Sound the Alarm: Preparing Digital Crisis Communication Strategy (rev.)
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When creating digital crisis communication strategy -- in higher education or in any other industry -- preparing your digital channels ahead of time will greatly improve your respond, survive, and thrive.
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Sound the Alarm: Preparing Digital Crisis Communication Strategy (rev.)
- 1. Sound the Alarm: Preparing Digital Crisis Communications Strategy Colleen Brennan-Barry (@ColB) Monroe Community College Rochester, NY
- 2. These are the times that try men's souls. -Thomas Paine
- 6. February 2, 2011 • #snowpocalypse #snowmageddon • The 2011 Groundhog Day Blizzard • Antioch, IL: 27.0”
- 7. Rochester, NY: 3.8” Annual average = 95.1” WHY WASNT SCHOOL CANCELED TODAY!?! I almost died driving here! School should be closed tomorrow because of snowstorm and bad weather conditions!! Will it be closed???? Why don't you EVER close??
- 16. Crisis communications must have a regimented plan, yet be agile enough to handle the unanticipated.
- 19. So where do we go from here?
- 20. Step One: Do your homework
- 23. What is a “crisis”? Image via streetwise.com
- 24. Crises refine life. In them you discover what you are. -Allan K. Chalmers
- 25. Step Two: Assess your strengths … & weaknesses
- 29. Step Three: Build your basics
- 31. Set goals • Survive • Focus • Flex • Protect
- 32. Select channels
- 33. Top four channels used as primary crisis information sources: -- 2009 Steering Committee of the EDUCAUSE Net@EDU Converged Communications Working Group (CCWG) survey of 125 colleges/universities •Email •SMS •Website •Social Media
- 34. Image via http://kevin.lexblog.com/ Via social media: •Monitor conversation & gauge pubic opinion. •Manage & address accuracy of information. •Track developments for evaluation & prioritization. •Respond in real time as events evolve.
- 36. Plan the right voice for the right channels
- 38. Remember: be human Image via changingthewayyouwork.files.wordpress.com/
- 39. Stay on message Image via dafilmschool.files.wordpress.com
- 40. Establish communications guidelines •Be ready. •Be responsive. •Be real.
- 42. Step Four: Fill your toolbox
- 43. Strategy is your #1 tool Image via istockphoto.com
- 44. The hardware • The “red binder” • Web-enabled alert system • Redundant systems with geographic diversity • Alternate “lite” homepage • Well-worn social media accounts • Messages & templates
- 45. The soft-ware • Crisis team • Extended team • ALL employees • Student champions
- 46. “I love it when a plan comes together.” Image via nbc.com - Col. Hannibal Smith
- 47. The personalware • Smartphone or device • Pre-stocked links • Mi-Fi • Saved scripts
- 49. It ain’t over til it’s over. - Lenny Kravitz
- 50. The status is not … quo. - Dr. Horrible
Editor's Notes
- The elephant in the room: more incidences of on-campus violence reported than ever before … and in debrief, communication has been a focal point of discussion – and a point of much complaint.
- We all prepare for the worst-case scenario – the active shooter, the bio weapon – and we SHOULD be preparing for those issues. But …that’s not the only thing that could constitute a crisis.
- Feb. 2, 2011 – the “snowstorm of the century.” Schools were closing for weeks at a time. We were braced for impact – indiv. profs had canceled their classes, emergency teams had met, college had prepped messages, set cell phones next to beds.
- Rochester NY received 3.8” – basically, just another winter day in WNYS. To us, this was a non-event. Students, however, were outraged that we didn’t close. This was the power of group-think – and the tools that power that kind of communication and thinking. Last statement is typical – because it’s so very, very rare we DO close. The irony.
- Cell phone rang the very next morning – massive power outage to main campus. NOW we were closed. Karma. Still dealing with the NON-closing cleanup, and this erupts.
- And the situation become even more complicated as the day went on.
- Here’s what we were dealing with: Full system shutdown, including “redundant” systems. ALL “official” MCC communications systems – Website, email, phones – down. Our protocols said email was official. Then Web. Then media. Then phone system. Then campus screens and “other” messaging systems. Guess how our students felt, what they saw for communication?
- We had no way to reach them. News media only works if the audience was there, and for this purpose, ours was not. Couldn’t enact ANY of the other systems. So, in my PJs at 7:05 am I set up headquarters in my office …
- Welcome to the 21st century crisis communications headquarters. - No protocols in place to run main thrust of communication via social media- Socnets was at best a footnote in the Crisis Comm plan – “will get to it if we can” - Suddenly, this was it.
- We had a total breakdown of systems … NOT just technical, but internal processes. Processes had never, ever accounted for anything like this – had assumed infallible backups. Workflows were uncertain – much confusion about who could decide to craft messages, communicate out … and no plan for social to be in the loop. Couldn’t get ahold of key players; information & decisions bottlenecked. Decisions not made as quickly as the media demanded – event at 7:03; no official update until 9:15 after senior staff met. Students were learning more from outside media and gossip than via college channels.
- The tide turned. Massive goodwill at first but, as time passed, the group feel shifted to increasingly antagonistic. We diiffused by being human, but even that didn’t cut it after a while.
- Cleanup continued for three days.
- A plan is important. But it must be flexible … if you are too tied to your exact scenarios, if you can’t shift in accordance with what’s REALLY happening, the crisis magnifies repeatedly. SO let’s talk a bit about the current state of many of our crisis comm plans today
- The original “red binder”: - Scenario-based plans - Often focused on internal structures and resources - Communication is second-phase, tool-driven task - Detailed structure for dealing with press, other media channeled through central PIO …
- The red binder of the future Is your PIO here?
- Steps to start re-assessing and forming your own crisis comm plan
- How do you think your audience wants to be communicated with in a crisis? Active shooter scenario? Flood? Campus power outage?
- The most important work happens BEFORE the crisis - community building Setting expectations Education on channels Set the tone, set the pace
- Track. Have focus groups. Ask your key audiences how you can reach them first, and fast
- Understand when plans go into action at different levels.
- In a crisis, we are stripped to our elements. Nothing else but survival matters. DEFINE: Not just obvious health and safety emergency but also a situation which can harm your institution – perception, feeling, brand, image With more ways than ever for your audiences to communicate and share and discuss – and either glorify OR demonize your image – crisis communication takes on new dimensions.
- SWOT time. We don’t like to admit to our weaknesses – but we all know they’re there.
- Measure yourself. Ask tough questionsBe honestEvaluate your assets, and understand your detriments Where are you on the crisis preparedness scale? Where are you on the Web-readiness scale?
- How have you embraced and used Web-based communications tools and strategies well, in general? In crises? What’s worked? Where can you grow? Where is your chance to improve the situation as it stands? Who are your champions? What elements are in place that make your institution Web-communication friendly? What works in your favor or could help as Web-based channels are put into place?
- Where have you failed? Where have you stumbled, not been as effective as you could have been? Where are your roadblocks? Are there people, situations, elements in place that make using Web-based communication a challenge? Note that these may not be intentional roadblocks. They simply are what they are What is the worst-case scenario? Given your current scenarios, what destructive thing *could* happen if status quo continues?
- This is chicken & egg with the next step. We’ll get to why in a moment.
- You’ve done your SWOT – use it here. What pieces need put into place? What existing pieces need leveraged?
- The Primal and the PR Survive – as a human, as an institution Focus – stay on plan, stay on message as much as you can to give structure inside chaos. You aren’t on the front lines of the burning building, but they ARE looking to you for escape plans, and what to do next Flex – adapt, know when to adjust to meet needs – and know how to communicate with the whole team for seamless result Protect – your audience AND your brand. How you react here has long-ranging consequences. MAKE SURE ALL TEAM knows these are your core goals and how to meet them
- How can you realistically respond? What kind of response can you staff, support and maintain? This is NOT the time to dive into new channels. Use what you’ve got and can work with. Twitter Facebook Emergency blog/homepage takeover
- Not just used but also viewed by audience as the MOST TRUSTWORTHY
- Know it. Follow it. Make sure your team knows it too Allow for human error Streamline Make it simple Remember, in a crisis, it’s not about POWER – it’s about survival. Be like water … moving around obstacles, a sheer force, always moving forward in its set direction.
- Be
- Create draft scripts for quick adaption Know the party line and share – rinse, repeat Manage updates, keep info accurate and timely
- Be fast but measured Don’t react – respond and be strategic
- Basically, I’ve come to this: tools are great, and there are many, and they can do amazing things. CAN do. But if YOU and your institution aren’t ready to use the tool to its best advantage, it doesn’t matter a whit. Hence, tools after strategy – though certainly one influences the other.
- BINDER It has a place … but think creatively. Is it in the Cloud? Hardcopy? An app just for crisis team? WEB-ENABLED ALERT Central dashboard is key. Allows engagement of multiple tools through one interface. Should not be ONLY way to enact these systems but should be A place where they are brought together REDUNDANT SYSTEMS When the aliens come to YOUR campus and send an EMP blast or whatever it is they do, you will be glad of this. LITE HOMEPAGE SOCNETSWell-worn indeed! I don’t advocate for separate accounts – social media fatigue makes the tools’ Need to have audience built in Need to have community buyin See “Do Your Homework” MESSAGES Be ready for anything but keep it simple … these will inevitably be adjusted Have them in the playbook & system ready to use as a basis
- Think broadly … have a core crisis team, and other key players who can be of help in a crisis. KNOW YOUR TEAM … relationships will be of great help in a crisis. Triage/flow chart
- Can’t rely on one particular space; must be ready to work from anywhere. My alternate haunt? The Bagel Bin.
- “We’ve always done it BLANK way” doesn’t really work anymore, as we’ve said. Always be evaluating and updating. Realize that sticking with the status quo is probably no longer working for your institution.
- Remember that, though an actual crisis may be over in minutes, the shockwaves reverberate for hours, days or more. Be ready to have human resources to cover the needs to the crisis. Once it’s passed, a debrief is imperative – with several levels of the team. Revise as needed And EDUCATE … in line with your test plan, have an education plan.
- What once was is no more. The red binder was created in a different era. We MUST adjust or we risk very real, very tough, very dangerous consequences. Communicate on a wider platform now Web and social media vastly changed how we communicate, what we expect. Must adjust. Think broadly.