Got Your Crisis Communications Plan In Place To Save Time, Money and Your Reputation?
The phone will not stop ringing. Editors, news producers, influencers, and reporters want to talk to you ASAP…
“What are next steps?”
“How do you feel about this?”
“Where are you right now?”
But it’s not what you think.
This is not a positive scenario where media members are interested in broadcasting good news about you and your business or practice. No. Without your knowledge, one of your administrative assistants posted a very short line on X and Instagram about one of your customers. It was a private matter, but she had no clue.
The post went viral in a matter of seconds, and it’s far from being private any longer. In fact, every type of national media is trying to reach you to get your insights –Immediately! It was a complete surprise that came out of nowhere.
Now, you must focus a massive amount of time, effort, and resources on fixing this problem and repairing your hard-earned reputation… if you can.
Yes, if you are not prepared, this can happen to you. One little communication mistake like this can escalate fast… so you have two choices; you can prepare now or just wait for that one, “innocent” remark to turn your business or practice upside down.
Crisis Communications Begins Before A Crisis.
Crisis Communications Begins Before A Crisis.If you don’t have an official crisis communications plan in place, now is the time to start and:
• Create processes.
What happens if “XYZ” happens in regard to the media? What strategies and tactics are in place to deal with each potential issue? Do you and your staff know what to say to media members?
• Train your team.
Do your team members know what to do (and what NOT to do) when a crisis happens? How do they act? This is information they should know backwards and forwards so that they do the right thing under pressure.
• Prep the appropriate landing pages, emails, blogs, videos, and other content.
How do you communicate and what messaging do you convey? Write the appropriate content in advance so it can go live immediately via the right mediums.
• Review and update this information regularly.
Technology, news, and trends change constantly, and your team and crisis communications plan need to keep up accordingly. Schedule a crisis communications review each month and change it relevant to what’s going on locally, nationally and worldwide.
It does not take much for a simple little statement to turn into a PR nightmare. Instead of being reactive and wasting resources trying to repair your reputation (and dealing with the massive amount of stress that comes with it), think like a Boy Scout and “Be Prepared.”
Prep Now, Save Thousands of Hours and Dollars Later.
Implement a crisis communications plan as soon as possible (get help from an experienced publicity and media expert if necessary). Then, everyone on your team will know what to do when something happens in a relaxed manner. Plus, you can control your messaging, save time and money – and most important – turn a potential negative event into something positive for your business or practice.
Author Melanie Rembrandt is an award-winning publicist, content strategist and speaker who helps overwhelmed entrepreneurs have more time to thrive! If you want to boost sales, awareness and credibility fast with a unique combination of direct response public relations, targeted copywriting, and ghostwriting, get more information at Rembrandt Communications®, https://www.rembrandtwrites.com.
