Crisis communication is a specialty within the world of public relations and marketing that helps businesses, non-profit organizations, government entities and the like respond to events that could have a negative effect on reputation. This type of communication can also refer to advisories of impending events, such as strong tropical storms or hurricanes, that have the potential to harm the public in a specified area.
Essentially, crisis communication is the reverse of traditional public relations as communicators are attempting to mitigate damage from negatively-earned media exposure. Sometimes, communicators refer to crisis communication as putting out a fire for a brand that is in trouble.
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What Defines a Crisis?
Cassling defines a crisis as an event that rises quickly and unexpectedly. Examples of crises are natural disasters such as floods and blizzards, fires, accidental exposure to toxic chemicals, workplace violence and equipment and products recalls. In addition to damaged reputations, crises can also result in a loss of profits, litigation, job loss and much more. The rise of social media int he last decade has led most crisis efforts to revolve around reputation management.
Developing a Plan
Communication efforts revolving are crises don’t just appear out of the blue. Most larger companies and organization already have a detailed plan in place before an unexpected event occurs. Without proper preparation, notes Bernstein Crisis Management, damage resulting from an unexpected crisis will become even worse. Having a crisis management team in place with designated spokespeople are part of a prepared plan.
Plans should be detailed and split into sections that can be used as necessary depending on the crisis and the communication needed. Details should include purpose, activation criteria and procedures that include internal and external communications and specified personnel to accomplish each step. Anyone identified as a spokesperson should undergo training on how to handle themselves in a crisis situation. Contacts and a media list should be developed as part of the plan to ensure that all pertinent companies and government entities will receive information during a crisis.
The Importance of Websites
Websites are one of the most critical tools in crisis communication. Placing updated information and additional resources that both the public and media can use can help reduce the number of times you have to repeat information, thus saving time, which can allow you to move on to other tasks. Some organizations create a dark website for such purposes, meaning it will only go live when a crisis occurs.
Audience and Plan Execution
During a crisis, multiple audiences must be addressed. The plan devised must address every applicable audience, including employees of the organization, along with family members, government officials and the public at large. All messages communicated should be cleared with appropriate management and legal authorities before being disseminated. Make sure that everyone involved in the operation knows what can and cannot be said.
Essentially, crisis communication is the art of cleaning up and minimizing the effects of negative actions. As a specialized form of public relations, it can be accomplished either in-house through a dedicated communications department or through a public relations agency that specializes in this type of communications.