crisis at the speed of light
DESCRIPTION
How to handle crisis communications in the era of social and digital media. crisis communications now operates at the speed of light, in a transparent world that brands do not control. What should you do and how is this different than crisis during the conventional media era.TRANSCRIPT
Crisis at the speed of light….
Speed of Light: 186,000 miles per second
You can’t know
precisely
where crisis
will come from.
That’s why it’s
called a crisis…
Being Prepared IS Everything…
“If you can’t get a video of your CEO on YouTube within 3 hours, anytime of day or night, you are not ready.”
Jason Baer
Paradigm shift:
Spokesperson to media gatekeepers
New world order:
You are not in control…
“Technology is shifting the power away from editors, publishers, the establishment, the media elite. Now it’s the people who are in control.”
Rupert Murdoch
Your Crisis Challenge…
Unexpected, unauthorized and vetted leakage
Damage by perception
Photos, comments, conversation that conflicts
Repurposed statements
Confusion
The way we were….
House fire every 30 seconds in the US…
Over $120 million in product liability lawsuits in three months…
• Integrated response team• Senior management involvement• Legal counsel• Outside experts• Lives saved testimonials• Government agency support
Challenge: media analysis and interpretation…
Familiar response vehicles…
• Deep background, off record interviews• Outside expert sound bites• Press conferences• Counter-offensive media – lives saved• Satellite feeds• Reports, studies, quote-able sources • Testing demonstrations
What’s changed?
• Time – speed of light• Media – people-driven• Who’s in control – they are
Social Crisis Management
The evolution of how we do business…
• Marketing – the talkers
• Customer service – the listeners
• Social media – huh?? The conversation-ers??
93% of social media users want companies to have an on-line presence…now!
Brand Trust Ladder
INVASIVETelemarketing,
spam
PUSHAds, promos,
direct mail
AUTHENTICExperiences
Events
VALIDATIONTrusted
Influencers
Character of
Customer Interaction
Communication ROI
Relationship Driven
Transactional
Tuned Out Engaged
Trusted
Disbelief
The “full duplex” conversation…
Social media is word of mouth on steroids
Social media can create and solve crises
If Facebook were a country it would be larger than Japan.
• As of July there were 23 million users on Twitter
• Three million Tweets per day
Viral communication happens…
Is today your –
• Dominos• United Airlines• Motrin• Pork Board• Dell???
Social Web alters communications landscape…
Tweets on Swine Flu exceed 10,000 per hour
Crisis Constants…
• Perception leads reality
• Fear drives perception
• Messages/images promulgate fear
Communication now in visual, verbal and video form is instantaneous, global, track-able, available 24/7 and permanent…
The new rules:
What you say IS the message…
The Good News
• Your message conveyed without filter instantly, everywhere…
The Bad News
• Not everyone will like it and you will hear about it…
Social Media
Caution…
Transparency: if it can be known, it will!
Social media platforms do not intersect…
It is a collection of unique city-states…
A new strategic approach…
Flashpoint Response:
• Tweet to Tweet• On Facebook• Blog to Blog• Video to Video
Dominoes big disconnect: press release response to a video
Lesson #1: on-line listening now!!
• Radian6• Cision• Spiral16
Lesson #2:
Fight fire with fire!!
Crisis messaging:
• Humanization of leaders• Plain speaking• Empathy• Responsiveness • Honesty
It’s about conversational communication…
So how does this work?
• Listen• Engage• Respond• Repeat
Your new response tool kit…
• Social media platform• Video• Podcast• Blog• Links• Photo gallery• Whitepapers• Background studies• Experts and credible third parties
Your crisis infrastructure:
• Web platform construction in-house• Twitter embassy• Facebook presence• Listening tools and monitoring
Your crisis team:
• Strategy experts• Message makers• Content creators• Legal
Vital step:
Internal media policy
Parallel employee communication
Honesty is the right policy…
Bob Wheatley
Wheatley & Timmons, Inc
312-755-6200
Blog: brandtrailblazers.com/blog
Web: www.wheatleytimmons.com