Are the largest brands in the world immune to Public Relations (PR) crisis? It is crucial for every brand to remember that anyone can go through a PR crisis even if they think they are not prone to a sudden twist.
The challenge for modern brands is not the high probability of crises arising. The real challenge is the rapid transformation of digital media which turns a crisis into a viral catastrophe. That is why a PR crisis is any company’s worst nightmare. Apart from the real-time nature of news, and media, the chances of the crisis erupting, developing, and getting out of control at an alarming pace are the last thing any company needs.
More than a quarter of crises communicated to the media between 1-24 hours need an immediate crisis management plan to prevent brand health from weakening.
The good news is, it’s an easy solution to track the news media narrative. We can clarify how you can cope with a PR crisis using news media analytics and keep your brand away from the flames.
What is a typical crisis like?
Anything that actually harms your brand is eligible. This is not just controversy or sabotage — e.g., the CEO or an upset employee who says something harmful or plans to offend.
A crisis can also trigger insensitive marketing campaigns that are targeted at mixed clients.
A bandwagon loves the media. In this situation, the affected client is not involved. However, your rivals can use the information provided by authors, publishers, and news sources against you.
Accept the Predictable
One of the most important things for brands is to note that PR crises happen to most businesses and brands. It is not only if it will happen to me, but when will it happen to me. It is thus important to keep track of the media covering the news that can impact your brand.
The best is to hope, but the worst is to create a strategy
As the weather cannot be controlled, similarly what the news and media house post and distribute cannot be controlled as well. But what you can control is your preparation and preparedness for incidents like these.
The worst thing is that an agency cannot ignore news or company mentions, nor does it have a coverage schedule. Knowing the desires of the brand and knowing who drives an idea if you launch a new project, run a campaign, or deal with business is essential to formulate a strategy.
Make the most important reporters/sources list
You can use smart lists, reporters, and media houses you want to work with at the time of crisis to help prepare a strategy in advance.
You’re going to want to look at this from two angles:
- Who authors or publishes the largest number of related articles? &
- What posts have the greatest social engagement?
The reason you want to get these two viewpoints is to get your bases covered by news and social media channels, because if no one bothered to view their news on social media, what good is it to engage with such a reporter or media outlet?
HEALTH BRAND AND CRISIS SURVIVAL
Acceptance, awareness, & clarity are the range of tools, and strategies to use as you develop a media monitoring plan. Here’s how to get the most out of them:
PRESENT AND FUTURE LET THE PAST INFORM
You want to conduct regular news media audits for several reasons and avoid crises. Take a look back at quarterly and seasonal patterns to keep the issue in focus and to prevent critical mass break out.
Assessing audit findings shows trends that can work for audience segments that care.
WHY REGULAR NEWS MONITORING IS RELEVANT
Are the largest brands in the world are not prone to mishaps? Brands must remember that all have PR crises even if you don’t think you’re prone to a sudden twist.
If media raises the target, press or the latest marketing strategy can help reduce negative sentiment which you need to know. It is a simple way to come up with a quick response, especially if negative content is seen and shared by others.
Track social progress, positive thinking, the negative role of problems, and influencers. Track the PR crisis in real-time. The earlier you know what is going on, the better are your chances of managing the response.
UNCOVER WHAT CUSTOMER SENTIMENT IS DRIVING
There is no perfect way to cope with a crisis, which is why brands sometimes muck things up. Each situation is special, so your best step is to look at the news/media feeling for the guidance
Do you need to react? What does the audience need to know most as the crisis unfolds at different moments? Just pay close attention and they will tell you by themselves.
Are you better off staying quiet and letting things die on their own? It can sound counterintuitive, but sometimes it is actually the best thing you can do
Take the time to analyze your conversation-driven emotions and decide whether you must react or not.
ASSIGN KEY POSITIONS TO KEY PLAYERS IN ADVANCE
When you are in the middle of a crisis, it is not the time to educate your employees on how to manage one thing. Things are happening particularly in online news media, so have a plan in place that outlines:
- Who handles the processing of the incoming data?
- Who requires access to the data and how it’s shared?
- Who decides the actions to take based on incoming observations?
- Who is enforcing these actions?
You do not need a team of hundreds, you need a set of small and skillful individuals to recognize and carry out their positions.
Keep in mind that the press is broader than the marketing department. As every facet of your brand can get hit by a crisis, tracking news media data helps every aspect of it. Don’t restrict yourself or the team.
DESIGN YOUR INFORMATED RESPONSE?
Responding may not always be necessary, as stated above, but when it is, whose job is it? And what are they going to say?
When working on PR Crisis Plan, a team should communicate with the public to keep the customer experience in mind. Establish guidelines for those connected with permissions, and rights for team members facing customers and media.
STRATEGIC BRANDS KNOW BEFORE THE FAN HITS THE * STUFF *
A single scandal can ruin a billion-dollar crafted brand. Following PR crises, how vulnerable big corporations are to media coverage.
- Equifax Data Breach Settlement – https://www.ftc.gov/enforcement/cases-proceedings/refunds/equifax-data-breach-settlement & https://www.epic.org/privacy/data-breach/equifax/
- 2 years ago, half of U.S. citizens in Equifax’s massive database had their personal details stolen by hackers. Equifax reached a deal with regulators worth up to $700 million.
- Capital One data breach – https://www.capitalone.com/facts2019/ & https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-49159859
- Personal data of 106 million people stolen from financial services firm Capital One in the US and Canada.
- Snapdeal bears brunt of Aamir Khan’s comments – https://www.prweek.com/article/1374789/snapdeal-dissociates-itself-bollywood-brand-ambassadors-remarks-growing-intolerance-india & https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DpCdsOkdSlo
Many customers took to social media to reveal that they gave low reviews to the Snapdeal app in app stores as a protest against Aamir Khan, and even users began started uninstalling it.
In fiscal 2015-2016, Snapdeal ‘s losses were more than double leading to huge losses of up to ₹ 3,316 crores, while its revenue growth fell. Snapdeal announced a 150 percent rise in losses during the financial year-end of March 31, 2015, from ₹ 1,328 crores.
It is also wise to have a way to track communications to investigate the after-effects. You want to know what works, and what doesn’t, whether this persists or happens again.
PR Crisis prediction is not rocket science, but it can be a long way from analysis and a little imagination. Race for possible scenarios like any other form of crisis, but even though tension is heavy, it is mandated for everyone to stay calm.
THE LARGEST DATA SELECTION ATTACKS WORLDWIDE
INSTEAD OF REACTIVE, BE POSITIVE
The easiest way to deal with a crisis is to stop one in the first place. Media tracking helps you to extinguish fires at the first smell of smoke when applied. An analysis of crisis planning lets the team take action to be more prepared when a disaster hits. And when your well-placed measures are breached in crises, you will still be armed with the skills to fight in real-time, rather than playing catch-up after the reality dawns.
Handle things well even in the most chaotic of situations, you can even win a few fans. What would have been better than that?
