5 Tips on How Not to Step on a Media Landmine During a Crisis

5 Tips on How Not to Step on a Media Landmine During a Crisis

Do you worry about what to do if your or your organization is suddenly thrust into the media spotlight? If reporters showed up unannounced at your office, can you clearly communicate with the media? A crisis can happen to any organization, at any time.

There are a few key steps that every organization and business needs to take in order to be prepared for crisis. The following are the five tips for preparing for a communication crisis and for avoiding vulnerability with the media.

Rally the troops! Identify your crisis communications team. The world of social media has shortened response time to almost zero and eliminated the leisure of time to plan. Do your crisis communications planning before the crisis occurs and keep your crisis team small and accessible for the duration of the crisis.

Identify your spokesperson. Ensure you have one spokesperson designated to respond to potential crises with one consistent message. Appoint this person in advance and ensure they are trained in advance to handle the 6 tactics and questions that a reporter can ask. Preparation and appropriate training is important for your organization's spokesperson's effectiveness in handling the media.

Become a fact finder immediately after the emergency or crisis occurs. Find out what happened? What time? What area was affected? Were there any injuries or fatalities? What's the extent of the damage? Knowing the answers to these questions enables your organization to answer the tough questions and have factual responses for the media.

Have at least a general statement prepared. If you are unable to speak on the specifics of the crisis, have a general statement prepared for immediate release. Be sure to express empathy, if appropriate, and include a call to action - e.g. "We are working with all those involved to ensure everyone's safety."

Don't turtle on the media! Delaying a response or not giving one can be potentially as damaging as, or even more damaging than, any legal consequence. Consult both your legal counsel and your PR professionals to discuss and weigh the consequences. Including a social media strategy in the mix is also important. Word travels fast online; therefore, you need to be quick on the draw with your response. There are many options and strategies you can use: a video or a written statement can be easily and quickly executed and delivered if your organization has a social media strategy in place.

Never let bad press be your last press! Instead, plan for any incident and with the proper training in place, you can help prevent a minor incident from turning into a major disaster.

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