Crisis Communication in the Digital Age: A Mini workshop

Jane Jordan-Meier & Dave Bathur 29 June 2012

Agenda • What’s changed and what remains the same

• The characteristics of a social media crisis

• The processes required for effective digital crisis

management/communication

• What the point is for Continuity Planning?

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Meanwhile, in the Hunter Valley…

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3:10pm AEST

3:15pm AEST

3:40pm AEST

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3:47pm AEST

4:02pm AEST

Presenter

Presentation Notes

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wW4ItqEkuWQ

4:04pm AEST

4:12pm AEST

4:21pm AEST

4:44pm AEST

4:59pm AEST

110 mins total

Not an unusual situation

12:45pm AEDT

1:47pm

2:28pm

Presenter

Presentation Notes

One of the 4 engines of a Qantas A380, the prized flagship, undergoes a ‘catastrophic failure’. Pieces of debris rain over the Indonesian island of Bantam. Passengers take photos of the wing with their phones.

So, what hasn’t changed?

Stage Two Unfolding Drama Stage Three Blame Stage Four Fallout /Resolution

Stages of a Crisis Stage One Fact Finding

Presenter

Presentation Notes

Preparation Timely response Team work Human behaviour Predictable patterns Smoldering issues 75% of crises come from smoldering issues

What has changed?

Why Crisis Management

has Changed Forever

Presenter

Presentation Notes

Then, one golden hour Now, 15 minutes Then, a few stakeholders Now, multiple stakeholders, influencers, etc Then, radio, print, TV media channels Now, multiple channels, platforms and contact points

Importance of Hashtags • Compact

• Simple & easy to understand

• #foodsafe

• by partners

• Low character count

• Organic - #bnefloods

• Test BEFORE crisis

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What is Social Media

Presenter

Presentation Notes

When we talk social media, we are actually talking about quite a narrow slice, selected on their impact on other aspects on society, rather than their mainstream usage. Facebook, YouTube, Twitter

Origins of crises

Source: Altimeter, 2011

Taking Control; but not as you know it

4 steps to social planning:

The steps to being able to engage quickly: 1. Prevention

2. Preparation

3. Process

4. Personal

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1. Prevention: Know your crisis circuit-breakers

Smoldering Issues

75%

Source: Altimeter, 2011

Presenter

Presentation Notes

Parties responsible for triggering a crisis: 1. Customers, 2. Organisation itself, 3. Opposing stakeholders Listen: Know your audience Social Brand v Social Business Have your policies in place: User Page Policies Privacy Policies Internal social media policies Crisis Media Management Policy

Invest in listening

2. Preparation: Lay the foundations early

Know your platforms • Constant change

o Using #tags on Twitter

o “Promote” apology posts

o What works for mobile (YouTube, FB tabs)

o Newsfeed v Page visits (different behaviour in a crisis)

o Geotarget & language target

o Reserve twitter likely handles

• Know what your platforms are for: o What is the role of FB v YouTube v Website v Twitter?

Social Media “War Room”

Gatorade Partnered with IBM and Radian6 to build this “war room”

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Presenter

Presentation Notes

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QkCWqIMsk2M&feature=player_embedded

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QkCWqIMsk2M&feature=player_embedded�

INSERT International WarRoom DESIGN

Presenter

Presentation Notes

Australian businesses that are the arm of an international company face a specific and different challenge: staying on top of what HQ are doing / mandating, as well as all their partner arms during a fast moving crisis. A system designed for those on the rim (rather than the hub) so that they may stay abreast of changes that happen across the world, as well as well as policy decisions by HQ

3. Process: Know what you’ll do, before you do it

Develop and test internal processes

• Crisis Processes o The new crisis team: drawn from every part of the business: Ops, CS, PR,

Legal

o Content creation: Text? Video? Clear, quick approval process?

• Moderation framework o Brainstorm QA

o Risk Assessment: How are topics / keywords flagged?

o Know how MF integrates with other departments’ workflows (PR, CS)

4. Personal: Get comfortable being naked

Rules of Engagement • Be Human

• Take ownership • Don’t take it personally – anonymity breeds

nastiness

• Tone: transparent, not verbally tricky “Some people may have been offended by…” (ie. their issue)

So what does this mean for Continuity

Planning?

New Rules of the Game • All about speed

o No longer a golden hour, but a golden 15 mins

• No longer control at best manage

• Be ready to engage

• Multi-disciplinary teams • Listen, monitor: know your platforms

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Jane Jordan-Meier

www.crisismanagementbook.com

@janejordanmeier (Twitter)

[email protected]

“The Four Highly Effective Stages of Crisis Management: How to Manage the Media in the Digital Age” published by CRC Press,

May 2011

Australia: + 614-14 645 507

USA: +1-707-386-9864 33

Thank You! Do connect.

David Bathur

Strategy Director, Made With Ed

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