Article by Carlo Occhinegro
Crisis communication is one of the hottest but also most interesting aspects of business communication. Carefully sifting through what to do and especially what not to do is necessary in order to emerge from the crisis not only on our feet but also stronger.
Digital PR in this field, are valuable allies, but even in this case we need to juggle carefully, balancing terms and recipients of our press release before taking proper action. So, we start first with analysis, then compose a strategy, write our communication, send it to selected media and conclude the action with the analysis of the results.
These are 5 aspects that should generally be taken into account in any type of Digital PR activity, but they assume even more relevance when it comes to crisis and reputation: nothing is more unproductive and unsuccessful than a poorly thought-out Digital PR strategy during a corporate crisis situation.
Crisis analysis: the incident and the 5 Ws
First, let us establish what a crisis is by starting with what is called an "incident." This is the first step of the crisis, which is an event that has broken the quiet of the company and causes it to have to make difficult decisions by diverting it from its growth process. From managing the incident, it can escalate into a full-blown crisis. An incident can be, for example, a disappointed and angry customer who leaves a bad review about a product or how he was treated by customer care. If mishandled, such an incident can lead to negative consequences.
That is why, from a Digital PR perspective, one must be able to answer the famous 5 English Ws: Who?, What?, When?, Where? and Why? By giving an honest answer to these questions, putting everything that happened on the plate and also reporting whether the incident was really caused by mismanagement on the part of the company, then the Digital PR specialist will be able to answer the "bonus" question, the one that if handled in the most appropriate way will lead to a peaceful resolution of the incident: How? (How?)
The strategy for managing the crisis: media relations, influencers and apologies
The Digital PR specialist with this data will be able to move on to the most interesting and most delicate part of crisis communication: the drafting of the strategy. This must be woven on the very body of the company and the crisis it is going through in an extremely tailored way: there is no one-size-fits-all strategy, but there are case studies that can help.
In the meantime, we start by analyzing which media outlets may be the most suitable targets: newspapers, radio, TV, blogs, influencers, and opinion leaders. One need not necessarily aim to reach every available media category, but one must map out who according to the crisis situation may be a viable target to reach.
In the meantime, organizing strategy, corporate side, no missteps should be made, indeed, if the crisis tends to press in, the easiest move to make is to apologize: the likes of Mark Zuckerberg, Domenico Dolce and Donatella Versace did it, you can do it too.
The tool for managing the crisis: the press release
Although some still find it an obsolete tool, the press release is properly the best means of communicating with the media, especially in a condition of crisis. The press release is scripta manent and therefore it is possible to include the information that will not be misrepresented because we have proof that what was written is properly the thinking of the company and the entrepreneur who founded it.
Often, thanks to a press release clarifying the situation, launched by the media, many crises have been nipped in the bud. This is precisely why one must know how to write it in the best way, Choosing and calibrating words very carefully, foreseeing uncomfortable questions to be answered in the communiqué itself, while at the same time expressing regret for the incident and intentions to respond.
Going on the attack i.e. sending the press release to the media
Also the email writing in which the press release is sent must match the tone of voice of the text. At this juncture, it is possible that journalists may request interviews. As much as possible, stick to the press release: it is the script, the script to follow.
If you have also included influencers or opinion leaders in the strategy, although each has their own way of communicating, give guidelines that they can use so as not to spoil the work done so far. With influencers, the problem is often that they err on the side of too much creativity even in official communications, but the result depends on how they have been instructed about performing influencer marketing.
Analysis of the results of a crisis
When we reach the end, we collect the results obtained: online and offline publications, interviews, results of influencer marketing campaigns and all the actions we have put in place. From these we move on to social sentiment analysis and in line with all the other areas of the company (marketing, sales and others), we understand how much impact the strategy put in place and all the crisis management had as a function of the Digital PR activity.
The field of crisis communication is certainly the least desired scenario for everyone but also the one that will inevitably confront one's entrepreneurial ascent. The choices at this point are twofold: ignore and let the storm pass by hoping that it will not destroy too much of the work done so far or be prepared, join forces and skills to re-emerge not only unscathed but also with improved positioning.
Article by Carlo Occhinegro
