MANAGE & LEAD
All Munoz and his team needed to do was establish a
company core value statement and a customer value
proposition. That statement should be central to any
actions taken during a tough situation.
When you are in crisis communication mode, things will
be moving a mile a minute. You won’t be able to monitor
everything every company representative or social media
manager says and posts.
What you can ensure is that they convey the most
important information. If you remind your customers why
they came to you in the first place, you have a far better
chance of keeping them around. You can stop the unselling.
04 Create communication guidelines // Once you’re
clear on the basic messaging, decide how to deliver it.
Create guidelines so anyone writing social media posts
knows what’s expected of them. Here are some guidelines:
Determine rules for communicating with key stakeholders
and executives.
Set network-specific guidelines for communicating on
social media (since you’ll have different content and
format considerations for each platform).
Decide on a process for communicating updates through
websites and other organization channels not covered by
social media.
For employees not on the crisis communications team,
create guidelines advising them on how to respond to
inquiries. Don’t forget the training!
To ensure you’re even more prepared, create some basic
templates.
By preparing those now, you’re more likely to be effective
when a crisis does break.
05 Monitor updates // In Jay Baer’s words, “buy some
binoculars.” Get a monitoring tool that will help you figure
out what’s being said about you or your company, and
where it’s coming. If you have a social media manager,
that person should be skilled and report to you regularly. If
you’re trying to track everything happening on social media
without using a listening tool, good luck.
DURING A CRISIS
Get it under control. Determine how you’re to use your
plan when the going gets tough.
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Insurance Company
Serving Kansas since 1888
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201 Brenneke St. | Bremen, KS 66412
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www.bfmic.com
Email: bremen@bfmic.com
01 Pause your scheduled posts // With a panic
breaking out around you, it’s easy to forget that you have
a full social queue. You can’t afford to accidentally post
“Happy National Freedom Day” when your CEO was just
arrested for fraud, for example.
02 Publicly acknowledge what’s happening // You
won’t be able to hide for long, especially on social media.
Make clear that you know there’s a problem, and you’re
working to fix it. An honest acknowledgment may still
get some angry responses, but it should buy some time.
The middle of a looming crisis is not the time to say,
“No comment.” The phrase suggests a lack of candor,
conveys a sense of secrecy and suggests you know
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