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Online Reputation Management Tips october 2008 * the new media insider * fletcher prince |
Greetings!
October is an exciting month for the public relations community. We're wrapping up Fletcher Prince promotional items and a buzz-worthy basket of goodies for the upcoming Washington PR Woman of the Year Award Luncheon.
In a world ruled by 24/7 news, the Internet, social media, blogging and word-of-mouth; online reputation management is a must. Fletcher Prince decided it was time to address the potential crises we face and how to effectively plan for and manage them. Helping you understand how to prepare for crises and manage your online reputation is part of what The New Media Insider is all about.
Welcome to online reputation management. This month's issue of The New Media Insider takes a closer look at crisis communication, how to prepare for crises, creating key messages based on what the media will want to know, the importance of communicating with stakeholders during a crisis, and what to include in your crisis communication plan. Kristen Powers, Public Relations Specialist, Fletcher Prince |
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Monitoring The Conversation on Social Media
Monitoring social media is a key part of your online reputation management. You can either use a paid monitoring service, or do it yourself. You can use search engines like Yahoo! Alerts (alerts.yahoo.com) and Google Alerts (google.com/alerts) to monitor what is being said about you in the news and on the web. You'll also want to check blogs, facebook, and search.twitter.com. Twitter is a great way to monitor conversations about your company or crisis; you will want to respond to everything being said about you, both good and bad. Whether you decide to be proactive or responsive in communicating during your crisis, it's important that you do something and never sit back and let others do the talking for you. |
Preparing Before A Crisis Hits The Fan
 By Kristen Powers, Public Relations Specialist, Fletcher Prince
In planning ahead, it is necessary that you predict every possible crisis and how you will respond to each. This means coming up with several key messages for each one. You should also design key messages for potential negative publicity. Clearly outlining potential crises and how each will be handled will help the crisis management team work quickly and effectively in the time of crisis.
Make sure you have the most up-to-date information about your company, its employees and volunteers, and local emergency contact information.
Finally, practice makes perfect. Have your crisis team practice handling crises every few months to ensure they will know what to do when the real thing hits.
Robert Deigh, of RDC Communication, notes that it's important to get to know reporters during the good times so that you can work with them during a crisis as part of your preparation.
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What Goes In A Crisis Plan
Create a short and readable crisis plan.
It should be 3 pages MAX- Think about it, members have to be able to read and implement the plan quickly during a crisis. Outline all possible crises. Create four or five main messages for each possible crisis scenario. Clearly state the crisis strategy, including what actions to take for each possible crisis . Include:
- The names of public spokespersons and members of crisis team.
- A list of home, office, and cell phone numbers of all crisis team members.
- The person who will brief your staff on the problem as soon as possible.
- Statements, fact sheets, template letters, and news releases that address the most likely crises.
- Phone numbers for all possible suppliers, partners, investors, and subcontractors who might be involved or will want to know about the situation.
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During A Crisis, It's All About Communicating With Stakeholders
 By Kristen Powers, Public Relations Specialist, Fletcher Prince
When communicating with your stakeholders before or during a crisis, it is important to be honest and upfront. When possible you should let them know what you're doing before you do it. Being proactive in communicating with stakeholders during potential crises may help to avoid them or make them easier to manage.
For example, several years ago I worked for a company that had just been bought out by a larger company and was going through some changes. In doing so they were letting some old employees go and bringing in new members. Because the employees were always the last ones to know what was going on, the rumor mills ran wild. Employees panicked and wondered if their jobs were secure. This led to an entire break down in the relationship between employees and their superiors, and trust in the new company fell. If top officials would have simply communicated with employees about what they were doing and why, they could have avoided much of the crisis.
Communicating with stakeholders and providing explanations makes employees feel like they are an important part of your community and leaves little to the imagination. However, it is equally important to design strong messages and think carefully about what channels you will use to distribute them. During a crisis any internal messages are likely to end up on reporter's desks. So when writing a message, think about this, and design a message you would want reporters to receive. |
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Five Things The Media Will Want To Know About Your Crisis
When creating key messages for the media and preparing spokespeople for potential questions keep what the media will need to know in mind:
1. What happened?
-Who is involved?
-Are there deaths/injuries?
-How much is the estimated damages?
-Did you suffer damages to operation?
2. Why did it happen?
-What are the causes?
-Who was at fault?
3. What is being done?
-What are you doing to keep it from happening in the future?
4. When will it be over?
5. Has it happened before?-Were there warning signs? -What could have been done to prevent this? |
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Fletcher Prince is donating a "Buzz Basket" filled with honeybee related products to a benefit raffle sponsored by Washington Women in Public Relations. Partial proceeds from the raffle will be donated to the Arlington, Virginia nonprofit organization, Doorways for Women and Families. The basket will be available at "The Washington PR Woman of the Year Award Luncheon" November 5, 2008, at the historic Mayflower Hotel in downtown Washington, DC. The basket is valued at more than $50 and contains Virginia honey, Burt's Bees skin care products and cosmetics, an enamel business card holder, and European candies.
In addition to the raffle donation, Fletcher Prince has also donated $1,200 in cash to Washington Women in Public Relations to support the event, as well as pro bono graphic design services. Fletcher Prince's Mary Fletcher Jones is volunteer co-chair for the event.
The company chose the honeybee theme since the word "buzz" is associated with public relations. Fletcher Prince is also launching a promotional campaign for its business this fall, called "Buzz: It's What We Do." The company will display their new campaign materials at the event. | |
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Your friends at Fletcher Prince can help you develop a public relations plan or crisis communication plan that's right for your company or nonprofit organization. Thanks for forwarding this email newsletter to people who will enjoy it.
Sincerely,
David Hyson, Mary Fletcher Jones, and Kristen Powers
Fletcher Prince
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