Crisis and Reputation Management in the context of Social Media

1. 1
CRISIS & SOCIAL MEDIA
YOUR REPUTATION IS PRECIOUS …
Lars Voedisch
Principal Consultant
lars@preciouscomms.com
@larsv

2. • Independent, boutique communications consultancy
• Based out of Singapore, at home in Asia and Europe
• Globally connected via affiliation with
About Us…
+65 – 3151 4760
larsvoed
21 Club Street
#02-11
Singapore 069410
connect@preciouscomms.com
Facebook.com/PReciousComms
Twitter.com/PReciousComms

3. 3
PRecious Partners
Brands PRecious Communications and our consultants have worked with . . .

4. What is reputation management for you?
4
Quick discussion in:
What is reputation
for you?

5. Reputation
5
[rep-yuh-tey-shuhn]
What is a reputation?
 The beliefs or opinions that are
held by someone or something by
the community or general public.

6. • What is a crisis?  unexpected, creating uncertainty, seen as
a threat
• What usually happens: panic, delay of pro-active decision-
making, fear of overreacting, getting pushed in a defensive
position
• How social media requires us to step up our game in terms of
speed, cooperating, and preparedness
• Why we are afraid of it: it tests our preparation and leadership
qualities as it is all about making (fast) decisions
6
PART 1
CRISIS DYNAMICS: GET IT FAST, GET IT
RIGHT, GET IT OVER

7. 7
By the time you hear
the thunder, it’s too late
to build the ark.

8. Crisis Fundamentals
Emergence:
Issue gets
public
Spreading:
Growing
interest
Establishment:
Full crisis
Erosion:
Relevance
declines
Potential:
Known areas
YOU?
8

9. Crisis Fundamentals
Emergence:
Issue gets
public
Spreading:
Growing
interest
Establishment:
Full crisis
Erosion:
Relevance
declines
Potential:
Known areas
YOU?
9
When a crisis happens:
Get it fast,
Get it right,
Get it out, and
Get it over!
Your problem won’t improve with age.
N. Augustine, CEO Lockhead Martin
Time is crucial for managing risk
as it allows you to stay in the
‘driver seat’

10. Crisis Fundamentals
Emergence:
Issue gets
public
Spreading:
Growing
interest
Establishment:
Full crisis
Erosion:
Relevance
declines
Potential:
Known areas
YOU?
10
When a crisis happens:
Get it fast,
Get it right,
Get it out, and
Get it over!
Your problem won’t improve with age.
N. Augustine, CEO Lockhead Martin
Time is crucial for managing risk
as it allows you to stay in the
‘driver seat’
33% of global CCOs
are not prepared for
social media based
reputation threats !!!

11. Nestlé's social media crisis
11

12. Nestlé's social media crisis
Nestlé
unwillingly put
public attention
to
Greenpeace's
video campaign
12

13. Nestlé
unwillingly put
public attention
to
Greenpeace's
video campaign
Activists
change their
Facebook
profile photos
to anti-Nestlé
slogans and
start posting to
the Nestlé fan
page
13

14. Nestlé
unwillingly put
public attention
to
Greenpeace's
video campaign
Activists
change their
Facebook
profile photos
to anti-Nestlé
slogans and
start posting to
the Nestlé fan
page
Nestlé: “To repeat: we
welcome your comments,
but please don't post using
an altered version of any of
our logos as your profile
pic--they will be deleted”
14

15. Nestlé
unwillingly put
public attention
to
Greenpeace's
video campaign
Activists
change their
Facebook
profile photos
to anti-Nestlé
slogans and
start posting to
the Nestlé fan
page
Nestlé: “To repeat: we
welcome your comments,
but please don't post using
an altered version of any of
our logos as your profile
pic--they will be deleted”
Now it even went worse with all
kinds of criticism, allegations and
simple insults being posted (e.g.
bottled water dispute in the US,
“killing babies”…)
15

16. Nestlé
unwillingly put
public attention
to
Greenpeace's
video campaign
Activists
change their
Facebook
profile photos
to anti-Nestlé
slogans and
start posting to
the Nestlé fan
page
Nestlé: “To repeat: we
welcome your comments,
but please don't post using
an altered version of any of
our logos as your profile
pic--they will be deleted”
Now it even went worse with all
kinds of criticism, allegations and
simple insults being posted (e.g.
bottled water dispute in the US,
“killing babies”…)
Key learnings:
Control? You never had
it.
Don't use lawyers to
take things off the
Internet
Admit it, stop it, and
apologize. FAST!
Customers criticizing
you are telling you
something very
valuable
16

17. Nestlé
unwillingly put
public attention
to
Greenpeace's
video campaign
Activists
change their
Facebook
profile photos
to anti-Nestlé
slogans and
start posting to
the Nestlé fan
page
Nestlé: “To repeat: we
welcome your comments,
but please don't post using
an altered version of any of
our logos as your profile
pic--they will be deleted”
Now it even went worse with all
kinds of criticism, allegations and
simple insults being posted (e.g.
bottled water dispute in the US,
“killing babies”…)
17
Key learnings:
Control? You never had
it.
Don't use lawyers to
take things off the
Internet
Admit it, stop it, and
apologize. FAST!
Customers criticizing
you are telling you
something very
valuable

18. Nestlé
unwillingly put
public attention
to
Greenpeace's
video campaign
Activists
change their
Facebook
profile photos
to anti-Nestlé
slogans and
start posting to
the Nestlé fan
page
Nestlé: “To repeat: we
welcome your comments,
but please don't post using
an altered version of any of
our logos as your profile
pic--they will be deleted”
Now it even went worse with all
kinds of criticism, allegations and
simple insults being posted (e.g.
bottled water dispute in the US,
“killing babies”…)
18
Key learnings:
Control? You never had
it.
Don't use lawyers to
take things off the
Internet
Admit it, stop it, and
apologize. FAST!
Customers criticizing
you are telling you
something very
valuable
What are your
Rules of Engagement?
A crisis response protocol?
How fast can you react?
Who decides?

19. 19
Key Learnings?
PART 1
CRISIS DYNAMICS: GET IT FAST, GET IT
RIGHT, GET IT OVER

20. 20
PART 2
CRISIS POTENTIAL: MANAGING
PROBABILITIES
Every industry has potential for crises. How can we identify them at the
earliest possible point whenever and wherever it might strike?
• Assessing potential crisis issues and identify possible counter measures
on- and offline
• Working with the various internal stakeholder groups to identify potential
crisis areas
• How the right media monitoring setup can help you identify issues ahead of
time and why social media is a key component
 Can you separate the noise from the relevant input?
 How do you set your triggers?
 Do you know your influence?

21. Holistic View of Crisis Management
21
Source: Issue Management and Crisis Management: - Tony Jaques

22. Holistic View of Crisis Management
22

23. Holistic View of Crisis Management
23

24. Holistic View of Crisis Management
24

25. Holistic View of Crisis Management
25

26. Let’s talk business
26
Not me…
Who has
a crisis
plan?
Nope :)

27. The majority of all crises come from within an
organization.
29

28. Understanding how crises evolve
31
On average over the past
20-years, about one-third
of all crises were the
sudden type – fires,
explosions, natural
disasters and workplace
violence.
Source: Annual ICM Report 2011 – Institute for Crisis Management

29. Crises—What are the main causes?
32
1. Management Decisions /
Indecisions
2. Human Error / Mistakes
3. Operational or Mechanical
Problems
4. Acts of God

30. 34
Key Learnings?
PART 2
CRISIS POTENTIAL: MANAGING
PROBABILITIES

31. How has social media changed the way we to deal with crisis
situations? What are the key platforms that we have to look into and
what should be some of the best practices and key action points to
stick to when you’re on red alert?
• Understanding platforms and audiences: Blogs, Facebook, Twitter,
YouTube
• Social media and crisis management: Common mistakes
• What are your rules of engagement when it comes to handling social
media?
• Setting up a social media command centre
• Maintain your share of voice online—how to be heard when everyone
else is talking
35
PART 3
INTERNET, SOCIAL MEDIA, MOBILE

32. Quick Discussion
36
How and why is
social media
relevant to your
brand’s
reputation?

33. 37
Source: What happens on the Internet every 60 seconds - Rosa Golijan

34. Social Media Disaster “Highlights”
38
Not only be timely, and get the facts right – also choose the appropriate
tone!

35. Social Media Disaster “Highlights”
39
Timing is important…know what’s happening in your company, and
current news.

36. 40Source: Digital Life 2011 - TNS
32%
11%
13%
45%
What are people saying?
Do people in Singapore trust
comments people write about
brands?

37. 41
What are people saying?
Do people in Hong Kong trust comments people
write about brands?
I write comments about brands to…
Source: Digital Life - TNS

38. 42
What are people saying?
42
Do people in China trust comments people write
about brands?
I write comments about brands to…
Source: Digital Life - TNS

39. The PR Perspective:
Social or not—it’s media relations?!
43

40. Social Media Relations: What changes?
44
Everything Changes
• It’s about two-way
conversations
• You’ve to deal with more
channels
• We HAVE to listen and
understand what’s said!
• What about those negative
comments and posts?
• The game get’s so much
faster
Nothing Changes
• You’ve to manage
relationships
• So it’s wires, print,
broadcast – and social
media
• You already: monitor and
analyze your media
coverage
• Not every negative
comment means a crisis
• Already forgot
newswires? Look at
trends over time

41. 45
Key Learnings?
PART 3
INTERNET, SOCIAL MEDIA, MOBILE

42. 46
How do you draw the line between noise and relevance? What are
some key tools and strategies for monitoring social media? What is a
good way to respond to negative and positive feedback? What do
brands need to do to capture the attention & loyalty of consumers?
PART 4
HOW TO BE A GOOD LISTENER

43. 99.9% Noise
47

44. 90-9-1 Principle: The Inequality of the Web
48Source: Jakob Nielsen - Participation Inequality: Encouraging More Users to Contribute

45. Understanding social media in China
49
Some 76 percent of China users are “creators” of
content, that is, they are active posters rather than
mere spectators.
That compares to just 25 percent in the US.
Chinese microblog stories spread faster and at a
significantly larger scale, than those in the US.
Because most Chinese lack
trust in formal institutions,
users disproportionately
value the advice from
consumers in social
networks.
Source: Fighting a PR Fire in China with Social Media – McKinsey

46. Know Your Trigger Points
How bad (or good) is it?
Where does a
CRISIS happen vs.
where does it start?
How does the story
play out in traditional
and social media?

47. Your users are mobile—are you?
51
About half of social media
users access their networks on
the go
That means:
It is a real anybody,
anywhere, anytime world
Are your online assets
optimized for mobile?
Do you leverage mobile for
your crisis plans and
activation?

48. Case Study: Social Media Command Centre
52
Demand for social reputation
management
Components
–Issue
–Impact
–Influence
–Engage
Leveraging proprietary data
assets & methodologies
Moving to 24/7 operation

49. 53
• Identify high impact
issues by company,
sector, broad, time
prioritized
• Produce high grade
Twitter stream
• Produce high grade
twitter stream
CommEq
• Filter and refine
• Find and visualize
connections
• Streamed to client
teams and
Engagement teams
Commetric
• High fidelity
issue
management
Client
High impact
twitter stream

50. Client benefits
54
 Directs reputation management efforts
 Drives real time engagement
 Increases social intelligence
 Reduces fear levels of C-Suite

51. Command center benefits
 Issue warning: immediate assessment of scale and
contagion of social storm
 Quantifying impact: focuses exec attention and
provides justification for comms response
 Influencer tracking: delivers road map for messaging
and engagement of response
62

52. 63
Key Learnings?
PART 4
HOW TO BE A GOOD LISTENER

53. 64
Being prepared is everything!
• How to identify and prepare for different crisis scenarios? What could
be critical decisions and are the right people pre-authorized to make
them?
• How should your activation plans look like; who would need to get
involved in your crisis team for which scenario?
• Developing a crisis handbook as your first-stop manual with basic
scenarios and prepared reactions – drafting a first response checklist
• Why a social media crisis plan should be at the TOP of every brand
and organization’s to-do list, before they begin to market on social
media
PART 5
BEFORE THE CRISIS

54. Reputation Crisis Preparedness
Before the crisis
• What constitutes a real crisis
• Scenario planning (internal / external)
• Business continuity vs communications
• Assessing potential crisis issues (audit)
• Crisis-management team
• Setting up emergency communication plans (internal /
external, channels)
• Regular checks, updates, refreshers
• Activation plans (eg for external partners)
65

55. What tone do you like to read on Facebook or Twitter? Witty?
Edgy? Angry?
• Always be helpful, humble and friendly.
• These are 3 attitudes that will work well in any business.
• Be wary of the metaphors and imagery you or your writer use –
they say a lot about your business.
How To Choose The Tone For Your Content?
66Source: How To Choose The Tone For Your Content – Social Media Magic
Don’t forget: In Social Media you want to
connect people with people!

56. What Social Media Tone Is Best for Your Business?
• Baby food: Use an educational tone in your social media so
customers can make informed decisions
• Meaningful gifts: Invoke a humble, empathetic and
enlightening tone that keeps the brand linked to inspiration
• Bags: By injecting a youthful, personable, upbeat and
feminine tone in your social media, you could invite young
customers across to indulge in your products
• Cookies: A playful and inviting tone works best at alluring
customers to indulge in childhood comfort foods
• Designer products: Employ a serious and curious tone in its
social media
What Is Your Social Media
Personality?
67Source: What Social Media Tone Is Best for Your Business – Fox Business

57. What Social Media Tone Is Best for Your Business?
• Baby food: Use an educational tone in your social media so customers
can make informed decisions
• Meaningful gifts: Invoke a humble, empathetic and enlightening tone
that keeps the brand linked to inspiration
• Bags: By injecting a youthful, personable, upbeat and feminine tone
in your social media, you could invite young customers across to
indulge in your products
• Cookies: A playful and inviting tone works best at alluring customers
to indulge in childhood comfort foods
• Designer products: Employ a serious and curious tone in its social
media
What Is Your Social Media
Personality?
68Source: What Social Media Tone Is Best for Your Business – Fox Business

58. What happened in Huili county / Sichuan . . .
71

59. Siemens Refrigerator Crisis in China
• Famous English Trainer talks
about problems on Weibo
• He is not satisfied by Siemens
reaction and attitude
• Refrigerators are publicly
smashed
• Siemens PR agency threatens
media
72
The top five re-tweeted users on Weibo
have more than one million retweets per
person, as opposed to only a little more
than five thousand for the top five re-
tweeted users on Twitter.
Source: How can we practice ethical PR – Sue’s PR Blog

60. And now a look at the corporate world
73
Background:
1) Siemens
just
announce
d a new
record
profit
2) Layoff of
over 1300
staff
announce
d

61. Think Process: Response Chart
74

62. How to Deal with Comments—YOUR Response Plan
75
• Comment / Blog Post
Validity
• Level of Responsibility
• Level of Respect
• The Commenter is a
Troll / Rager
• The Commenter is a
Spammer by Nature

63. The BIGGER Picture:
What’s Your Engagement Plan?
76
What can/should your staff say – or not?
Do you have a proper escalation path?
How do you get ready for ‘beta’ mode?

64. 77
Key Learnings?
PART 5
BEFORE THE CRISIS

65. Crisis Communications
“Nobody cares how much you
know, until they know how much
you care.” Theodore Roosevelt
78

66. Crisis Survival Lessons for the
Social Media Age
• Size doesn’t matter
– A failure to engage a captive and influential audience
represents an utter misunderstanding of the power that
online communities wield in crisis.
• What Got You Here, Won’t Get You There
– It is essential to at least assuage consumer fears by
acknowledging the problem and affirming that all that can
be done is being done
• You Can Not Advertise Out of Crisis
– Traditional advertising and brand/reputation management
cannot work in a galaxy where crisis moves at the speed
of light.
79Source: 3 Crisis Survival Lessons for the Social Media Age – Dallas Lawrence/Mashable

67. Crisis Survival Lessons for the
Social Media Age
80
In a crisis, consumers need honest answers
and they need them fast – and no messaging
vehicle is better suited to meet this demand
than those fueling the crisis in the first place.
Transparent engagements in the online
communities, where your customers already
live, provide a credible and direct channel
for the answers they need.

68. Pressing the delete button for comments?
Some reasons that might be acceptable…
• Racism
• Sexism
• Verbal abuse
• Inappropriate language
• Pornographic content
• (Blatant hostile behaviour toward other community
members)
However: It is imperative that you have a policy on your
Facebook page if you choose to delete content!
81Source: 5 ways to handle negative Facebook comments - PR Daily

69. Pressing the delete button for comments?
Some reasons that might be acceptable…
82Source: 5 ways to handle negative Facebook comments - PR Daily
[…] At the same time, fans should
show courtesy and respect to
others and must not use the wall to
abuse others, expose others to
offensive or inappropriate
content, or for any illegal purpose.
[…] and may remove any posted
messages that it considers to be
in breach of the Policy.

70. 83
Key Learnings?
PART 5
AS THE CRISIS EMERGES: ACTIVATION

71. 84
Any questions or
comments?
SUMMARY

72. About PRecious Communications
International Communications Expertise with a Passion for
Technology
• PRecious Communications is a young and energetic, yet strategic
communications and public relations consultancy serving B2C and
B2B companies
• Our focus is on corporate communications, crisis management, public
relations and social media.
• It combines a clear business-oriented approach with a focus on
measurable results that tie directly into its clients’ overall
communications objectives.
• The firm is run out of Singapore and serves clients throughout Asia
Pacific.
• PRecious was officially started in early 2012 by Lars Voedisch, an
experienced global communications and business professional with 15
years expertise in growing, managing and defending leading global
brands’ reputation across industry sectors.
Background & Expertise
• Combined work experience include: AIESEC, AT&T, Citi, Coca Cola,
DBS, DHL, Dow Jones, EDS, GIC, Honda, HP, Huawei, ING, InMobi,
Lenovo, Motorola, OpenNet, Palm, Panasonic, Porsche, Procter &
Gamble, Yahoo!, VMware
85

73. • Communications Strategy
• Traditional & Social Media
Relations
• Digital Engagement
• Crisis Preparedness &
Management
• Internal Communications
• Media Training
• Analysis, Measurement,
Research
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