence: the Real Currency of the Cloud…
Ideally, You Want Good Buzz
Which comes from discussion…
Which comes from people…
Who are swayed by influence.
Influence does not equal spin!
Its more subtle…
Think Nancy Drew
It’s about leaving clues so people can follow your breadcrumbs.

Breadcrumbs = Findability
How can people find you?
What do you want them to find?
Are you making that easy or hard?
Why do they want to find you?
How can people find discussions about you?
What are those discussion?
What’s not being discussed?
Who is talking about you?

OK, I’m Convinced. What Should I Do?
Track Everything
Participate
silence is not golden
Be Proactive
(even preventative!)
Be Authentic
(even apologize!)

#1. Track Everything
Google Alerts
Google.com/alerts
Google Blog Search
Blogsearch.google.com
Twitter Search
Search.twitter.com
Filtrbox.com
TrackUR.com ($18/month)

Google “I Hate (insert your company).”
Search for keywords related to your business.
This includes adding a combination of the following criteria in your search process: - "product+sucks" - "company+sucks" - "die+company" - "i+hate+company"

#2. Participate
Blogs
Podcasts
Facebook
MySpace
LinkedIn
Twitter
Flickr
Wikis
Yelp
Builds relationships
Increases findability

Silence isn’t Golden
These conversations are taking place with or without you, so ignoring them only eliminates you from the conversation and also removes your company from the radar screens of your customers.

#3. Be Proactive!
Many potential crises are avoidable through proactive listening, engagement, response, conversation, humbleness, and transparency (rinse & repeat).

Be Proactive!...even Preventative!
Diffuse visible but not yet large-scale predicaments before they're full-blown public crises.
Make a plan
Know the social media landscape
Develop relationships
Become a participant
Train for a crisis

#4. Be Authentic
Social media world values and expects honesty, integrity, and transparency.
Don’t pay for good reviews
Don’t lie or cover-up
Don’t spin
Example: Bindeez Crisis
Defensive / Legal: “We are investigating the allegations. At this time, we are not admitting any wrongdoing and have been told not to comment further.”
Authentic: “As parents and grandparents ourselves, we are horrified by this incident.”

Apologize
A simple, honest apology (without taking legal blame) can defuse the most volatile situation, often averting a communications crisis.

Do’s and Don’ts
DON’T go into crisis mode on every customer complaint.
DO engage. “Hey, I saw your post and wanted to find out what you can tell me.” Don’t offer any speculation or opinion, just gather information until you can find the original source of the problem.
DON’T get dragged into an argument, or a back-and-forth debate about who is right.
DO create a central news and resources page if the crisis is serious. Direct all traffic through various social networks, blogs and news sites back to your resource page.
DO enlist regular PR tactics and traditional media.

Things You Could Start Today…
Create a blog that posts all emergency notices
Google, Wordpress, etc
Wiki: let stakeholders collaborate and share information
Wetpaint.com
Facebook: create a page to form a community
Tweet!
Twitter.com
Acquire emails , Facebook links, and Twitter IDs like you would phone numbers
Prepare a ‘dark site’ (crisis web page ready to go)
Encourage honest feedback on Yelp
Set up your own Flickr group with pictures YOU want to share

Social Media Dash Board

Take-aways
Old “gatekeeper” model is dead
It’s about influence, not control
People are talking. Are you participating?
Leave breadcrumbs so you’re findable
Be proactive
Be authentic
Don’t be the next Dominos case study

Jim Rettew
American Red Cross Mile High Chapter
Chief Communications Officer
[email_address]
303-607-4768

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"Crisis Communications and Social Media" - Jim Rettew (The Red Cross) - 2009 AIM Conference

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"Crisis Communications and Social Media" - Jim Rettew (The Red Cross) - 2009 AIM Conference — Presentation Transcript