A PR crisis can be damaging to any business’s reputation, whether a product has had to be recalled, a social media post was badly received, or an employee has done something wrong.
Damage limitation is best done quickly and effectively to save the business’s brand reputation, according to Forbes.com. Let’s have a look at four key PR steps to take in the event that a crisis has occurred.
Get to know public feeling
The first step when it comes to recovering from a PR crisis is to find out what public feeling seems to be. By monitoring overall sentiment, you can gauge how much of an effect the event has had, and you can also react dynamically to prevent escalation. Social media is ideal for this – search for your brand name, keywords related to your industry, and even the name of your CEO.
Evaluate the scale of the problem
At this point, you should be able to gauge the scale of the problem. A genuine crisis will be more serious than day-to-day social media grumbles. It may include negative media coverage, major safety concerns, or issues that go against your brand. These can be classified as: level 1 – isolated complaints, level 2 – growing negative sentiment, or level 3 – crisis-level threat to the brand.
You may be able to manage this in-house, or if not, a tech PR agency Reading, such as headonpr.co.uk/tech-pr-agency-near-me/reading, can offer personalised support.
Prepare a response
Now is the time to respond. Identify which staff should perform the various roles for mitigating the crisis. Some should monitor mentions on social media, others should draft press releases, while others should appear directly on social media if needed.
Decide your direction
Lastly, decide on what direction your response will move in. Is it better to keep quiet and allow things to blow over or to release a communication clarifying your stance on the situation? The latter may put consumers’ minds at rest. Either way, stick to facts. Will you be investigating the situation further? Who can customers contact with concerns?
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