As
experts who specialize in creating and maintaining reputations, public
relations professionals are often called upon to support a company when
disaster strikes. PR specialists know how to change public perception
with the right words and marketing campaigns. They also know that
aligning their clients with the right strategies can help to alleviate
many issues that come with a public crisis.
Disaster
management is probably one of the best-known roles of any PR company,
but many organizations still don’t understand what this job entails.
There’s more to handling a crisis than responding to angry customers and
sweeping negative comments under the rug.
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| Source; Commpro |
1. Offering Advice and Guidance
The
first thing any PR expert will do in a crisis is assess the
circumstances and offer bespoke advice on what the brand should do to
keep the problem under wraps. To provide the right guidance, PR
professionals need to evaluate the background of the company, the nature
of the current disaster, and the surrounding context, so that they can
offer a step-by-step guide on managing the incident.
For
instance, a PR professional might let an executive know which audiences
they should address first when making a public announcement, which
terms they should avoid using, and how they should consider getting
their message out to the right people.
2. Handling Press and Media Attention
After
an issue goes public, a public relations specialist will start to work
more “reactively”. This means that they respond to what’s happening in
the media and offer constantly updated advice on how to handle the
situation. For instance, they might draft support materials and
statements on the behalf of the client so that the company is ready to
answer any questions presented by publications or journalists connected
to the industry.
On
the other hand, a PR professional might take over making statements on
the behalf of the business entirely, while simultaneously scheduling
meetings and interviews with the right press to ensure that the company
comes off in the best possible light. All the while, a PR expert dealing
with crisis management will be offering insights on how a brand can
maintain the loyalty of their customers, shareholders, and investors.
3. Ongoing Support after an Incident
After
the initial crisis has passed, there will still be a lot of cleaning up
to do before a company can regain its original reputation. This is the
point where a public relations company will start to develop plans to
heal the damage that was done during the disaster. For instance, they
might create a plan for a marketing strategy that draws more attention
to the positive aspects of the brand’s personality.
A
PR expert will also set up important press releases and interviews to
help take the majority of the public attention away from the incident
that happened and assist the company in getting back to “business as
usual”. Some PR professionals can even put plans in place that give
their clients a strategy to fall back on if a similar incident or issue
ever happens again.
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