Disaster recovery planning on steroids

24/08/11: Directors need to ensure their organisations’ crisis management plans are extended to account for the speed that social media will take a crisis to market, says Sharon Williams, founder and CEO of Taurus Marketing.

“The process is pretty much the same but directors need to be aware that there is far more immediacy with social media than with the old forms of press. When something goes, it is like lighting a match on a trail of fuel. The message will not only go very fast, but globally and the extent of damage will be much greater than ever before,” she says.

“The board needs to be across the plan and to agree on it. It’s the old crisis plan on steroids. Whereas directors knew that they were contactable in a crisis before, they have to doubly know this now.

“This plan will have identified the team that will be called in for a crisis and that will be different depending on the crisis. It may be a staffing, production, safety or financial issue and different people will be involved. And, there will almost always be legal issues that need to be taken care of.”

According to Williams, the number one rule is to maintain the organisation’s integrity by being open and honest. “As long as you do that, and the apology is fast (if it is needed), and the company remains real, then you will always err on the side of empathy,” she says.

“Companies get into problems when they try and cover up. They often think they are talking at people, instead of with people. Social media has changed the way we engage in a conversation. Directors have to adapt their communications style to the social media and it takes a lot of learning to speak in this language.”

Williams says one of the more common mistakes is to ignore the crisis and to sit in an ivory tower and to be seen as perhaps arrogant, apathetic or defensive. “Companies must really be on the front foot with firm honest responses. If you are open and honest, people are a lot more lenient and open to listening.”

Williams says the main take-away directors need to have about the growth in social media is that it involves two-way communication or conversations on multiple channels. “Directors are very used to just going to press and TV if necessary. Now they have more and more channels with which to talk to people.”

William’s top tips for dealing with a crisis through social media include:

•• Be timely. Don’t wait.

•• Be assertive.

•• Be honest.

•• Be first.

•• Be eager to help.

•• Allow people to come to you – if people are asking questions, provide the answers.

When a crisis breaks, she advises directors and their companies to:

•• Check the facts before you leap in.

•• Engage experts if necessary.

•• Ensure the relevant team is called.

•• Ensure positive key (not promotional) messages are put out about the company.

Who deals with the crisis will depend on the level of escalation and importance of crisis. “If it’s a small crisis, you’d probably use the communications department; if it’s a big crisis, the managing director and for a major crisis, the chairman.”

William’s further tips are to learn from other’s mistakes. “It’s a new and evolving territory. Don’t be arrogant and dismissive. When social media goes wrong, it brings share prices down.”

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