Managing a Flash Crisis: How to Handle Online Criticism of Your Organization

Managing a Flash Crisis: How to Handle

Online Criticism of Your Organization

#12NTCCrisis

Adele Cehrs President, Epic PR Group

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•A flash crisis can erupt •According to PRWeek, Only 9% of staff monitoring social media have previous experience in communications •74% of employees say it’s easy to damage a reputation on social media •49% of decision makers believe social media has made them more vulnerable to crisis

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When negative posts go viral…

Slide 3 The Flash Crisis

Nonprofits aren’t immune to crisis

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What we’re going to do

Eight ways to prepare & respond

to online crises

Scenario training

Nonprofit crisis flowchart

Slide 5 The Flash Crisis

1. Prepare for Potential Crisis Issues

Evaluate the situation & understand potential risks Know the 5 Ws – Who to call, When to call, Where to call and Why to call. Update communication contingency plans Tools you can use

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2. Assemble a Crisis Response Team Be open, yet limit people involved Know the “right” people– legal, PR, digital, executive Follow the plan

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• Can’t address what you don’t know • Assign staff to monitor Twitter/Facebook in real time

3. Monitor Online Platforms

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4. To Respond or to not Respond?

• Keys to understanding when to respond – W.H.O. • Who affects • How affects • Outcome potential

• Positive language • Responding to customer service issues/concerns

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5. Provide Positive Digital Content

• Conversations will happen: Push the “RIGHT” content before & after event • Develop “Event Editorial Calendar” • Offer posts, Tweets, Blogs and LinkedIn updates

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6. Recruit Members & Fans

• Events have fans: Find yours • Influence the Influencers • Structured participation • Provide examples

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7. Be Transparent

• Nobody is perfect – problems will arise • Be honest • Tell how you are generally addressing the issue • Everyone wants to be heard – let attendees know you are listening

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• It’s not personal (usually) • Don’t cloud your judgment – respond rationally; not emotionally • You cannot do EVERYTHING

•Lean on your team •Bring in the experts

8. Remain Calm

Slide 13 The Flash Crisis

We have several scenarios for group discussion

How would you handle a flash crisis?

Slide 14 The Flash Crisis

Scenario #1

A long-standing member of your nonprofit is sharply negative about all aspects of the organization: leaders, staff, strategy, execution, etc. He actively and publicly shares his viewpoints through e-mail, association-sponsored discussion forums, Twitter, Facebook and his own blog, which has a small but dedicated readership. He often uses erroneous or skewed information to support his criticisms and is generally intransigent when confronted with accurate information. To date, the organization’s leaders have been reluctant to respond to him; a few early attempts went badly, and the Board of Directors comforts itself with the argument that “Everyone knows he’s crazy, so we don’t have to worry about him.” However, emboldened by the Board’s silence, he has increased the frequency and the vitriol of his attacks, and is now questioning the Board’s integrity as well as its decisions. The President has asked you to suggest a course of action to deal with him.

Slide 15 The Flash Crisis

Scenario #2

Your nonprofit advocates to bring healthy nutrition to children across the USA. You frequently share industry news, trends, and tips on your Facebook page. Your new staff member accidently publishes a link to a controversial op/ed piece about your industry, and fans and followers interpret it as your company’s stance on the issue, sparking an online debate on your Facebook page. Some posts are getting heated and even inappropriate, as the op/ed topic is a very sensitive issue within your industry. Do you encourage the debate? Where do you draw the line between healthy discourse and unproductive chatter?

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Scenario #3

You are the communications manager for a trade association that represents the statics industry. You’ve got thousands of Twitter followers .You have an intern on staff operating the Facebook and Twitter pages. In a devastating slip-up, your intern mixes up her personal Twitter with the company’s Twitter and posts this: “The membership at my internship is comprised of the most boring, socially awkward people I’ve ever met. Can’t believe I’m working, unpaid to do data entry and talk to these nerds all day.” The post is being re-tweeted like wildfire. Do you address the mix-up? If so, what is your approach? Later, a reporter from Mashable is on the phone and wants a quote from you about the intern-Twitter disaster. You’ve deleted the post but screenshots are all over the internet.

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Scenario #4

You are the social media manager for an organization involved with food safety, sustainability, and promotes organic farming. One of your corporate partners is a high-profile natural grocery chain that claims to sell all-natural, organic products. A group of angry mothers, dissatisfied with the quality of the chain’s produce, have banded together to publicly boycott the company. They’ve established a negative hashtag, launched a blog, and are staging protests on both the grocery store’s Facebook, and your own, for your connecting to the company.

Slide 18 The Flash Crisis

What’s your risk?

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Thank you for your time today!

Adele Cehrs President, Epic PR Group @EpicPRGroupDC www.epicprgroup.com [email protected]