Shabbir Safdar is giving tips about how to monitor and deal with a crisis online.
Content that gets posted online stays online. Forever. If Google sees it as the most relevant content it will still be there years later. You can move it off page one by posting lots of positive content.
Ben Popken’s (Consumerist.com) 3-step systen for fixing a corporate gaffe:
- Admit you were wrong
- Stop doing the wrong thing
- Make a material gesture of apology
A good example is Circuit City and Mad Magazine. When Mad did a spoof on Circuit City was badly handled and it hit the AP wire. The communication department then dealt with the crisis in a very smart way – they did a ‘mea culpa’ in a very amusing way and the AP update was very postive.
Motrim Moms – some moms got offended and it escalated online. (Tip: Use Google insights for search to see spikes of searches for your brand.)
How to do it wrong.
- Attempt to suppress some statement online. Particularly criticism, parody or satire, which are protected by the 1st Amendment
- Cease and desist letters – those who try to suppress content online only make them more popular
- Enforce your trademark like a bully. (You get bonus points for picking on brand evangelists!)
- Talk about the critism publicly – repeat the allegations or criticism
- Refuse to acknowledge a burgeoning crisis
- Go silent on all fronts – don’t put out any other content
PR should make partnerships with customer service and legal. Good customer service can avert crises – for example if United had admitted wrong doing and apologized the video about United Breaks Guitars would never have seen the light of day.
Educate legal and customer service – show them some case studies. Work out a plan ahead of time.
And build a community of fans before you need them.
