Pushing the Panic Button: Crisis Communications
Posted by Jeanie Croope, WKAR
Panelists: Willetta Gillis‑McGee, VP/Partner, Fleischman Hillard, Kansas City
Alex Greenwood, AlexanderG Public Relations, Kansas City
Tom Fischer, Wyoming PBS
Monitoring ‑‑ emonitor through tweetdeck, google and FB alerts, etc.
Activation ‑‑ have a "dark" crisis site that is ready to go ‑‑ just populate and activate it. Also have your response decision tree in action. The decision tree is easy to follow on the powerpoint. I'll try to put it into words. Consider that a post is written (or article, etc.). If it is not negative, post a thank you. You're done.
If it IS negative, as: Is the author influential? (If not, no action is required)
If the author IS influential, either acknowledge the error or difference in opinion; defend your position or correct mis‑information presented. Her case study involved Domino's Pizza food tainting scandal and how they turned it into a sales increase of 14 percent. Her list of Five Things to Do Today:
1) Rethink your crisis team. It should reflect social media users, different ages, etc.
2) Conduct a digital landscape audit.
3) Conduct a vulnerability audit (war games)
4) Brainstorm online response decision tree.
5) LISTEN. And Monitor. Alex was at Oklahoma City during the bombings. He reminded us ‑‑ when in crisis, stay calm ‑‑ not "hair on fire." Key issues that can get to public broadcasting include funding, your right to exist and issues of special interest groups. "Most people want to be heard. They don't expect you to fix it. They want to vent." A good response is "I'll register your complaint and it will play a role in our decisions." Be clam, listen and have your frontline staff READY. Tips:
1) Plan ahead for a likely scenario.
2) Have key messages prepared and use them effectively.
3) Monitor ‑‑ Be on the radar of friends and enemies alike.
4) Media Training ‑‑ make sure your spokesperson is prepared to face the media.
5) Fill the void. Keep organized as much as you can. People will fill in the blanks for you and it will leak.
6) Internal communication ‑‑ pull your staff together and give them what you can and say "this is what we'd like the world to know." Get the team in on the effort and fill in regularly.
7) Keep supporters (Board, etc.) filled in and knowing what to say and what NOT to say. It is both courteous and smart to do this.
8) BE CALM. This, too, shall pass.
9) Be as honest as you can ‑‑ especially when legalities are involved.
10) Learn from crisis. After it's over, do an analysis. Tom Fischer, Wyoming. Wyoming was cyber‑attacked and hacked by the same groups that attacked PBS ‑‑ LulzSec, a splinter from the hacktivist collective Anonymous. They published a member list from their website and eNews subscribers. Procedure: Wyoming contacted by PBS Public Interactive. It was posted in pastebin.com, 400 email addresses were taken and each received an email from freedomhub. One hacker tweeted it. Wyoming immediately removed the compromised data from the database They contacted the webmaster at Pastebin and requested the post be removed (it was)
E-mailed all to let them know what happened and apologize, ensuring them their financial information was safe.
Contacted law enforcement Within 24 hours, Pastebin removed the site. Some members replied to the email, ranging from "thanks for letting me know" to "remove my info" to "how could you let this happen." Less than 15 responded. After:
They determined no financial information or federal ID information was compromised.
Determined they acted appropriately for the condition.
Determined that updated security measures were needed including a double back-up system, regular update of security software and creation of notification updates is the server was hacked. Tom's Recommendations 1) Don't panic -- be calm
2) Don't wait -- react quickly (email, social media)
3) Choose your words carefully
4) Keep perspective
5) Make sure people are in the know appropriately.
6) Create a plan!
7) Report to law enforcement.
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