Crisis Communications Steps for the Social Media Era

It used to be that crisis communications managers had the power to “beat” the media cycle.  They had a window of time, albeit small, to gather the crisis team in a war room and assess the situation in order to craft and refine key message points for reporters.

The proliferation of citizen journalism and social media has changed how crises are covered, yet a majority of companies have not updated their crisis communications plan to reflect new strategies and techniques.  A recent study conducted by Gartner Communications revealed that 84.8 percent of companies worldwide have a general crisis communications plan; however, only 20.7 percent of them have a social media crisis plan.

Below are eight steps to remember when implementing a crisis communications plan in today’s environment:

1. Act quickly – The “golden hour” of a traditional crisis communications plan is gone.  After assessing the situation, respond as quickly as possible in a rational, respectful manner.
2. Listen and engage – Understand the motivation behind the posts.  Know what is being said and why, and respond appropriately.
3. Be open and human – People want to see a human response to a crisis, not a formulaic or canned reply.  Gauge the sentiment in people’s posts, and validate their emotions in your response.  If the company is in the wrong, admit it.  The two little words that can quickly dispel a social media crisis are, “I’m sorry.”
4. Use your judgment – Not every negative comment requires a response.  Look at a person’s history and their number of followers.  If they consistently post negative remarks, think twice about engaging with them.  Do engage with someone who has a respectable track record, and know when to disengage.  Sometimes continued contact can be counterproductive.
5. Fix the problem – If the crisis is bringing a problem to your attention, admit it, address it, and fix it.  If something isn’t really wrong but someone perceives that it is wrong, remember that perception is everything.  Take the opportunity to educate them in a helpful, considerate way.
6. Allow negative comments – Do not delete negative comments.  You will only fuel the fire.  People will post negative comments elsewhere and voice their opposition to your company for deleting their original posts.
7. Know when to take it offline – If there is one person leading the cause, suggest a one-on-one conversation via phone or e-mail.  Remember that e-mails can be reposted, so be careful what you type.
8. Become the information hub – Create a page where you post stories on the issue, both positive and negative.  Bring in a Twitter feed and other real-time feeds of people talking about the issue.  You can’t control the conversation, but you can control the placement of the conversation on your page.  Make your opinion prominently seen.

Is your company prepared for a crisis played out in social media?  To ensure an “issue” doesn’t escalate into a crisis, it is mandatory to monitor key social media outlets 24/7.  There are several free tools available such as Google Alerts, Technorati, and Blogpulse.  For companies with a budget for monitoring, check out BuzzLogic, Radian6, and Trackur.

— Debbie Dryden, VP, Thought Leadership

Is social media changing your world?

We’re in the midst of some rather transformative times. Especially if you happen to live in the Middle East.  Some are crediting Facebook and Twitter as key catalysts that helped to overthrow a 40-year dictatorship in Egypt. This phenomenon has spread throughout the Arab world from Yemen to Bahrain and is currently erupting in Libya. You can follow the revolution on Twitter.

And last year, we witnessed a revolution in Iran from our social media accounts.  Marshall McLuhan believed that all media is transformative – that when you engage it, it changes you. Social media has indeed changed the flow of information to a more democratic forum – especially in more closed societies.

I believe that social media is having an effect on all our relationships. Will it ultimately change the world for the better? I hope so. But one thing I do know is I will not be watching CNN while it happens.

Tips for following events in social media:

1. Check trending topics on Twitter.
2. Create a column in Tweetdeck and use it to search a popular hashtag like #libia.
3. Search YouTube for uploaded mobile video.
4. Check Facebook for any pages that protesters are posting to.

Don’t assume that people who are not from your country spell the same way you do.  Arabic words, especially, have many translations.

— Jimmy Gilmore, Senior Copywriter

Making Your Customers Comfortable

A big part of what makes the online arena attractive to marketers is the ability to engage customers and potential customers in a variety of ways. The most important “engagement” aspect, however, is a user’s experience with the site. If a site is cumbersome and not user-friendly, people aren’t going to spend a lot of time trying to navigate through what is fast becoming a bad experience for them.

Add to that the aspect of being asked to register, and most users will alter their behavior as a result.  A recent study by Janrain in conjunction with Blue Research noted that:

• 75% of consumers take issue with being asked to register on a website and will change their behavior as a result
• 76% of consumers admit to giving false information or leaving forms incomplete when creating a new account
• 54% will either leave the site or not return
• 17% go to a different site

The research indicates that “…consumers are frustrated with the traditional online registration process and will favor brands that make it easy for them to be recognized.…”

One method that surfaced as a solution to being recognized was being able to sign in using an existing social media log-in such as from Facebook, Google, Twitter, or LinkedIn. Two-thirds (66%) of consumers said that this would be an “attractive solution to the problem.” Of this 66%:

• 42% feel that companies who offer this are more up to date, innovative and leave a more positive impression.
• 55% say they are more likely to return to a site that automatically recognizes them
• 48% say they are more likely to make a purchase

Making your site user-friendly goes a long way in your effort to keep customers engaged. Listen to what your customers tell you about your site. They spend the most time there. Make their time on your site beneficial for both them and you. Like most things in life, people use things that they are familiar with and make them the most comfortable. Sometimes that’s a website, and most times that’s your customer.

— Dave Capano, EVP, Director of Connection Planning

Engaging with the Big Game

There is no question that I will be engaged in the Super Bowl this weekend.  In fact, it has been on my radar for weeks.  The question is exactly how will I choose to engage?

• Old School —  Just enjoy the game for the game’s sake.  As a native Pittsburgher with fond memories of the Steel Curtain, swirling terrible towels, and chanting “One for the Thumb,” it’s a logical choice.

• Facebook Fanatic – Participating in the virtual cheers and jeers that are bound to continue between my Facebook friends who have been posting images of Steeler cheese graters, “Stairway to 7” slogans and other signs of their team affiliations for the past several weeks.

• Professional – As a 20-year veteran of the advertising and marketing world, there is the obligation to analyze every commercial so that I am prepared to debate the winners and losers with family, friends and colleagues on Monday morning.

• Twitter Tags – And there is always the appeal of the Twitter buffet of 140-character musings on everything from the plays, the refs, and the commercials to the Polamalu  vs. Matthews “Hair Bowl.”

The truth is, I will probably engage with the Super Bowl in all these ways, as each appeals to me on a different level.

As a marketer, it is also a good reminder that target audiences are multidimensional and will choose to engage with brands and messages in a variety of different ways with different expectations – sometimes all at the same time.  Communications plans need to be as multidimensional as they are.

Pamela J. Alvord – EVP, Managing Director of Strategy and Operations

Marketing in the New “Mocial” Environment

The marketing buzzword of 2011 will likely be “mocial” – the convergence of mobile and social media.  Mobile technology encompasses speed and accessibility, and social media enables people to stay connected.  Merging the two fits today’s new cultural communications environment, where time and attention reign supreme.

Most brand managers understand the power of social media and have incorporated at least one social media tool to communicate with customers.  This is definitely a step in the right direction.  Seventy-five million of Facebook’s 500 million customers follow at least one brand or company, and nearly 50% of Twitter’s 190 million do the same.

Meanwhile, the use of mobile devices has grown exponentially, and recent statistics prove that mobile users are much more likely to engage in social media.  Currently, there are more than 200 million users accessing Facebook through their mobile devices, and these users are twice as active on Facebook compared to non-mobile users.

Building a personal relationship via mobile is a surefire way to influence customers and their buying behavior.  The power of mocial is the ability to reach people at key decision-making moments.  A Harris Interactive poll recently showed that of consumers who receive some form of permission-based text marketing from a company, 34% said the messages have made them more likely to visit the venue and 27% more likely to make a purchase.

Mocial marketing offers an opportunity for a company to interact with customers, rewarding them when they visit your location to make you aware of their interest in your products or service.  Other ways to engage customers include: discounting/couponing, instant feedback, interactive competitions and flash events.

Domino’s Pizza is one company that has capitalized on mocial marketing and reaped the benefits.  It attributes a 29% increase in 2010 pre-tax profits to an effective use of promotions on Foursquare.  Companies that follow in the footsteps of Domino’s Pizza and put a sound strategy behind mocial have an opportunity to make significant financial gains of their own in 2011.

— Debbie Dryden, VP, Thought Leadership

Surviving the Social Media Storm

It snowed in Atlanta this week.

To a native Atlantan, that statement deserves a line on its own. Once “Winter Weather Advisory” is heard, people flock to grocery stores to prepare for the worst. An innocent bystander unaware of how much snow was on the horizon may think that Atlanta was about to be hit with enough snow to collapse the Georgia Dome. Instead, we only got 5 inches. But again…

It snowed in Atlanta this week.

And I mention this because snow in Atlanta can be as foreign to Southerners as social media is to marketing executives with little experience online.

Grocery stores are mob scenes before it snows. People don’t know what they need or how much they need; they just know they want it. And the same can be said about social media. Many companies know about social media. They know they want to use it, but they don’t know what, or how, or why. Without a plan or a goal in mind, social media results will just fall flat.

Now that it’s 2011, more and more companies are finding the need to use social media. And yet, some still don’t know why.

My suggestion? Stop thinking about Social Media as MEDIA. It should really be called Online Interaction. Accounts are created to strengthen the communication with customers. Yet, companies are creating accounts without thinking of how to get the most benefit from it. A marketer would never say, “We need to be on TV,” without knowing what kind of ROI would justify spending that much money. Before jumping into the latest fad of Online Interaction, take a minute to map out the purpose for being online, be it to establish dialogue with those already engaged with the brand, or to provide customer service to those seeking it.

And, while trying to figure out the purpose, establish goals for what being online will accomplish. Is there a desire to have comments posted about what is posted? Will there be an opportunity to talk with the consumer in order to establish dialogue? If Web traffic is increased, what should these new visitors do on the company site that will result in a positive return for being online? Let this new online interaction be an open door to further the consumer experience.

Once the purpose and goals are set in place, share it with employees. Let employees talk about it on their own online accounts. If there is a strong purpose with clear goals in place, but poor promotion of the online existence, then results will be weak. This may sound silly, but an online interaction continuously feeds off of, just that, interaction online. And the more that fellow colleagues can develop, the better the results.

Establishing a strong presence online is an ongoing process. Companies cannot create an account and leave it, hoping that friends, followers, and fans will continue to build. This is done through a constant stream of discussion. Once that has been established on the big three (Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube), explore new ways to connect with the audience. The age of Social Media is only 6-7 years old, so the “right” way for a soft-drink company may not be the best way for a shoe company. By experimenting with different sites (GoWalla, Digg, Flickr, Friendstr, Groupon, etc.) the online interaction may prove even more suitable than Facebook.

Social Media isn’t new, and is always changing. But having a plan, setting goals ahead of time, and letting fellow employees participate will increase the results of social media efforts. And it won’t feel like you’re scrapping around like we do down South due to winter storm warnings.

— Jonathan Ginburg, Sr. Account Executive

The five stages of social media grief. Or how I learned to stop worrying about the bomb.

In the last couple years, we in advertising and marketing have had to deal with a lot of what could be called destructive change. Part of this has been from the economy, and also a good deal has come from social media.

And as 2010 closes, it’s great to see how far we’ve made it as an industry with integrating social media into our practices. For those of us already there, it’s taken more than a few steps:

The first stage is denial. This denial usually isn’t that social media exists but that it has any relevance at all. People in stage one often say, “I don’t care what anyone had for breakfast.”

The second stage is anger. Most marketing managers feel that they already have enough on their plate; it’s only natural that a new, unwanted burden should, well, piss them off. You’ll hear people in stage two muttering about Facebook or putting expletives in front of the word Twitter.

The third stage is bargaining.  Bargaining often revolves around stakeholders trying to get someone else to handle the burden of responsibility. Hiring an intern often occurs in this stage.

The fourth stage is depression. This is when the responsibility is accepted and the burden of learning is taken on. Mood swings are a regular occurrence in this stage.  One minute, the griever is excited by the possibilities and the next overwhelmed by the sheer size of the space.

The fifth stage is acceptance. Once the learning curve starts to bend down, the depression starts to subside. You can easily recognize when someone is in this stage because this is when they start talking intelligently about integrating Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube into marketing plans. Because they can start to see the real benefits of this new form of engagement. This is when the grief ends and magic can finally begin to happen.

If you’re still working your way through these stages, don’t fret, you’ll get there. It’s part of the new marketing landscape, and the sooner we’re able to fully accept it the sooner we’ll reap its rewards.

— Jimmy Gilmore, Senior Copywriter

We’re connected, but are we really connecting?

Look around you.  When you are out at a restaurant, how many folks do you see typing away on their iPhone or BlackBerry, and ignoring their family or friends?  When you are at your kid’s soccer game, how many parents do you see paying more attention to their phone than to what their child is doing on the field?  The same question can be posed for business meetings, movies, concerts, parties, sporting events… and the list goes on and on.

When you wake up each morning, is checking your Twitter or Facebook account one of the first things that you do?  Do you go home from work and immediately get on your computer or your phone?  Have you ever sent a tweet from the dinner table?  Have you ever sat in a business meeting with your laptop and found yourself on a social-networking site?  Do you have friends on Facebook whom you haven’t spoken with in 20 years who know more about what’s going on in your life than your parents do?

We think we are being social on these gadgets, but are we really?

Don’t get me wrong.  I love technology, and I do my fair share of social networking, but it has become increasingly interesting to me how social media has made it easier for people to connect… in much less meaningful and rich ways.  Sure, we’re connected, but are we really connecting?  Do we truly understand and communicate with each other?

And what is suffering?  In my opinion… time, focus, and productivity.

• Time: Quality face-to-face time with family, important business contacts and close friends, or time to read a good book, partake in a meaningful hobby, or do whatever it is you enjoyed doing prior to the social media explosion.
• Focus: Multitasking just doesn’t work.  Are you really focused on your family or work (or driving a car) if you keep bouncing back and forth between them and your texts, tweets, or status updates?
• Productivity: This one is pretty obvious… and not just for the workplace.

Social media definitely helps me stay connected to the activities and opinions of my friends and family.  I think it is great for that.  But should I really be taking the time to care about what some guy from my high school whom I haven’t talked to in more than 20 years has to say about his dream from last night?

Here’s a scary statistic.  A September poll by Harris Interactive said that among 18-34-year-olds, just 27 percent said they would rather see friends in person than communicate through social media.  Where are we headed?  Is human interaction actually at risk?

Regardless, social media cannot continue to be about having lots of friends and followers.  It needs to be about expanding your network and making connections with individuals and businesses that might add value to your life in some way.  And just to be clear, I really don’t care if you just woke up and think that it is gonna be a wonderful day, or if you just checked in at the OK Café, or if you need one more cow to complete your farm.

— Stephen Weinstein, Director of Account Management

Baking and Marketing, the Fundamentals Are the Same

Forget about decking the halls, fighting the mall crowds, or even singing carols (at least in public); for me, the holiday season has always been about baking.  This year, as I fired up my trusty red KitchenAid mixer on Black Friday, I was struck by the similarities between baking and good marketing.

1. Start with a Recipe

Sure, a little experimentation is great now and then, but make sure the basics are in place before you deviate from the core direction.  A marketer’s impulsive cry of “We need to be on Twitter” or “Get me more Facebook likes” is the baking equivalent of “Let’s just toss in some peanut butter.” It might be great or it might just ruin the whole thing.

2. Use the Right Tools

Whether your favorite spatula, grandmother’s measuring spoons, or the perfectly shaped pan, the right tools are critical.  For marketing, this might be a promotional offer, a blog, or a brand campaign – any of them might be effective, as long as they aid in the execution of the recipe (or for marketers, the strategy).

3. Measurement Is Key

If Google analytics, conversion metrics, social media mentions, and net promoter scores are the ounces, pounds, cups, and tablespoons of marketing, then your scorecard is the final taste test.  Did you earn 5 stars or 3?  Without measurement, you won’t know where you stand or if you have improved.

4. Don’t Overlook Simplicity

A single ingredient is rarely great on its own (I can’t be the only one who has fallen victim to the captivating smell of vanilla, only to recoil in horror after tasting it).  And the layered flavors of multiple ingredients sure can be tasty, but simple is magical.   Who would imagine that something as exquisite as a meringue could come from the combination of egg whites, sugar, and a touch of vanilla?  Bakers and marketers alike would benefit from focusing less on the number of elements and more on the way in which they are combined.

5. Offer Only Your Best

No amount of presentation can cover up bad execution.  Even if your guests don’t say anything, they will notice if you scrimped on the sugar, didn’t bake it long enough, or tried to cover the burned pieces with frosting.  So don’t be afraid to start over or bring in the experts to ensure that you can confidently stand behind anything that you serve.

The annual strategic planning timeline for most companies aligns nicely with holiday baking season.  Coincidence?  Perhaps not . . .

–Pam Alvord, EVP Chief Brand Strategist

Engagement the Steve Jobs Way

Carmine Gallo recently summarized 10 key takeaways from his book The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs:  How to Be Insanely Great in Front of Any Audience.  As I read them, I was struck by how well these guidelines apply to the development of engaging marketing messages.

1. Plan in Analog

For marketers, this is an endorsement of the simple tissue session.  Nothing separates big ideas from tactical one-offs faster than a stack of paper and a supply of Sharpies.

2. Create a Twitter-Friendly Description

Challenge yourself to clearly communicate your message in 140 characters.  The MacBook Air undoubtedly has numerous attributes, but Steve Jobs simply promised, “The world’s thinnest notebook.”

3. Introduce the Antagonist

Every good story needs a hero and a villain.  While your marketing campaign may never feature your villain as boldly as Mac does, a clear understanding of your antagonist is a powerful way to ensure your brand is positioned as the hero.

4. Focus on Benefits

Most brands use laundry lists of features to promote their product or service.  However, people are more likely to be motivated by benefits that address their problems.

5. Stick to the Rule of Three

Three is simply easier to remember than four, six, or eleven.  Plus, three has inherent drama; just ask any playwright or comedian.

6. Sell Dreams, Not Products

Most products are swiftly becoming commoditized.  Even truly revolutionary products are not likely to stay that way for long.  What can a marketer do?  Build emotional connections.  They last longer and even can transcend a misstep or two

7. Create Visual Slides

For marketers, this means looking beyond product photography.  Macs are beautifully designed, yet they don’t appear in the Mac vs. PC television campaign.  Instead, the personification of each brand establishes visual imagery far more powerful than what even the most beautiful product shots could have created.

8. Make Numbers Meaningful

Numbers often need context if you want people to truly understand them.  Communicating that it only takes one dollar a day to feed a starving child certainly puts a different perspective on the plea for a $365 annual donation.

9. Use Zippy Words

Adopt powerful language.  Ban the buzzwords.  Even create your own terminology.  Thanks to marketing, terms like scrubbing bubbles, ring around the collar and wassup are universally understood (and strongly associated with the brands that created them).

10. Reveal a “Holy Smokes” Moment

The creative brief might call it the net takeaway, the single most important idea, or the insight.  Call it whatever you want, just make sure that it is dramatic, motivating, and powerfully represented in your final creative product.

Steve Jobs’s final presentation tip is to practice – practice a lot.  For marketers this means to continually test, measure, evaluate, and optimize.  If not, our fate will be Einstein’s definition of insanity – doing the same thing over and over again, expecting different results.

— Pamela J. Alvord, EVP Chief Brand Strategist