Social media DO’s and DON’Ts: 5 hints for successful crisis-management

by Urs E. Gattiker on 2010/08/05 · 57 comments 10,912 views

in a dos and don'ts

Companies using social media to improve engagement require web relations specialists for constant monitoring. This means that staff spend their time on Twitter or Facebook engaging with clients and helping them find solutions when problems arise.

An increasing number of companies have accepted social media as part of their public relations and communications strategy. These tools can drive sales and help you reach new markets; they can also create public relations nightmares.

2 weeks ago we discussed

This week we address other social media DOs and DON’Ts for companies that want to blaze a trail down the path to better engagement while being ready for a possible public relations disaster.

But first, sign up to be among the first to get our next blog post.

Planning for an emergency situation means designing railroad tracks and switches in a way that ensures a smooth and safe ride. A similar objective should be accomplished to prepare the company for an effective response in a public relations disaster.  If you missed some of the previous post, please check:

Below we outline issues that must be resolved long before a crisis occurs.

    1. A crisis is a matter ignored – know the company’s issues and risks

Ambush marketing attacks by companies that had not paid to be an official sponsor of the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa were a real threat to the organizers.

Unfortunately, as the Bavaria ladies demonstrated, FIFA was once again caught unprepared. Taking the ladies out of the stadium and subsequently charging two of them in a Johannesburg court turned public opinion firmly against FIFA.

The public favored the ladies and instead demanded that Bavaria Brewery’s owner be charged for the illegal stunt in which the women were involved.

Being prepared for a possible onslaught before it happens means understanding the issues so the company knows how to respond properly.

    2. Prepare for the crisis

Most office buildings, schools and universities have a checklist that spells out simple steps for each employee or student to follow in case of a fire. Not only is the plan in place, but there are usually several fire drills throughout the year to see how well the check list and implemented procedures work.

Similarly, preparing for a public relations disaster requires having a plan in place that really works. The best-laid plans flop when put to the test if various scenarios have not been taken into consideration or drills are not practiced every three to six months.

    3. Who communicates what?

Unfortunately, those best-laid plans also fail to deliver the goods if it is unclear who is responsible for what: who marshals the troops, who will be the public face?

Put differently, who is and who is not authorized to comment?

Therefore, your crisis road map must be clearly understood at all levels of the company. Remember though, while only some will give interviews, staff will continue to use social media to share information with the masses, with or without authorization (e.g., their Facebook wall).

Accordingly, ensure channels are ready that enable the company to inform employees about its response and where online videos, briefs and white papers can be downloaded by the public and media for additional insight.

Better employees share the right information than guess what the company will do or has already done to fix the problem, especially since the media will always go elsewhere to fill the story if the company remains silent. They will also likely use pictures of closed company doors, executives walking off muttering “no comment”, and other unflattering images.

    4. Who monitors social media and how?

Besides blogs, micro-blogs (e.g., Twitter, Naijapulse) and Facebook (non-English content is growing fast here), who will monitor Japan’s Mixi, Tencent QQ in China and Vkontakte of Russia if these markets are important to your brand?

Toyota USA assigned eight people in Los Angeles to monitor social media during its recall crisis. Great, but somehow Toyota forgot to marshal regional resources and combine and share their insights across the organization, given the likely inability of the Los Angeles staff to monitor networks in Russia, China or Japan.

Social media requires a monitor beyond local markets and institutionalized ways for sharing this information in order to protect the brand.

    5. Show genuine empathy and concern

Ensure that an expression of regret for an incident or adverse outcome (as long as it is not an admission of responsibility) cannot be used as an admission of liability under applicable law.

When Virgin’s train derailed, Richard Branson became the company’s public face of the crisis, showing empathy as well as genuine concern for the train passengers who suffered. He also defended the train engineer and made it clear that the disaster was not due to that employee’s actions.

A somewhat different approach was demonstrated on 2010-06-17, when BP’s former CEO Tony Hayward told a US congressional energy subcommittee that he was “deeply sorry,” going on to tell the often fractious hearing that, “I understand the seriousness of the situation, the frustrations and fears that continue to be voiced.” He said BP had “made a lot of major changes” since he became chief executive and that he was “distraught” by the Gulf spill.

“It’s clear to me that you don’t want to answer our questions,” Representative Henry Waxman stated.

This hearing did not help BP get its message across, since Mr Hayward failed to follow what we suggested in our third point:

    => tell the truth, tell it all and tell it fast; then explain what went wrong, how it will be fixed and what will be done to prevent a repeat.

Mr Hayward followed legal advice and refused to comment or evaded questions when the public wanted clear answers on how the Deepwater Horizon disaster would be fixed – yesterday.

Bottom line
We advise preparing a 30-second sound bite that addresses and answers:

    – what went wrong,
    – how it will be fixed, and
    – what will happen to ensure it doesn’t happen again.

The core message will always be wrapped in these three main points and adhere to the cardinal rules of crisis communication:

    => tell the truth, tell it all, tell it fast.

If you and your staff follow the above guidelines, you can achieve better risk-management, and most importantly, more effective use of this technology to leverage your brand, which should help your bottom line.

We will continue our DOs and DON’Ts series throughout the summer, so please join us.

Have an opinion on this? Did we forget a DO or DON’T for effectively preparing for a possible public relations or media onslaught that you know about? Please share in the comments; I love to hear what works for you!

Article source: ComMetrics – Social media DO’s and DON’Ts: 5 hints for successful crisis-management

Next week watch out for: Social media DO’s and DON’Ts: 8 critical steps for emergencies

Tagged as: public relations disaster, social media best practice, social media compliance, social media marketing, social media policy

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  • Chris McGeehan

    Social media is not a panacea. No amount of social media competence is going to help you when your company refuses to accept fault when it has engaged in improper actions. When the public rejects your message, the media through which you express it won't matter. If anything, this will merely fan the flames of discontent.

    I agree that it is important to stay “on message” but that only works if your message is deemed to be authentic. When your CEO is quoted as saying “I'd like my life back,” it is a slap in the face of the tens of thousands of Gulf Coast residents who have had their likelihoods disrupted because of your companies actions. Saying “we care” isn't enough, you must show that you really care. Further, you may have to be prepared to accept liability since carefully parsed statements may smack of legalese and evasion.

    From a “legal” standpoint, one issue this raises is whether the standard advice provided in these situations (do not say anything that can be used against you) is the best business guidance. A company may need to weigh the potential costs to the brand against costs of accepting responsibility quickly and then seeking indemnification in the event subsequent investigation shows other parties are more culpable.

    Otherwise, credible voices may come off the sidelines and start speaking against you. This happened to BP when its competitors criticized BP's safety practices and distanced themselves from BP, and to Apple when it downplayed iPhone 4 antenna issues until forced to address them by a negative Consumer Reports review.

  • http://My.ComMetrics.com Urs E. Gattiker

    @Chris_McGeehan Thanks so much for commenting on this.nnOf course, you are right that besides stay “on message” requires that you talk straight and not necessarily come out with a statement that smacks of “legalese and evasion.”nnMy post was probably a step before yours, namely to get your house in order to be sure that when the disaster hits, the company is ready to respond appropriately and effectively using social media channels. nnThe post pointed out that certain things have to be put in place (e.g., like the phone lines or the blankets to take a power nap, who is allowed to talk to the media, who will tweet about the facts) but as our fire department guys are always pointing out:nn”Urs, let us run a drill and see if this really works. We hate to see people getting hurt just because we did not have the right extension ladder to get the water to the 10th floor….”nnThe same seems to apply to an attack against my brand…. so many things can go wrong so we need to do something like a social media fire drill to see if our strategy works…nnI am releasing another blog post on this pointing out that you need to have a response strategy that is tried and tested in case a public relations disaster hits…. the post will appear around Tue 8pm your time this week.nnChris, thanks so much for sharing.

  • http://My.ComMetrics.com Urs E. Gattiker

    @Chris_McGeehan Thanks so much for commenting on this.nnOf course, you are right that besides stay “on message” requires that you talk straight and not necessarily come out with a statement that smacks of “legalese and evasion.”nnMy post was probably a step before yours, namely to get your house in order to be sure that when the disaster hits, the company is ready to respond appropriately and effectively using social media channels. nnThe post pointed out that certain things have to be put in place (e.g., like the phone lines or the blankets to take a power nap, who is allowed to talk to the media, who will tweet about the facts) but as our fire department guys are always pointing out:nn”Urs, let us run a drill and see if this really works. We hate to see people getting hurt just because we did not have the right extension ladder to get the water to the 10th floor….”nnThe same seems to apply to an attack against my brand…. so many things can go wrong so we need to do something like a social media fire drill to see if our strategy works…nnI am releasing another blog post on this pointing out that you need to have a response strategy that is tried and tested in case a public relations disaster hits…. the post will appear around Tue 8pm your time this week.nnChris, thanks so much for sharing.

  • http://My.ComMetrics.com Urs E. Gattiker

    @Chris_McGeehan Thanks so much for commenting on this.nnOf course, you are right that besides stay “on message” requires that you talk straight and not necessarily come out with a statement that smacks of “legalese and evasion.”nnMy post was probably a step before yours, namely to get your house in order to be sure that when the disaster hits, the company is ready to respond appropriately and effectively using social media channels. nnThe post pointed out that certain things have to be put in place (e.g., like the phone lines or the blankets to take a power nap, who is allowed to talk to the media, who will tweet about the facts) but as our fire department guys are always pointing out:nn”Urs, let us run a drill and see if this really works. We hate to see people getting hurt just because we did not have the right extension ladder to get the water to the 10th floor….”nnThe same seems to apply to an attack against my brand…. so many things can go wrong so we need to do something like a social media fire drill to see if our strategy works…nnI am releasing another blog post on this pointing out that you need to have a response strategy that is tried and tested in case a public relations disaster hits…. the post will appear around Tue 8pm your time this week.nnChris, thanks so much for sharing.

  • http://My.ComMetrics.com Urs E. Gattiker

    @Chris_McGeehan Thanks so much for commenting on this.nnOf course, you are right that besides stay “on message” requires that you talk straight and not necessarily come out with a statement that smacks of “legalese and evasion.”nnMy post was probably a step before yours, namely to get your house in order to be sure that when the disaster hits, the company is ready to respond appropriately and effectively using social media channels. nnThe post pointed out that certain things have to be put in place (e.g., like the phone lines or the blankets to take a power nap, who is allowed to talk to the media, who will tweet about the facts) but as our fire department guys are always pointing out:nn”Urs, let us run a drill and see if this really works. We hate to see people getting hurt just because we did not have the right extension ladder to get the water to the 10th floor….”nnThe same seems to apply to an attack against my brand…. so many things can go wrong so we need to do something like a social media fire drill to see if our strategy works…nnI am releasing another blog post on this pointing out that you need to have a response strategy that is tried and tested in case a public relations disaster hits…. the post will appear around Tue 8pm your time this week.nnChris, thanks so much for sharing.

  • http://My.ComMetrics.com Urs E. Gattiker

    @Chris_McGeehan Thanks so much for commenting on this.nnOf course, you are right that besides stay “on message” requires that you talk straight and not necessarily come out with a statement that smacks of “legalese and evasion.”nnMy post was probably a step before yours, namely to get your house in order to be sure that when the disaster hits, the company is ready to respond appropriately and effectively using social media channels. nnThe post pointed out that certain things have to be put in place (e.g., like the phone lines or the blankets to take a power nap, who is allowed to talk to the media, who will tweet about the facts) but as our fire department guys are always pointing out:nn”Urs, let us run a drill and see if this really works. We hate to see people getting hurt just because we did not have the right extension ladder to get the water to the 10th floor….”nnThe same seems to apply to an attack against my brand…. so many things can go wrong so we need to do something like a social media fire drill to see if our strategy works…nnI am releasing another blog post on this pointing out that you need to have a response strategy that is tried and tested in case a public relations disaster hits…. the post will appear around Tue 8pm your time this week.nnChris, thanks so much for sharing.

  • http://My.ComMetrics.com Urs E. Gattiker

    @Chris_McGeehan Thanks so much for commenting on this.nnOf course, you are right that besides stay “on message” requires that you talk straight and not necessarily come out with a statement that smacks of “legalese and evasion.”nnMy post was probably a step before yours, namely to get your house in order to be sure that when the disaster hits, the company is ready to respond appropriately and effectively using social media channels. nnThe post pointed out that certain things have to be put in place (e.g., like the phone lines or the blankets to take a power nap, who is allowed to talk to the media, who will tweet about the facts) but as our fire department guys are always pointing out:nn”Urs, let us run a drill and see if this really works. We hate to see people getting hurt just because we did not have the right extension ladder to get the water to the 10th floor….”nnThe same seems to apply to an attack against my brand…. so many things can go wrong so we need to do something like a social media fire drill to see if our strategy works…nnI am releasing another blog post on this pointing out that you need to have a response strategy that is tried and tested in case a public relations disaster hits…. the post will appear around Tue 8pm your time this week.nnChris, thanks so much for sharing.

  • http://My.ComMetrics.com Urs E. Gattiker

    @Chris_McGeehan Thanks so much for commenting on this.nnOf course, you are right that besides stay “on message” requires that you talk straight and not necessarily come out with a statement that smacks of “legalese and evasion.”nnMy post was probably a step before yours, namely to get your house in order to be sure that when the disaster hits, the company is ready to respond appropriately and effectively using social media channels. nnThe post pointed out that certain things have to be put in place (e.g., like the phone lines or the blankets to take a power nap, who is allowed to talk to the media, who will tweet about the facts) but as our fire department guys are always pointing out:nn”Urs, let us run a drill and see if this really works. We hate to see people getting hurt just because we did not have the right extension ladder to get the water to the 10th floor….”nnThe same seems to apply to an attack against my brand…. so many things can go wrong so we need to do something like a social media fire drill to see if our strategy works…nnI am releasing another blog post on this pointing out that you need to have a response strategy that is tried and tested in case a public relations disaster hits…. the post will appear around Tue 8pm your time this week.nnChris, thanks so much for sharing.

  • http://My.ComMetrics.com Urs E. Gattiker

    @Chris_McGeehan Thanks so much for commenting on this.nnOf course, you are right that besides stay “on message” requires that you talk straight and not necessarily come out with a statement that smacks of “legalese and evasion.”nnMy post was probably a step before yours, namely to get your house in order to be sure that when the disaster hits, the company is ready to respond appropriately and effectively using social media channels. nnThe post pointed out that certain things have to be put in place (e.g., like the phone lines or the blankets to take a power nap, who is allowed to talk to the media, who will tweet about the facts) but as our fire department guys are always pointing out:nn”Urs, let us run a drill and see if this really works. We hate to see people getting hurt just because we did not have the right extension ladder to get the water to the 10th floor….”nnThe same seems to apply to an attack against my brand…. so many things can go wrong so we need to do something like a social media fire drill to see if our strategy works…nnI am releasing another blog post on this pointing out that you need to have a response strategy that is tried and tested in case a public relations disaster hits…. the post will appear around Tue 8pm your time this week.nnChris, thanks so much for sharing.

  • http://My.ComMetrics.com Urs E. Gattiker

    @Chris_McGeehan Thanks so much for commenting on this.nnOf course, you are right that besides stay “on message” requires that you talk straight and not necessarily come out with a statement that smacks of “legalese and evasion.”nnMy post was probably a step before yours, namely to get your house in order to be sure that when the disaster hits, the company is ready to respond appropriately and effectively using social media channels. nnThe post pointed out that certain things have to be put in place (e.g., like the phone lines or the blankets to take a power nap, who is allowed to talk to the media, who will tweet about the facts) but as our fire department guys are always pointing out:nn”Urs, let us run a drill and see if this really works. We hate to see people getting hurt just because we did not have the right extension ladder to get the water to the 10th floor….”nnThe same seems to apply to an attack against my brand…. so many things can go wrong so we need to do something like a social media fire drill to see if our strategy works…nnI am releasing another blog post on this pointing out that you need to have a response strategy that is tried and tested in case a public relations disaster hits…. the post will appear around Tue 8pm your time this week.nnChris, thanks so much for sharing.

  • http://My.ComMetrics.com Urs E. Gattiker

    @Chris_McGeehan Thanks so much for commenting on this.nnOf course, you are right that besides stay “on message” requires that you talk straight and not necessarily come out with a statement that smacks of “legalese and evasion.”nnMy post was probably a step before yours, namely to get your house in order to be sure that when the disaster hits, the company is ready to respond appropriately and effectively using social media channels. nnThe post pointed out that certain things have to be put in place (e.g., like the phone lines or the blankets to take a power nap, who is allowed to talk to the media, who will tweet about the facts) but as our fire department guys are always pointing out:nn”Urs, let us run a drill and see if this really works. We hate to see people getting hurt just because we did not have the right extension ladder to get the water to the 10th floor….”nnThe same seems to apply to an attack against my brand…. so many things can go wrong so we need to do something like a social media fire drill to see if our strategy works…nnI am releasing another blog post on this pointing out that you need to have a response strategy that is tried and tested in case a public relations disaster hits…. the post will appear around Tue 8pm your time this week.nnChris, thanks so much for sharing.

  • http://My.ComMetrics.com Urs E. Gattiker

    @Chris_McGeehan Thanks so much for commenting on this.nnOf course, you are right that besides stay “on message” requires that you talk straight and not necessarily come out with a statement that smacks of “legalese and evasion.”nnMy post was probably a step before yours, namely to get your house in order to be sure that when the disaster hits, the company is ready to respond appropriately and effectively using social media channels. nnThe post pointed out that certain things have to be put in place (e.g., like the phone lines or the blankets to take a power nap, who is allowed to talk to the media, who will tweet about the facts) but as our fire department guys are always pointing out:nn”Urs, let us run a drill and see if this really works. We hate to see people getting hurt just because we did not have the right extension ladder to get the water to the 10th floor….”nnThe same seems to apply to an attack against my brand…. so many things can go wrong so we need to do something like a social media fire drill to see if our strategy works…nnI am releasing another blog post on this pointing out that you need to have a response strategy that is tried and tested in case a public relations disaster hits…. the post will appear around Tue 8pm your time this week.nnChris, thanks so much for sharing.

  • http://My.ComMetrics.com Urs E. Gattiker

    @Chris_McGeehan Thanks so much for commenting on this.nnOf course, you are right that besides stay “on message” requires that you talk straight and not necessarily come out with a statement that smacks of “legalese and evasion.”nnMy post was probably a step before yours, namely to get your house in order to be sure that when the disaster hits, the company is ready to respond appropriately and effectively using social media channels. nnThe post pointed out that certain things have to be put in place (e.g., like the phone lines or the blankets to take a power nap, who is allowed to talk to the media, who will tweet about the facts) but as our fire department guys are always pointing out:nn”Urs, let us run a drill and see if this really works. We hate to see people getting hurt just because we did not have the right extension ladder to get the water to the 10th floor….”nnThe same seems to apply to an attack against my brand…. so many things can go wrong so we need to do something like a social media fire drill to see if our strategy works…nnI am releasing another blog post on this pointing out that you need to have a response strategy that is tried and tested in case a public relations disaster hits…. the post will appear around Tue 8pm your time this week.nnChris, thanks so much for sharing.

  • http://My.ComMetrics.com Urs E. Gattiker

    @Chris_McGeehan Thanks so much for commenting on this.nnOf course, you are right that besides stay “on message” requires that you talk straight and not necessarily come out with a statement that smacks of “legalese and evasion.”nnMy post was probably a step before yours, namely to get your house in order to be sure that when the disaster hits, the company is ready to respond appropriately and effectively using social media channels. nnThe post pointed out that certain things have to be put in place (e.g., like the phone lines or the blankets to take a power nap, who is allowed to talk to the media, who will tweet about the facts) but as our fire department guys are always pointing out:nn”Urs, let us run a drill and see if this really works. We hate to see people getting hurt just because we did not have the right extension ladder to get the water to the 10th floor….”nnThe same seems to apply to an attack against my brand…. so many things can go wrong so we need to do something like a social media fire drill to see if our strategy works…nnI am releasing another blog post on this pointing out that you need to have a response strategy that is tried and tested in case a public relations disaster hits…. the post will appear around Tue 8pm your time this week.nnChris, thanks so much for sharing.

  • http://My.ComMetrics.com Urs E. Gattiker

    @Chris_McGeehan Thanks so much for commenting on this.nnOf course, you are right that besides stay “on message” requires that you talk straight and not necessarily come out with a statement that smacks of “legalese and evasion.”nnMy post was probably a step before yours, namely to get your house in order to be sure that when the disaster hits, the company is ready to respond appropriately and effectively using social media channels. nnThe post pointed out that certain things have to be put in place (e.g., like the phone lines or the blankets to take a power nap, who is allowed to talk to the media, who will tweet about the facts) but as our fire department guys are always pointing out:nn”Urs, let us run a drill and see if this really works. We hate to see people getting hurt just because we did not have the right extension ladder to get the water to the 10th floor….”nnThe same seems to apply to an attack against my brand…. so many things can go wrong so we need to do something like a social media fire drill to see if our strategy works…nnI am releasing another blog post on this pointing out that you need to have a response strategy that is tried and tested in case a public relations disaster hits…. the post will appear around Tue 8pm your time this week.nnChris, thanks so much for sharing.

  • http://My.ComMetrics.com Urs E. Gattiker

    @Chris_McGeehan Thanks so much for commenting on this.nnOf course, you are right that besides stay “on message” requires that you talk straight and not necessarily come out with a statement that smacks of “legalese and evasion.”nnMy post was probably a step before yours, namely to get your house in order to be sure that when the disaster hits, the company is ready to respond appropriately and effectively using social media channels. nnThe post pointed out that certain things have to be put in place (e.g., like the phone lines or the blankets to take a power nap, who is allowed to talk to the media, who will tweet about the facts) but as our fire department guys are always pointing out:nn”Urs, let us run a drill and see if this really works. We hate to see people getting hurt just because we did not have the right extension ladder to get the water to the 10th floor….”nnThe same seems to apply to an attack against my brand…. so many things can go wrong so we need to do something like a social media fire drill to see if our strategy works…nnI am releasing another blog post on this pointing out that you need to have a response strategy that is tried and tested in case a public relations disaster hits…. the post will appear around Tue 8pm your time this week.nnChris, thanks so much for sharing.

  • http://My.ComMetrics.com Urs E. Gattiker

    @Chris_McGeehan Thanks so much for commenting on this.nnOf course, you are right that besides stay “on message” requires that you talk straight and not necessarily come out with a statement that smacks of “legalese and evasion.”nnMy post was probably a step before yours, namely to get your house in order to be sure that when the disaster hits, the company is ready to respond appropriately and effectively using social media channels. nnThe post pointed out that certain things have to be put in place (e.g., like the phone lines or the blankets to take a power nap, who is allowed to talk to the media, who will tweet about the facts) but as our fire department guys are always pointing out:nn”Urs, let us run a drill and see if this really works. We hate to see people getting hurt just because we did not have the right extension ladder to get the water to the 10th floor….”nnThe same seems to apply to an attack against my brand…. so many things can go wrong so we need to do something like a social media fire drill to see if our strategy works…nnI am releasing another blog post on this pointing out that you need to have a response strategy that is tried and tested in case a public relations disaster hits…. the post will appear around Tue 8pm your time this week.nnChris, thanks so much for sharing.

  • http://My.ComMetrics.com Urs E. Gattiker

    @Chris_McGeehan Thanks so much for commenting on this.nnOf course, you are right that besides stay “on message” requires that you talk straight and not necessarily come out with a statement that smacks of “legalese and evasion.”nnMy post was probably a step before yours, namely to get your house in order to be sure that when the disaster hits, the company is ready to respond appropriately and effectively using social media channels. nnThe post pointed out that certain things have to be put in place (e.g., like the phone lines or the blankets to take a power nap, who is allowed to talk to the media, who will tweet about the facts) but as our fire department guys are always pointing out:nn”Urs, let us run a drill and see if this really works. We hate to see people getting hurt just because we did not have the right extension ladder to get the water to the 10th floor….”nnThe same seems to apply to an attack against my brand…. so many things can go wrong so we need to do something like a social media fire drill to see if our strategy works…nnI am releasing another blog post on this pointing out that you need to have a response strategy that is tried and tested in case a public relations disaster hits…. the post will appear around Tue 8pm your time this week.nnChris, thanks so much for sharing.

  • http://My.ComMetrics.com Urs E. Gattiker

    @Chris_McGeehan Thanks so much for commenting on this.nnOf course, you are right that besides stay “on message” requires that you talk straight and not necessarily come out with a statement that smacks of “legalese and evasion.”nnMy post was probably a step before yours, namely to get your house in order to be sure that when the disaster hits, the company is ready to respond appropriately and effectively using social media channels. nnThe post pointed out that certain things have to be put in place (e.g., like the phone lines or the blankets to take a power nap, who is allowed to talk to the media, who will tweet about the facts) but as our fire department guys are always pointing out:nn”Urs, let us run a drill and see if this really works. We hate to see people getting hurt just because we did not have the right extension ladder to get the water to the 10th floor….”nnThe same seems to apply to an attack against my brand…. so many things can go wrong so we need to do something like a social media fire drill to see if our strategy works…nnI am releasing another blog post on this pointing out that you need to have a response strategy that is tried and tested in case a public relations disaster hits…. the post will appear around Tue 8pm your time this week.nnChris, thanks so much for sharing.

  • http://My.ComMetrics.com Urs E. Gattiker

    @Chris_McGeehan Thanks so much for commenting on this.nnOf course, you are right that besides stay “on message” requires that you talk straight and not necessarily come out with a statement that smacks of “legalese and evasion.”nnMy post was probably a step before yours, namely to get your house in order to be sure that when the disaster hits, the company is ready to respond appropriately and effectively using social media channels. nnThe post pointed out that certain things have to be put in place (e.g., like the phone lines or the blankets to take a power nap, who is allowed to talk to the media, who will tweet about the facts) but as our fire department guys are always pointing out:nn”Urs, let us run a drill and see if this really works. We hate to see people getting hurt just because we did not have the right extension ladder to get the water to the 10th floor….”nnThe same seems to apply to an attack against my brand…. so many things can go wrong so we need to do something like a social media fire drill to see if our strategy works…nnI am releasing another blog post on this pointing out that you need to have a response strategy that is tried and tested in case a public relations disaster hits…. the post will appear around Tue 8pm your time this week.nnChris, thanks so much for sharing.

  • http://My.ComMetrics.com Urs E. Gattiker

    @Chris_McGeehan Thanks so much for commenting on this.nnOf course, you are right that besides stay “on message” requires that you talk straight and not necessarily come out with a statement that smacks of “legalese and evasion.”nnMy post was probably a step before yours, namely to get your house in order to be sure that when the disaster hits, the company is ready to respond appropriately and effectively using social media channels. nnThe post pointed out that certain things have to be put in place (e.g., like the phone lines or the blankets to take a power nap, who is allowed to talk to the media, who will tweet about the facts) but as our fire department guys are always pointing out:nn”Urs, let us run a drill and see if this really works. We hate to see people getting hurt just because we did not have the right extension ladder to get the water to the 10th floor….”nnThe same seems to apply to an attack against my brand…. so many things can go wrong so we need to do something like a social media fire drill to see if our strategy works…nnI am releasing another blog post on this pointing out that you need to have a response strategy that is tried and tested in case a public relations disaster hits…. the post will appear around Tue 8pm your time this week.nnChris, thanks so much for sharing.

  • http://My.ComMetrics.com Urs E. Gattiker

    @Chris_McGeehan Thanks so much for commenting on this.nnOf course, you are right that besides stay “on message” requires that you talk straight and not necessarily come out with a statement that smacks of “legalese and evasion.”nnMy post was probably a step before yours, namely to get your house in order to be sure that when the disaster hits, the company is ready to respond appropriately and effectively using social media channels. nnThe post pointed out that certain things have to be put in place (e.g., like the phone lines or the blankets to take a power nap, who is allowed to talk to the media, who will tweet about the facts) but as our fire department guys are always pointing out:nn”Urs, let us run a drill and see if this really works. We hate to see people getting hurt just because we did not have the right extension ladder to get the water to the 10th floor….”nnThe same seems to apply to an attack against my brand…. so many things can go wrong so we need to do something like a social media fire drill to see if our strategy works…nnI am releasing another blog post on this pointing out that you need to have a response strategy that is tried and tested in case a public relations disaster hits…. the post will appear around Tue 8pm your time this week.nnChris, thanks so much for sharing.

  • http://My.ComMetrics.com Urs E. Gattiker

    @Chris_McGeehan Thanks so much for commenting on this.nnOf course, you are right that besides stay “on message” requires that you talk straight and not necessarily come out with a statement that smacks of “legalese and evasion.”nnMy post was probably a step before yours, namely to get your house in order to be sure that when the disaster hits, the company is ready to respond appropriately and effectively using social media channels. nnThe post pointed out that certain things have to be put in place (e.g., like the phone lines or the blankets to take a power nap, who is allowed to talk to the media, who will tweet about the facts) but as our fire department guys are always pointing out:nn”Urs, let us run a drill and see if this really works. We hate to see people getting hurt just because we did not have the right extension ladder to get the water to the 10th floor….”nnThe same seems to apply to an attack against my brand…. so many things can go wrong so we need to do something like a social media fire drill to see if our strategy works…nnI am releasing another blog post on this pointing out that you need to have a response strategy that is tried and tested in case a public relations disaster hits…. the post will appear around Tue 8pm your time this week.nnChris, thanks so much for sharing.

  • http://My.ComMetrics.com Urs E. Gattiker

    @Chris_McGeehan Thanks so much for commenting on this.nnOf course, you are right that besides stay “on message” requires that you talk straight and not necessarily come out with a statement that smacks of “legalese and evasion.”nnMy post was probably a step before yours, namely to get your house in order to be sure that when the disaster hits, the company is ready to respond appropriately and effectively using social media channels. nnThe post pointed out that certain things have to be put in place (e.g., like the phone lines or the blankets to take a power nap, who is allowed to talk to the media, who will tweet about the facts) but as our fire department guys are always pointing out:nn”Urs, let us run a drill and see if this really works. We hate to see people getting hurt just because we did not have the right extension ladder to get the water to the 10th floor….”nnThe same seems to apply to an attack against my brand…. so many things can go wrong so we need to do something like a social media fire drill to see if our strategy works…nnI am releasing another blog post on this pointing out that you need to have a response strategy that is tried and tested in case a public relations disaster hits…. the post will appear around Tue 8pm your time this week.nnChris, thanks so much for sharing.

  • http://My.ComMetrics.com Urs E. Gattiker

    @Chris_McGeehan Thanks so much for commenting on this.nnOf course, you are right that besides stay “on message” requires that you talk straight and not necessarily come out with a statement that smacks of “legalese and evasion.”nnMy post was probably a step before yours, namely to get your house in order to be sure that when the disaster hits, the company is ready to respond appropriately and effectively using social media channels. nnThe post pointed out that certain things have to be put in place (e.g., like the phone lines or the blankets to take a power nap, who is allowed to talk to the media, who will tweet about the facts) but as our fire department guys are always pointing out:nn”Urs, let us run a drill and see if this really works. We hate to see people getting hurt just because we did not have the right extension ladder to get the water to the 10th floor….”nnThe same seems to apply to an attack against my brand…. so many things can go wrong so we need to do something like a social media fire drill to see if our strategy works…nnI am releasing another blog post on this pointing out that you need to have a response strategy that is tried and tested in case a public relations disaster hits…. the post will appear around Tue 8pm your time this week.nnChris, thanks so much for sharing.

  • http://My.ComMetrics.com Urs E. Gattiker

    @Chris_McGeehan Thanks so much for commenting on this.nnOf course, you are right that besides stay “on message” requires that you talk straight and not necessarily come out with a statement that smacks of “legalese and evasion.”nnMy post was probably a step before yours, namely to get your house in order to be sure that when the disaster hits, the company is ready to respond appropriately and effectively using social media channels. nnThe post pointed out that certain things have to be put in place (e.g., like the phone lines or the blankets to take a power nap, who is allowed to talk to the media, who will tweet about the facts) but as our fire department guys are always pointing out:nn”Urs, let us run a drill and see if this really works. We hate to see people getting hurt just because we did not have the right extension ladder to get the water to the 10th floor….”nnThe same seems to apply to an attack against my brand…. so many things can go wrong so we need to do something like a social media fire drill to see if our strategy works…nnI am releasing another blog post on this pointing out that you need to have a response strategy that is tried and tested in case a public relations disaster hits…. the post will appear around Tue 8pm your time this week.nnChris, thanks so much for sharing.

  • http://My.ComMetrics.com Urs E. Gattiker

    @Chris_McGeehan Thanks so much for commenting on this.nnOf course, you are right that besides stay “on message” requires that you talk straight and not necessarily come out with a statement that smacks of “legalese and evasion.”nnMy post was probably a step before yours, namely to get your house in order to be sure that when the disaster hits, the company is ready to respond appropriately and effectively using social media channels. nnThe post pointed out that certain things have to be put in place (e.g., like the phone lines or the blankets to take a power nap, who is allowed to talk to the media, who will tweet about the facts) but as our fire department guys are always pointing out:nn”Urs, let us run a drill and see if this really works. We hate to see people getting hurt just because we did not have the right extension ladder to get the water to the 10th floor….”nnThe same seems to apply to an attack against my brand…. so many things can go wrong so we need to do something like a social media fire drill to see if our strategy works…nnI am releasing another blog post on this pointing out that you need to have a response strategy that is tried and tested in case a public relations disaster hits…. the post will appear around Tue 8pm your time this week.nnChris, thanks so much for sharing.

  • http://My.ComMetrics.com Urs E. Gattiker

    @Chris_McGeehan Thanks so much for commenting on this.nnOf course, you are right that besides stay “on message” requires that you talk straight and not necessarily come out with a statement that smacks of “legalese and evasion.”nnMy post was probably a step before yours, namely to get your house in order to be sure that when the disaster hits, the company is ready to respond appropriately and effectively using social media channels. nnThe post pointed out that certain things have to be put in place (e.g., like the phone lines or the blankets to take a power nap, who is allowed to talk to the media, who will tweet about the facts) but as our fire department guys are always pointing out:nn”Urs, let us run a drill and see if this really works. We hate to see people getting hurt just because we did not have the right extension ladder to get the water to the 10th floor….”nnThe same seems to apply to an attack against my brand…. so many things can go wrong so we need to do something like a social media fire drill to see if our strategy works…nnI am releasing another blog post on this pointing out that you need to have a response strategy that is tried and tested in case a public relations disaster hits…. the post will appear around Tue 8pm your time this week.nnChris, thanks so much for sharing.

  • http://My.ComMetrics.com Urs E. Gattiker

    @Chris_McGeehan Thanks so much for commenting on this.nnOf course, you are right that besides stay “on message” requires that you talk straight and not necessarily come out with a statement that smacks of “legalese and evasion.”nnMy post was probably a step before yours, namely to get your house in order to be sure that when the disaster hits, the company is ready to respond appropriately and effectively using social media channels. nnThe post pointed out that certain things have to be put in place (e.g., like the phone lines or the blankets to take a power nap, who is allowed to talk to the media, who will tweet about the facts) but as our fire department guys are always pointing out:nn”Urs, let us run a drill and see if this really works. We hate to see people getting hurt just because we did not have the right extension ladder to get the water to the 10th floor….”nnThe same seems to apply to an attack against my brand…. so many things can go wrong so we need to do something like a social media fire drill to see if our strategy works…nnI am releasing another blog post on this pointing out that you need to have a response strategy that is tried and tested in case a public relations disaster hits…. the post will appear around Tue 8pm your time this week.nnChris, thanks so much for sharing.

  • http://My.ComMetrics.com Urs E. Gattiker

    @Chris_McGeehan Thanks so much for commenting on this.nnOf course, you are right that besides stay “on message” requires that you talk straight and not necessarily come out with a statement that smacks of “legalese and evasion.”nnMy post was probably a step before yours, namely to get your house in order to be sure that when the disaster hits, the company is ready to respond appropriately and effectively using social media channels. nnThe post pointed out that certain things have to be put in place (e.g., like the phone lines or the blankets to take a power nap, who is allowed to talk to the media, who will tweet about the facts) but as our fire department guys are always pointing out:nn”Urs, let us run a drill and see if this really works. We hate to see people getting hurt just because we did not have the right extension ladder to get the water to the 10th floor….”nnThe same seems to apply to an attack against my brand…. so many things can go wrong so we need to do something like a social media fire drill to see if our strategy works…nnI am releasing another blog post on this pointing out that you need to have a response strategy that is tried and tested in case a public relations disaster hits…. the post will appear around Tue 8pm your time this week.nnChris, thanks so much for sharing.

  • http://My.ComMetrics.com Urs E. Gattiker

    @Chris_McGeehan Thanks so much for commenting on this.nnOf course, you are right that besides stay “on message” requires that you talk straight and not necessarily come out with a statement that smacks of “legalese and evasion.”nnMy post was probably a step before yours, namely to get your house in order to be sure that when the disaster hits, the company is ready to respond appropriately and effectively using social media channels. nnThe post pointed out that certain things have to be put in place (e.g., like the phone lines or the blankets to take a power nap, who is allowed to talk to the media, who will tweet about the facts) but as our fire department guys are always pointing out:nn”Urs, let us run a drill and see if this really works. We hate to see people getting hurt just because we did not have the right extension ladder to get the water to the 10th floor….”nnThe same seems to apply to an attack against my brand…. so many things can go wrong so we need to do something like a social media fire drill to see if our strategy works…nnI am releasing another blog post on this pointing out that you need to have a response strategy that is tried and tested in case a public relations disaster hits…. the post will appear around Tue 8pm your time this week.nnChris, thanks so much for sharing.

  • http://My.ComMetrics.com Urs E. Gattiker

    @Chris_McGeehan Thanks so much for commenting on this.nnOf course, you are right that besides stay “on message” requires that you talk straight and not necessarily come out with a statement that smacks of “legalese and evasion.”nnMy post was probably a step before yours, namely to get your house in order to be sure that when the disaster hits, the company is ready to respond appropriately and effectively using social media channels. nnThe post pointed out that certain things have to be put in place (e.g., like the phone lines or the blankets to take a power nap, who is allowed to talk to the media, who will tweet about the facts) but as our fire department guys are always pointing out:nn”Urs, let us run a drill and see if this really works. We hate to see people getting hurt just because we did not have the right extension ladder to get the water to the 10th floor….”nnThe same seems to apply to an attack against my brand…. so many things can go wrong so we need to do something like a social media fire drill to see if our strategy works…nnI am releasing another blog post on this pointing out that you need to have a response strategy that is tried and tested in case a public relations disaster hits…. the post will appear around Tue 8pm your time this week.nnChris, thanks so much for sharing.

  • http://My.ComMetrics.com Urs E. Gattiker

    @Chris_McGeehan Thanks so much for commenting on this.nnOf course, you are right that besides stay “on message” requires that you talk straight and not necessarily come out with a statement that smacks of “legalese and evasion.”nnMy post was probably a step before yours, namely to get your house in order to be sure that when the disaster hits, the company is ready to respond appropriately and effectively using social media channels. nnThe post pointed out that certain things have to be put in place (e.g., like the phone lines or the blankets to take a power nap, who is allowed to talk to the media, who will tweet about the facts) but as our fire department guys are always pointing out:nn”Urs, let us run a drill and see if this really works. We hate to see people getting hurt just because we did not have the right extension ladder to get the water to the 10th floor….”nnThe same seems to apply to an attack against my brand…. so many things can go wrong so we need to do something like a social media fire drill to see if our strategy works…nnI am releasing another blog post on this pointing out that you need to have a response strategy that is tried and tested in case a public relations disaster hits…. the post will appear around Tue 8pm your time this week.nnChris, thanks so much for sharing.

  • http://My.ComMetrics.com Urs E. Gattiker

    @Chris_McGeehan Thanks so much for commenting on this.nnOf course, you are right that besides stay “on message” requires that you talk straight and not necessarily come out with a statement that smacks of “legalese and evasion.”nnMy post was probably a step before yours, namely to get your house in order to be sure that when the disaster hits, the company is ready to respond appropriately and effectively using social media channels. nnThe post pointed out that certain things have to be put in place (e.g., like the phone lines or the blankets to take a power nap, who is allowed to talk to the media, who will tweet about the facts) but as our fire department guys are always pointing out:nn”Urs, let us run a drill and see if this really works. We hate to see people getting hurt just because we did not have the right extension ladder to get the water to the 10th floor….”nnThe same seems to apply to an attack against my brand…. so many things can go wrong so we need to do something like a social media fire drill to see if our strategy works…nnI am releasing another blog post on this pointing out that you need to have a response strategy that is tried and tested in case a public relations disaster hits…. the post will appear around Tue 8pm your time this week.nnChris, thanks so much for sharing.

  • http://My.ComMetrics.com Urs E. Gattiker

    @Chris_McGeehan Thanks so much for commenting on this.

    Of course, you are right that besides stay “on message” requires that you talk straight and not necessarily come out with a statement that smacks of “legalese and evasion.”

    My post was probably a step before yours, namely to get your house in order to be sure that when the disaster hits, the company is ready to respond appropriately and effectively using social media channels.

    The post pointed out that certain things have to be put in place (e.g., like the phone lines or the blankets to take a power nap, who is allowed to talk to the media, who will tweet about the facts) but as our fire department guys are always pointing out:

    “Urs, let us run a drill and see if this really works. We hate to see people getting hurt just because we did not have the right extension ladder to get the water to the 10th floor….”

    The same seems to apply to an attack against my brand…. so many things can go wrong so we need to do something like a social media fire drill to see if our strategy works…

    I am releasing another blog post on this pointing out that you need to have a response strategy that is tried and tested in case a public relations disaster hits…. the post will appear around Tue 8pm your time this week.

    Chris, thanks so much for sharing.

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