Crisis Communications & the Digital World

Vincent R. HarrisHarris Media LLC

Presented at University of TexasSeptember 17

We live in a 24 second news cycle.

When it turns against us, what can we do?

3-Screen Approach

Average Consumer Has…

+Television on the wall+Laptop on lap

+Cell phone in hand, texting/surfing Facebook

The internet vs. television

Oops! There’s a Problem

• The first place people go to find out more information on a breaking news event or crisis is the web

–Internet Most Trusted Source of Information (POS Study)

–People trust their friends more than ads

–Recent study showed people trust Wikipedia more than local news (YouGov)

Consumers Seek Further Information

• Intent to find out more information makes SEARCH results critical during a crisis–Google

–Bing/Yahoo/other are a third of the search market

• 75% of users don’t go past first page

• 53% of organic clicks go to first link

Your Truth vs. Their Truth

• Your current online properties are your best friend in times of crisis

–They are pre-baked into Search Engine Results

–They have organic traffic

• Truth/Facts Page?

–Highlight with a ribbon/different color tab to draw attention

Engagement• Depending on the depth of the crisis you will need to engage

with the chattering web class (it’s scary I know!)

• I know what you’re going to ask…but, won’t that make it worse?

–They’re already talking about it.

–Either you get your point across and give your side or you get branded.

Engagement: Facebook• Engaging in comment section of Facebook pages

–Using “Top Comments” as a barometer of who to respond to

• Having a leader or yourselves use Facebook to issue a statement

–Promoting that statement to your LIKES via ad dollars to be seen more

–Engagement is the content being seen on Facebook (EdgeRank)

• Asking for help from the community to SHARE the word and SPREAD THE TRUTH about the crisis

• Depending on the situation, an engaging Q & A held within the platform could be helpful

• Use graphics, they stand out more

• Pre-scheduling posts

• Highlighting supporters/ supporter comments

Engagement: Facebook• Your “Talking About” Number is the lifeblood of your page. Aim for as high as possible. 20%+ of your total page LIKES.

• If your “Talking About” is low, less people have interacted and your content is being punished. In turn when a crisis happens, your ability to respond is hindered without paid means.

Engagement: Twitter• Twitter is likely where the news broke, thus it needs to be a medium from which to respond

–Quickly

• Hashtag promotion? Ads.Twitter.com

• Asking for RETWEET of statement

• Klout/ analytics.twitter.com

• Pre scheduling tweets (SocialOomph)

What do People Say They Trust?

Search Advertising

Search ads are the most persuasive form of digital advertising

• 41% of people don’t know difference in paid vs. organic

• Most important as consumers are proactively looking

Contextual Based Paid Advertising

Insert yourself into news stories and blogs talking about the problem

• Deliver your side.

• “Find out the truth about X!”

What Are Folks Searching and Talking About?

• TweetDeck.com is the best free tool for monitoring and rapid response

• Meltwater for paid

• Google Trends

• Insights from Google Analytics/ website referrals

Tip: WooBox Page Tabs on Facebook

Brand Problem: Too Little Too Late

Brand Problem: Too Little Too Late

Questions?

vincent@harrismediallc.comharrismediallc.com

@vincentharris