Your reputation is your greatest asset. Keep Ohio Beautiful Affiliates 2013 Annual Meeting

Transcription

1 Your reputation is your greatest asset Keep Ohio Beautiful Affiliates 2013 Annual Meeting 1

2 Reputation management is a proactive exercise 2

3 It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. - Warren Buffett 3

4 Today s Reality Five minutes is forever 4

5 Dealing with a crisis situation requires steady nerves, compassion and empathy, teamwork and clear communication 5

6 Talking Points - What is a crisis? - Anything that threatens reputation - What turns situations into crises? - 24/7 news cycle - Global and viral - More opportunities for misinformation - Less objective news disseminators - Not enough anticipatory planning - Ineffective responses - Lifecycle is longer than traditional crisis 6

7 Talking Points - It isn t always a catastrophic event that requires effective communication to change perceptions and tell your story - Employee behavior/actions - Board member actions - Spill-over from other organizations - Environmental issues - Union negotiations - Whistleblowers - Stepping on your own toes - All these (and more) will require communication with internal and external audiences to preserve your reputation 7

8 Talking Points - Crisis situations are inherently stressful - Confusion - Anger - Defensiveness - Hurt - Highly emotional reactions - None of these are conducive to effective communication with the public 8

9 Talking Points - Under pressure, people often say too much - No comment is usually saying too little - Stereotypes - Lawyers: reputation for saying No - Public relations: reputation for not thinking about all ramifications and saying too much - Need balance: if you don t give them some information, you ll be in even less control of the situation 9

10 Strategy - Crises lose money try to avoid them - Have formal crisis plan for catastrophic events - Define position and messages - Keep control of the crisis - Communicate and update frequently - Keep it localized (as much as possible) - Keep focus on what s most important - Don t prolong the crisis unnecessarily - Monitor and correct as appropriate not every posting requires a response - Bring closure when crisis is past 10

11 The way you respond to a crisis affects not only the outcome but also the reputations of the organization and its employees for a long time to come 11

12 Trends - It s a multi-stakeholder world - It s a multi-channel world - Quick response required even if it s only a holding statement - You can t stop people from talking about you - The microphone is always on - Photos and video can be uploaded in minutes seconds - Selective social media engagement - Employees are spokespeople and ambassadors 12

13 Communications Skills - BP CEO was strongly criticized - Leaders may be more tentative about speaking - All spokespersons (including lawyers) need media training - All spokespersons need practice before important interviews - Maybe the Executive Director/CEO isn t the best spokesperson; although should always be the overall manager of crisis response 13

14 Agility Crises hit faster than ever Responses can t wait Holding statements are still - valuable Scenario planning Have FAQs, Fact books, etc. - on hand Anticipate who will be most - affected and who will be - most likely to 14

15 The only thing worse than a crisis is not being prepared for it 15

16 Crisis Preparation - Assess what constitutes a crisis for your organization - What can you do to prevent the crises you ve identified? - Plan for managing the crisis and communications around it 16

17 Developing your plan - Compile contact information; update monthly - Make sure the team knows the plan and the policies - Designate and train a media spokesperson - Define the communications channels you will use - Set up monitoring procedures for traditional and social media - Prepare fact sheets and holding statements - Arrange for alternative means of communication 17

18 Position Message Target Audiences Delivery Channels Monitor A Five Step Process 18

19 1- Position - Assess situation -- Know your position - Act immediately to protect people, property, brand reputation - Advise those involved first - Examine all sides of the situation - Anticipate questions, objections, attacks - Identify advocates - Select best spokesperson - Set parameters for disclosure Tip: Anticipate what could go wrong before it does annual vulnerability audit 19

20 2- Message - Very important to get it right at the beginning adjust as you go along - I m sorry is powerful, but don t assume liability - Messages should educate as well as inform - Be as clear as possible don t try to spin Never lie - Messages should answer tough questions before they are asked - Document messages and create FAQ - Rule of thumb is three key messages Tip: Communications team must have a seat at the planning table 20

21 3 Target Audiences - The media is not an audience; it s a channel - People directly affected - Employees/associates and their families - Public officials, politicos and regulators - Customers - Donors - Members - Suppliers - Partners - People who post on social media (ultra-local sites, bloggers, tweeters on Twitter, Facebook, You Tube, Pinterest, etc. - The Public 21

22 Audience/Message Matrix Audience What s important to me? Key message Supporting point #1 Supporting point #2 22

23 4 Delivery Channels - Media (traditional print and broadcast) - Social media sites - Website and/or micro-site - Personal outreach - Employees and other ambassadors arm them with messages Tip: Confidence in your messages and practice before delivery will help you stay in control of interviews 23

24 Media Prep - Don t talk to the media; talk to the media s audience - Talk the way reporters write - Headline followed by good quote, followed by adding facts sparingly - Have a message (or three) - Stay in control don t do off-the-cuff interviews - There is no such thing as off the record - If you re not going to comment, say so but don t say no comment - Anticipate questions; develop answers; transition back to message - Practice, practice, practice and role play 24

25 Media tips - Always keep the human element at the forefront - Correct misinformation but not every social media posting requires an answer - A quick response shows you are engaged - I m sorry is powerful but don t assume liability - Anticipate the hard questions and prepare your answers - Maintain a log of all communications and media conversations - Balance communications based on your good sense, knowledge of the situation, awareness of your organization s values, responsibility and reputation. 25

26 Social Media - Fight social media fire with social media water - Don t wait too long before correct misperceptions - Online messages live forever - Evaluate how much energy you want to spend on social media - Integrated social media drive to website or micro site - Create a social media policy for employees and others who want to speak for the company on their personal accounts - The youngest person on staff isn t always the best person to manage social media responses 26

27 5 - Monitor - Inclusion of accurate messages is a good media measurement metric - Monitor traditional and social media - Monitor websites of activists and other potential adversaries won t always be picked up in Google Alerts - Determine how much energy you want to give to negative influencers - Sometimes they can be neutralized - Control the timing of your news - Monitor personal Twitter and Facebook accounts 27

28 Proactive is better than reactive 28

29 Lessons - Prime your community so they will be there when you need them - Get control of the message early - Engage with your supporters and give them meaningful calls to action 29

30 The time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining. - President John F. Kennedy 30

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33 Tips and Techniques 33

34 Reputation-Enhancing Tactics - Website - Write for your audience - Educate, don t lecture or give orders - Avoid jargon and technical terms except in areas where they are appropriate - Use photos to humanize your mission and influence behavior - Awards for good behavior - Social media to stay in touch and reinforce your message - Relationship building bring people together - Use multiple channels to get your message out. 34

35 Do and (Mostly) Don t List - Do be as transparent as you can be - Do express your position as you currently know it - Don t be defensive - Don t be overly complex - Don t turn a small issue into a big problem when speaking - Don t try to spin but do include your messages as appropriate - Never duck a question - Remember that everything is on the record a slip can become an everlasting sound bite - Never, ever, ever lie 35

36 Do you have questions or comments? 36