Speed Kills

Tips for managing crisis in the era of social media

dna13.com driving great brands white paper

You and social media: are you ready when crisis strikes?

In the emerging era of Web 3.0 communication, when crisis strikes an

organization the speed at which it can damage or kill a hard-earned brand
reputation is dizzying.
But an organization under siege can minimize or kill a threat in its tracks with the same lightning speed – if
they’re ready for it.

The power of people using social media networks and acting as citizen journalists rests in their ability to spread
news and opinions in mere seconds. For an unsuspecting organization not ready to respond at a moment’s
notice, it means they can be enjoying uneventful success one minute and fighting for their life the next.

Often, in the center of the storm and leading the response is an organization’s PR team – identifying the source
and scope of the problem, mobilizing key internal decision-makers, developing a rapid response strategy,
executing tactical recovery efforts, and analyzing the results. There’s no time to waste – everything happens in
real time.

It’s not an easy place to be, and there’s little room for error. When disaster strikes, top insiders – from the C-
Suite to PR, Marketing, subject matter experts, Government and Investor Relations, and HR – have to mobilize
fast and respond in lock-step. Messages have to be clear and consistent to douse the flames of crisis, and
restore customer confidence and an organization’s most precious asset – its brand reputation.

Be prepared – crisis can start anywhere, anytime

Crisis can begin from the least expected place. It might be a customer unhappy with a product or service, a
disgruntled or bored employee, a competitor angling to get an edge or, a government department dealing with a
public health threat. It could start with a YouTube video posted one afternoon, and within hours it becomes the
subject of thousands of blog entries and tweets. When your customers or stakeholders are talking to each other
about you, it can mean serious trouble unless you take control quickly.

We’ve all seen examples of brand reputations under attack – in PR circles they’re legendary. True or false, your
customers, employees, stakeholders and competitors have many forums to share and spread their opinions –
real or otherwise – about your product or service.

Whether you get a heads-up on a looming crisis or it takes you by surprise, you have to be focused on what
matters most. And what matters most is reaching the people who are important to you on the channels where
they get their information – as soon as is humanly possible. That’s the first rule in crisis response, right after
getting the facts about the issue.

Tips for managing crisis in the era of social media 1

But that’s still only half the equation. The real edge is being ready for it in the first place. Forward-thinking
organizations include social media channels in their media monitoring and usually get some warning that
trouble might be brewing, although surprises can’t ever be ruled out.

Think it’s impossible to have your ear to the ground in social media settings? It’s not. Some simple up-front
investments in planning can save your skin. In your organization, you already plan for other crises – this should
be one of them.

This white paper provides two examples of how social media channels have been used in crisis settings. In one
case, the organization was ready. In the other, it wasn’t. In both, intelligent thinking ensured the best results for
their stakeholders.

Be prepared for crisis: five tips to know

Do you know what to do if crisis strikes? Make a plan and rehearse it. Make
sure it includes the following:

1 A crisis team. Key members from your organization should understand and use social media –
communicating with their communities of interest. They need to be ready to come together as a
team when trouble is brewing. This is not a job just for PR.

2 Clear messaging. Agree with your team to keep messages simple, clear and straightforward. Build
messages in advance that communicate your commitment to customers, employees and
stakeholders.

3 A strong human network. When crisis strikes, keep your ear to the ground by talking to
customers, stakeholders, media, and other audiences you can trust.

4 Crisis information tools. Build a crisis web site to replace your existing site, or a section to add to
your current site. Practice uploading it.

5 Bench strength. Managing a crisis on social media channels means having the horsepower to
engage. Are your organization’s servers robust enough to manage a surge in traffic?

Tips for managing crisis in the era of social media 2

Anatomy of a crisis
The H1N1 flu virus is the first global flu pandemic to unfold in the Web 3.0 era. Since April when the crisis began,
public health agencies around the world, including the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC), have been
briefing print, TV and radio reporters regularly about the progress of the outbreak.

Traditionally, mass media has been the best way to reach large populations. But in today’s fractured
communication universe, traditional channels are the last place whole segments of society in the U.S. would
turn to for information about infection prevention, public health decisions on who should line up first for the
vaccine, and guidance on everything from using mass transportation to whether or not to keep children home
from school.

Web 2.0 and 3.0 applications are increasingly enabling people to find reliable information not through the filters
of mass media, but directly from the source – in this case the CDC. Or, they may rely on their network of friends
or trusted subject matter experts – via Facebook, blogs, Twitter and other social media channels.

The CDC is fully aware of how and where people gather

and consume information. Its social media group has
Why should you care?
been at the forefront of social networking for more than
Managing crisis isn’t what it used to be.
four years, working with program and communication
Newspaper and TV headlines still count, but the
groups within the organization to reach communities with
greatest potential for threat to your brand
information ranging from disease prevention to natural
reputation may come from social media. Web
disasters – from diabetes care to hurricane evacuations,
3.0 makes connections and conversations
and from food recalls to influenza prevention.
happen much faster. Search engines are able to
When the H1N1 crisis hit, the CDC was not caught like the assemble information that’s quantifiably more
proverbial deer in the headlights. The social media group sophisticated and intelligent, making it easier
simply mobilized to reach and grow its already substantial to find and share intelligent information. The
social network-based followers. good news is Web 3.0 will let you monitor
conversations about your brand reputation
“At CDC we try to provide credible, accurate health much more strategically and respond to crisis
information when, where and how users want it,” explains more effectively and productively. That’s why
Ann Aiken, Health Communications, Centers for Disease you should care.
Control/National Center for Health Marketing/Division of
eHealth Marketing. “In terms of the 2009 H1N1 response,
we quickly developed a social media strategy as part of a coordinated communications plan to send out timely
messages that foster engagement, encourage participation and further open government goals and public
engagement activities.”

That strategy included – and continues to include – a list of channels and tactics designed to reach people who
either use social media as their primary source of information, or those with no or limited access to traditional
mass media channels.

Tips for managing crisis in the era of social media 3

CDC’s tactics include:
» A Twitter profile designed first for Hurricane Ike that was repurposed for the H1N1 outbreak. Before
H1N1 it had about 2,500 followers. It has ballooned to a following of more than 1.2 million.
» The development of ten widgets for people to share with others and place on their social media site and
other web sites.
» Creating online videos on both CDC.gov and social media sites, like YouTube. One video has over 2
million views on YouTube alone.
» eCards encouraging people to get the flu vaccines, wash hands, breastfeed safely, and maintain health
while traveling.
» Launch of an official CDC Facebook page. It currently has more than 50,000 fans.
» A MySpace page and presence on Daily Strength, a social networking site for people needing support.
» Podcasts for people to listen to or download information.
» RSS feeds that have had 43 million views.
» A blog partnership between CDC and WebMD to deliver trusted information. It is WebMD’s second most
popular blog.
» Webinars for bloggers in the business community, pregnant women and children.
» A text messaging pilot program for use in emergencies. In the H1N1 crisis, it is being used to inform
people about the progress of the disease – where to get vaccinated, etc. Up to 3 messages or more per
week can be delivered depending on the nature of the crisis. Also, messages can be targeted to reach
people by age group, gender, zip code and more.
» A mobile web site for people to view H1N1 related material on their cell phone.

Ann Aikin explains the CDC’s work on H1N1 complements other traditional programs designed to reach
vulnerable and at-risk groups – low income individuals and families, the homeless, and displaced people who
may not have a stable home environment but may have access to an email account or telephone to get
messages. Ideal for the current H1N1 crisis, these channels are equally valuable for people looking for jobs or
seeking information about natural disasters and other important public health issues or crises.

In short, the CDC’s social media response to H1N1 was a natural extension of an infrastructure already in place
and ready to be exercised more fully. Unlike many crises, which catch organizations unaware, the CDC’s social
media group – already validated and working closely with program and communication groups inside the
organization – mobilized quickly and responded ably to the pandemic.

Tips for managing crisis in the era of social media 4

A cautionary tale

The CDC’s experience with crisis is Responding to a crisis –

probably a best-case crisis response
scenario. Not every organization has so
easy a time of it.
One crisis of now legendary status that erupted on social
media is called the The Ranger Station Fire, subtitled
How Ford Motor Company Used Social Media to
Extinguish a PR Fire in Less than 24 Hours.
The sub-title says it all. The story’s author, Ron Ploof –
writing it as a cautionary tale of how a crisis can crop up
and become a potential nightmare unless it’s addressed
carefully – encourages every company executive to read it
and beware. In fact, he invites readers “to copy, paste,
send copies to your coworkers, your mom, dentist, etc. ...”
a 6-point checklist
» Take action immediately.
» Use the same media your audiences use.
» Respond appropriately (it can be one-on-one,
or a mass communication approach).
» Be open and transparent when you respond.
» Stay on the high road. Don’t engage in a
negative way.
» Be flexible. Sometimes crisis response
tactics don’t work out the way you want them
to. But don’t give up ... your reputation is at
stake.

In a nutshell, in December 2008 The Ranger Station, a Ford Motor Company fan web site, received a ‘cease and
desist’ letter from Ford. Further, the Ford Motor Company wanted the web site’s owner, Jim Oakes, to give up
The Ranger Station URL and pay Ford $5,000.

Not knowing what to do, Oakes explained his dilemma on the open forum of his site. In less than 24 hours, he
received more than 900 comments, with word spreading beyond his site to other fan sites.

Luckily, Ford had a few months earlier dipped a big toe into social media, having hired consultant Scott Monty to
help change attitudes about Ford in a time when The Big Three were being criticized for their alleged
mismanagement and requests for bailouts.

This work was beginning to pay off, with attitudes starting to shift. But The Ranger Station issue was a setback.

Within hours of Oakes’ posting, Ford had received more than 1,000 negative email messages. Scott Monty took
instant steps to manage the crisis, using Twitter and inviting Tweet recipients to ReTweet with a message that
the problem was being addressed. This kind of viral response mechanism is unique to social media.

With the fire still spreading but with the ReTweets doing their work (reaching nearly 14,000 Twitter accounts
quickly), Monty was able to take the time to consult with Ford’s legal counsel to unpack the problem and,
working with the communications team, to form a response to manage the crisis.

Tips for managing crisis in the era of social media 5

Recognizing he was dealing with passionate Ford fans, Monty decided the best thing to do was communicate
directly with Oakes. Together, they ended the crisis by communicating repeatedly and effectively on The Ranger
Station web site and on Twitter and elsewhere that the problem had been resolved to everyone’s satisfaction.

What Ford Learned

» Everything is public. People can dig up just about any information they want online.
» Companies don’t talk: people do. Scott Monty led the response. Without his skill – particularly his
judgment and communication skills – the response would have been a corporate one and, ultimately,
far less successful.
» Without support, new media fails. Scott Monty had the support of the C-suite. The result is the crisis
started and ended quickly.

Listen up, will ya?

Social media has a number of unique qualities that more conventional media
channels don’t possess.
As Scott Monty understood instinctively when he was
dealing with The Ranger Station crisis, social media is a Tips to get the C-suite on board
more intimate channel than others, and people using it
» Cultivate relationships. Don’t wait for a crisis
engage on an issue when they feel passionately about it.
to have a solid working relationship with
In this setting, a response strategy has to take into
your organization’s senior executives and
account and respect the opinions of people involved.
decision-makers. Establish good lines of
Integral to an effective response is listening – not just communication and trust early.
when a crisis is breaking, but on a day-to-day basis. » Get second opinions. If you see a crisis
Social media channels are here, they’re here to stay, and brewing, validate your instincts with support
as Web 3.0 emerges fully, are becoming more powerful. from others – your organization’s legal
counsel, investor relations leader, chief
The Ford Motor Company doesn’t need to be convinced to
operating officer, etc.
include social media monitoring in its broader
communication investments. Having witnessed how social » Keep the C-suite in the loop. With your
listening/monitoring tools, you can feed
media could help them restore brand value, they learned
them information about shifting trends,
with The Ranger Station issue that it can serve as an
opinions, etc.
early-warning system for crisis while helping to protect
brand reputation.

Listening can be as simple as setting up Google alerts or incorporating more comprehensive listening,
monitoring and analytical tools into existing communication investments. In dna13’s experience, listening and

Tips for managing crisis in the era of social media 6

monitoring help organizations follow trends in customer or competitor thinking in real time. With appropriate
and powerful tools in place, organizations can use their precious resources more strategically and effectively
rather than have them manually monitor the endless volume of media channels and information.

In the Web 3.0 setting, listening and monitoring are no longer a luxury, but a necessity. Brand reputations are
challenging to build, but can be torn down in moments without the right protection in place.

The shift away from conventional news sources to social media channels is reflected in the mix of reporters
attending H1N1 briefings held by public health officials like the CDC – a phenomenon nobody would have seen
even five years ago. Joining journalists who file stories exclusively for mainstream organizations are reporters
who take on double duties – reporting for their mainstream channels and posting blog entries for their news
outlet’s web site. Still others write only for online news outlets and blogs. And then there’s a layer in the social
media environment where interested consumers gather information independently and share it with friends,
family, colleagues and others interested in it.

Any of the above may use Twitter to deliver messages to a large and loyal following because their knowledge of
the issues makes them a trusted source of information. For each of these channels, there’s an audience.

The splintering media universe is reflected in pandemic planning initiatives. Social media plans now take their
place among conventional plans, which include crisis communications plans, risk plans, internal
communication plans, marketing and advertising strategies, media relations plans, and so on. In an ideal
setting, all these plans are linked carefully so that information is disseminated in a coordinated, timely, clear
and transparent manner.

About dna13
dna13 is a leading Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) provider for public
relations and marketing communications professionals around the
globe. As the premier web-based application for media intelligence
and PR management, the dna13 solution provides real-time access to © 2010 dna13 Inc.
TV, print, online and social media content, providing communicators All Rights Reserved Worldwide.
the insight they need to plan marketing strategies, securely align
dna13.com | info@dna13.com
corporate teams, synchronize the delivery of corporate messages,
+1 866.842.1723
and engage with key stakeholders.
Tips for managing crisis in the era of social media 7