6 Tips For Effective Crisis Communication In The Event Of A PR Emergency

1. Establish Protocols That Help Your Company Prepare For A PR Emergency

The best way to deal with a crisis is to get ahead of the problem. Your company needs to have a plan for how you’ll deal with a PR emergency far before it occurs. That means taking simple steps like creating Google Alerts for your company, tracking what’s being said about your company on social media and other outlets, having a crisis communications firm on retainer to help in the event of a PR emergency, and working with that crisis communications firm to come up with a crisis communications plan for how a PR emergency will be dealt with.

2. Respond Immediately

The more time you give for speculation, the less control you’ll have of the messaging in a PR emergency and the more time rumors will have to run rampant. Once rumors have begun, it’s hard to reel them back in, even with the release of accurate information. That’s why it’s so important that your response is quickly, truthfully, and accurately to a PR emergency.

3. Draft An Initial Statement

The best course of action is to immediately bring together trusted members of your team, alongside a crisis communications firm, and hash out your initial statement that will be made to the public, the media, stakeholders, or all company employees. This statement should be truthful, demonstrate accountability, and if possible, give concrete steps as to what will be done to remedy the situation. However, the first statement can be as simple as letting stakeholders know that you are assessing the situation and will provide further information soon. Keep in mind, releasing this statement quickly will help maintain trust amongst customers, stakeholders, and employees while you work on next steps forward.

4. Keep Your Messaging Consistent

Once an initial statement is made by the crisis communications team and approved by the company, it’s important that others within the company don’t answer follow-up questions about the event. That's because having inconsistent messaging can cause lasting damage to your brand. Instead, all follow-up statements should be dealt with by the crisis communications team and vetted through the company before being made public.

5. Monitor Rumors

Monitoring rumors on social media and in the press can be incredibly helpful in drafting additional statements or knowing what questions might come up and preparing statements for how you will answer them. Thankfully, this service can be provided by crisis communications firms, like 406 Strategic Communications so you don't have to worry about doing this yourself during a crisis situation.

6. Hire A Crisis Communications Firm