Using Social Media for Crisis Communications

Workshop D Thursday, Sept. 29, 2011 ALI Social Media + Government Conference, Victoria, BC

Today we’re thinking about:

¤  Your plan

¤  Social media + traditional communications

¤  What’s in your toolkit?

¤  Content ≠ Messaging

¤  Keeping things simple

Getting social

¤  Say hello to your team

¤  Share some info

¤  Top 3 things

Hello! My Name is

It’s all about

¤ Being human

¤ Being concise

¤ Knowing your boundaries

¤ Knowing your objective

¤ Knowing your tools

Knowing your limitations

¤ Resources

¤ Timeline

¤ Technology

¤ Tactics

¤ Legal Requirements

¤ Accessibility – function over flash, substance over style.

Crisis Management Cycle

Don’t Panic, Prepare.

Being Prepared

¤  Most crises can be predicted

¤  Develop workflow

¤  Identify key people + build on your strengths

¤  Create a clear approval process

¤  Keep info flowing across your organization

It all starts with a plan

•  Who will handle?

•  Who is your audience?

•  How will you reach them?

•  Can you be proactive?

•  Or, will you be reactive?

You CAN predict the future

¤  Reputation

¤  Error in judgment

¤  Public safety + civil disobedience

¤  Earth, wind + fire

¤  Community Relations

How des a Crisis Begin? Sudden or Smoldering Crisis?

of crises start small

Checklist

¤  Issues management + Communications plan

¤  Digital hub

¤  Media monitoring (on + offline)

¤  Quick response team + tools in place

Be a good listener

¤ Being prepared means paying attention.

¤ Monitor traditional, digital, + social media

¤ Set up online monitoring, listening posts

¤ Such as…

Radian 6 or other listening posts

Hootsuite + or Tweetdeck

4 steps to success

¤ Know your team

¤ Know your audience

¤ Know your platforms

¤ Know your limitations

What’s your budget?

¤  Internal soft costs

staff, R&D, training + education

¤ Public-facing information campaigns ad/marketing spend

Influencer/blogger programs

¤ Technology investments brand monitoring, social CRM, social media management systems, grab + go media kits

Crisis Management Cycle

You are media now

Friends + Foes

¤  News media coverage + business magazines (on + offline)

¤  TV news + talk shows

¤  Online message boards + forums

¤  Consumer watch groups

¤  Community associations + interest groups

¤  Citizen journalists

¤  Celebrities + public figures

¤  Trade journals + industry associations

¤  Analyst reports

People want to help

¤  Find them! Let people know how + when. Engage them early.

¤  http://vimeo.com/29259763

Let people in

Community matters ¤  Crisis mapping, instant feed back, immediate responders,

search + rescue

we can be your biggest allies

¤  The Vancouver Riots Clean-up

¤  The earthquake in Japan

¤  BC Forest Fires + Floods

(crisis hits!)

Are you ready?

Crisis Hits v  Plan activated v Website + Social

Media Outposts deployed

v  Team Dispatched

Ø  Initial media

reports Ø  Influencers +

critics reporting on Twitter/ Blogs

>6 Hours

v News Release distributed

v  Team in place

>12 Hours

v  Regular updates

v  Key figures available for Media

Ø  Public sharing info, myths + questions through

Ø  social media

Ø  Main narrative is established

>24 Hours

v  Establish key position + authority

v Myth busting w/ Social Media

v News

Conference

v  Video response

Ø  Editorials in the Press + Social Media

A Day in the life…

Where to Respond Website

q  News room

q  Homepage call-out

q  Response microsite/ blog

Social Media

q  Facebook

q  Twitter

q  YouTube

q  Existing community forums/pages

Traditional Media

q  News Release + Media Advisory

q  News Conference

q  Interviews

q  Letters to editor + commenting

Some things to think about

¤ Who are you speaking to?

¤ Different audiences have different needs

¤ Who + how many people will be speaking on your behalf? !

It’s always personal

¤  Is there a fire near my house?

¤  Where is the smoke coming from?

¤  Is my road closed?

¤  Is my food safe?

¤  What do you want me to do? !

Your response

¤  Is proactive

¤  addresses the concern

¤  uses appropriate language + tone

¤  is consistent

¤  has room for multiple voices

¤  is accessible – think mobile

¤  + drives people back to your main info site

Your digital hub

¤  Is easy to use + update

¤  Is built with tools that you know

¤  Puts function over flash

¤  + substance over style

BC GOV examples

Posterous Spaces

Tumblr

Traditional news is STILL vital

¤  Know your medium

¤  Determine who will do the interview

¤  Keep it short

¤  Stick to few focused points

¤  Follow up

Why video works

¤  Powerful

¤  Gives a big picture view

¤  Sharable content

¤  YouTube is the world’s second largest search engine

¤  Doesn’t have to be polished

Get your message out there

BC Forest Fires Binta Lake video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vJIhudICxQ

¤  Raw footage

¤  Huge media pickup

Go where the people are

¤  The crowd is always there

¤  And willing to help

¤  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0-UtNg3ots&feature=related

Think about roles + responsibilities

¤  Information bulletins/public notices

¤  Spokesperson message lines

¤  Media relations

¤  Issue identification & management

¤  Conference calls with agencies/partner groups

Start small + build on success

¤  Expand online presence as needed

¤  Community building + outreach

¤  Revamp/refine your communications plan

¤  Create a designated one-stop shop

¤  Train your team members early

It’s now out of the lamp

Crisis Management Cycle

5 things to keep in mind

¤  Social media takes time, people, money + technology

¤  Know your team + your audience

¤  Not all communities will have access to or will want to use social media

¤  Smartphone videos are fine

¤  Use tools that are available

Signs that your efforts are working

¤  Sense of community + lots of dialogue

¤  Active community monitors itself

¤  Answers, corrects misinformation + responds to requests

¤  Feedback is immediate

¤  Two-way interactions built credibility/trust

Successes

¤  Sense of community + lots of dialogue

¤  One place to get info online

¤  Real-time public feedback

¤  Media coverage of social media approach

Challenges

¤  Staffing resources + technology investments

¤  Limited info from local governments + other stakeholders

¤  Data or content is difficult to read/navigate

Time to Assess + Celebrate Wins

¤  Post-mortem with all team members

¤  Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities

¤  What did you do really well

¤  What was the biggest time suck + not worth the effort

¤  Be honest + consider anonymity

Take all feedback as an opportunity

¤ Continue to take all your communications into the open ¤ address concerns + gently correct record

¤  Being helpful also means being present ¤ Regularly check your social media channels

¤  Look for questions, comments + criticisms ¤ Respond promptly

 

What’s next?

Going forward

¤  Ongoing silo busting

¤  Developing best practices

¤  Finding and partnering with new communities

¤  Building a community of practice

christine@kendallwood.ca

@chicken_scratch

/kendallwood.ca