PR disaster
PR disasters could easily destroy a reputable company. According to the article How to recover from a social media PR disaster, PR disasters can occur when a person posts their personal opinion or other wrong information in a corporate website or social site. Some are minor embarrassments that may not reflect very poorly on the organization while others could seriously damage the company’s reputation. These PR disasters range from insensitive statements, inappropriate opinions, false rewards, early releases and hacks.
Insensitive statements can damage the reputation of an organization by reflecting negatively on the company’s ethos. The early release refers to a situation where a new product or project is announced before the appointed time. This can either become a complete disaster or push the schedule forward unexpectedly. In the false reward, the company offers a prize or deal which they are not able to deliver. The hack is when another person who does not have the authority to access the site breaks into the account. This is usually the easiest to recover from as one needs to simply explain to the fans exactly what transpired.
According to the article, the easiest way to deal with these disasters is to be quick and honest in explaining the situation. According to Winston Lord, it is important to be adequately prepared. The company should identify any potential PR disasters before they happen. PR disasters can be dealt with in more or less the same way. One should be quick in reacting to avoid allowing the situation to get worse or go out of hand. It is also important to listen to what people are saying and respond appropriately. Instead of arguing with the audience about the mishap, one should simply own up and apologize.
The article argues that one of the best ways to deal with this is to ensure that the company had a spotless reputation long before the incident occurred. This will help to ensure that their clients already know that this mishap is not a characteristic of the company. It is also important to assure the clients that the company is working on the solution. Although this is important, it may not always help. In some instances the damage may be severe that even the most loyal customers lose their faith in the company. In such a case, it is important for the company to have a backup plan. The company should be prepared to pay the price no matter how high.
The article also claims that it is the company should not take the PR disaster too seriously. The company could downplay the disaster by making it appear like a joke. They could do this, for instance, by re- tweeting something less serious in connection to the disastrous tweet. This will prevent it from being taken too seriously by the audience. Unfortunately, this may not work for all social website blunders. In some cases, the damage done could be so serious that it needs an equally serious response. An example of this is a hacker who posts information that could damage the company’s reputation. Downplaying this information may not be the best course of action. The information released may require the company to act seriously if they are to get past it.
One of the worst ways to deal with social website disasters is playing the victim. This would reflect negatively on the company because the audience would view it as lacking the courage to face problems. Many people may not sympathize with it. It is better for it to react after observing people’s reactions. Although the article advocates for the company to react immediately, this may not be the best course of action. It is important to first know what the audience thinks of the disaster and prepare the best possible response before doing anything about it. This is because what may appear like a disaster may be viewed very positively by the audience, and there would therefore be no need for an intervention.
Another way through which one may not deal with such a disaster is by suing, especially in the case of the hacker. One problem posed by this approach is that it may take too long for the case to be resolved. A lawsuit could also reflect badly on the company and give it a lot of negative publicity. A law suit could serve to further popularize the negative message spread by the hacker and this could prove counterproductive. In the event that legal action is taken, the company should ensure that their publicists work hard at ensuring that the company’s image is not tainted any further. The PR department should also ensure that they keep the company’s clients and other supporters updated on the lawsuit to avoid being misinformed by the media.
After considering all other courses of action, the best way to deal with PR disasters would be paying close attention to what the audience has to say on the matter, whether positive or negative, and react appropriately. This would help avoid any surprising turns to these events and also in managing the situation.
References
Donna. (2012, October 29). Social Media Gone Bad? Dealing With Yelp Disasters.
Retrieved February 18, 2013, from LIDA: http://ourlida.org/articles/social-media
gone-bad-dealing-with-yelp-disasters.html
Sniderman, Z. (2011, August 24th ). How to Recover from a Social Media PR Disaster.
Retrieved February 18th, 2013, from Mashable.com:
http://mashable.com/2011/08/24/pr-disaster-recovery/
