Undoubtedly, the breakdown in public trust in our political system, our financial system, etc has been a major influencer. So too has been a certain lack in clarity in just how exactly our decision makers are planning to get us out of the financial quandry we continue to find ourselves in.

Let’s be clear, as communications professionals and business owners, we have a duty to be optimistic and to have confidence that we will get through to the other side. However, it’s virtually impossible to ignore that there will be some tough choices in getting there for all of us!

Here are just some of our top tips for staying calm and dealing with a crisis:

1. Find out all the facts. There’s no point in shooting from the hip, find out the who what, why, where and how first and then determine your position. This is essential for maintaining trust and reputation.
2. Tell the truth.  Say in simple language what’s gone wrong without assigning blame or covering things up. This type of overreaction invariably comes back to bite you and will certainly not help your credibility or reputation.
3. Stay in control. Pretending the problem doesn’t exist will not make it go away! Decide what you need to do to deal with the issue and put an action plan in place.
4. Identify a suitable spokesperson. This doesn’t have to be the MD, but often the more senior the person, the better. Make sure before they speak to anyone or the media, they are fully briefed on the company’s position.
5. Don’t be afraid to communicate. Stay calm, keep the message clear and simple and reinforce your position as often as possible. Not only do you retain a measure of control on the time spent answering questions from all angles, but you go a long way to ensuring the info that is used by the media is as accurate as possible.
6. Think before you speak or act. It’s perfectly OK to think through your response first. This also helps you come across in the best possible way when speaking to the media or members of the public or your team.
7. Take swift action. It’s always advisable to have a crisis comms protocol and plan in place which can simply be implemented in the event of a crisis. It also helps to practise this from time to time so that it can be implemented without too much alarm.
8. Copy the best. If you see someone who’s calm under pressure and comes across as credible when facing a barrage of questions – learn from them and practise, practise, practise.
9. Get professional advise. If you don’t know how to proceed, get in a crisis management professional. You can then spend more of your time dealing with the issue at hand.
10. Learn from your mistakes. No one’s perfect, but learning the lessons and acting responsibly will help you should you ever find yourself in a crisis situation again.

So how do you go about boosting your presence online, without having to give up your day job, family and social life?

The first suggestion is to look again at who you are trying to target. If you’re audience is young people or teenagers, you’re probably better off setting up a MySpace or Bebo page. Facebook or LinkedIn typically appeals more to the average business user, whilst YouTube is suitable for video links, online demonstrations, etc.  

Two, what are you trying to achieve? Are you looking to inform, raise awareness, get people to sign up, buy something or attend something? In defining what you’re trying to achieve, it’s much simpler to narrow down which channels to use.

Three. Relevance. Whether you’re looking for a new job, building an online network or fan page, ask yourself if what you’re trying to say is relevant or of interest to the people or audiences you want to talk to.

Four. Think of the medium you’re using and consider your message, the language you use, etc. The language you use when posting your profile on LinkedIn will understandably be different to the way you communicate on Twitter.

Five. Be yourself. Remember that to get to where you are in business, you’re currently or potentially able to do something different, better or faster. Don’t be afraid to let potential customers, users or business partners see this.

Six. Choose the right tools for the job. Social or online media are great, but they are not necessarily the only or even best way to reach your target market or audience. So do your homework and listen to what your customers have to say.

Seven. Use the best person for the job. If you can’t think of anything you’d less rather do than spend hours every week updating your Facebook page of fan page, get someone else to do it. After all, many of your employees are already spending hours on these supposedly timewasters, so why not get them to promote your business or service at the same time while monitoring your competitors.

Eight. Collaborate. Just as there are different tools for different outcomes, using a combination of traditional and new media tools is a safe bet for maximum reach and minimum criticism.

Nine. Keep up with the news. After all, they say there’s nothing new under the sun, it’s just your interpretation that makes it interesting, fresh or relevant. Also, by keeping up with the news, you have a ready source of angles for your blog, your twitter messages, etc.

10. Consider the law. Although Social Media is still in its infancy, there are laws affecting usage, obtaining leads for marketing campaigns, etc. If you’re not sure, get some legal advice before you jump aboard!

The trick is timing it correctly.

So how do you turn what’s getting the media’s attention right now into an opportunity? The first thing is to realise what is making the news i.e. something so big, that it’s getting everyone’s attention.

Secondly, remember the big story of the moment may not be your core business, idea or service. And for many businesses not operating in or dealing with the entertainment business, Michael Jackson’s death – no matter how shocking or sad – could just seem like a waste of valuable business time.

So if you’re not an entertainer trying to make a comeback, how can you get your message across? In this case you need to find a way to hook into the big story of the moment.

 Think US Weekly or AEG Live – the organisers of MJ’s London tour. US Weekly unveiled previously unseen online footage taken at the 1984 Pepsi ad fiasco which resulted in MJ losing much of his hair and sustaining serious burns to both his face and scalp (the speculated start of his pain killer problems). The results, record hits for US Weekly online and global coverage for the title within hours.

After issuing a statement saying our thoughts are with the family, AEG Live quickly bounced back from a major potential crisis with news of a possible tribute gig and then the eureka moment – offering a souvenir ticket instead of a refund. Risky if every fan took this option, but quick and clever thinking nonetheless!

Thirdly, remember that every week or holiday season there’s a news item or issue that takes the lion’s share of airtime and print space. If you, your business or product has anything to do with this or what the media are talking about, make the most of it – ring your local news reporter, issue a press release, send an email … Bottom line, if it’s newsy, use it!

First things first. Hiring professional PR or Marketing advice is about tapping into years of experience as well as specialist skills. As a PR professional myself, this fee is earned from years and years of ‘been there, done that, learnt the lessons, made the connections’.

So if you’re considering going it alone on the PR front (as more and more businesses are), you really are limited only by what you’re prepared to do; just don’t expect to emerge as an expert media spokesperson or cutting-edge copywriter overnight!

OK, I’m getting off the soapbox…

So how do you ensure your business benefits from real PR power?

The first thing is to decide upfront what you want to achieve i.e. what the key issues are for your business, product or service. These can be anything from increasing sales leads to bringing about a change in perception about your product or service from local residents.

It’s also important to decide what your idea of success is – more people calling you or consent for a planning application without any objections from local residents. Just remember, don’t base success solely on ‘gut feel’.

Two. What do you really mean when you say ‘I’d like to do some PR’? Are you happy with articles about you or your business in the local paper or are you trying to talk to a specific dealer, supplier or user across three counties?

This may seem obvious, but with thousands of media outlets serving almost any audience you can think of, it’s best to be clear. You also need to consider what they need to see, hear or read to bring about the change you’re looking for.

Three. Be prepared i.e. in a position to deal with a sudden burst of new customers or available for media interviews if what you’re saying generates interest from the local radio station. However, don’t forget to think ahead – responding quickly is one thing, but a successful campaign is just that – a sustained effort – not just a flash in the pan.

Four. Be patient and persevere. The world’s top companies have this in common; they don’t give up at the first, second or even the third hurdle. What’s more, it pays to remember what PR is fundamentally about – influencing attitudes, perceptions and behaviour – not guaranteeing overnight success. So, if at first you don’t get the results you’re looking for, keep going. Review your strategy, take a different tack if need be, but don’t give up or expect to get on the front page of the FT within three months.

Five. Keep PR at the heart of your business. In a small business this is fairly easy as the person doing the PR is usually the owner or senior manager anyway. However, it’s worth noting that PR is about communicating at all levels, whether talking to employees or customers.

Here’s some more PR DIY dos and don’ts:

• Talk to your people – just because you know what’s going on, don’t assume everyone else does too. This can also help prevent important information being leaked out of context.
• Don’t let go of PR. Some things are worth hanging on to at a senior level and PR is one of them.
• Expect the unexpected. We’ve spoken about being prepared, but good preparation can also ensure that negative publicity doesn’t turns into crisis management overnight.
• Know when to call in the experts. Aside from valuable mentoring and contacts, PR professionals are able to perform a communications audit that can help you map out a strategic communications plan for the business and assist you in putting these strategies into achievable actions.

If you want to share your thoughts or tips on this topic, please do. Or if you want more info on how to proceed, get in touch.

So imagine my surprise when I was asked to do an interview in around 45 minutes’ time with BBC Five Live on why I don’t like going to the countryside. For the record I actually do, I just don’t do this very often.

Before going any further, I must admit to giggling a little when the producer told me what it was about. Probably for the best, as he decided then and there to let the show’s presenter have a little fun with this one.

So there I was trying to explain why the countryside is not my automatic choice on the weekend while on the other line ‘one man and his dog’ was rather adamant that city folk like me much prefer going to Tesco and looking at their computers…hmpf!

The point of my ramblings – why an ad hoc media request is not a bad thing; what to say if you find yourself in this position and (in my case) what not to say if you’d like to avoid the conversation turning into a row…

I’m touching on just a few points here, but please see our top tips for dealing with the media.

1. Always do your homework – find out what the angle of the interview is, who else the journalist will be talking to, etc.

This is vital. Not only do you get to agree or disagree with the findings of someone else’s often expensive research, you also get a chance at relaying your own research or expertise.

2. Stick to just three (or five, if you have to) key points.

Say what you want to say, elaborate on your key points and, if there’s time, repeat what you’ve just said. The reason, if the interview is hostile or controversial; you keep in control of your message, you don’t get lured into debates on why city folk cannot even identify a sheep or an oak tree and you usually get to give your opinion even if others don’t agree.

3. Try to help if you can.

OK my family of die-hard farmers back in South Africa will probably shake their heads in disbelief over my obvious lack of loyalty, but as I’d already talked about the same topic to Good Morning Wales a while back, I couldn’t exactly say ‘no thanks’. Ultimately, you achieve these two things for free:

you or your business gets a name check

and you have a valuable opportunity to build a rapport with a journalist who could just be the one who calls you when you have to make 100 people redundant.

4. Don’t say anything you don’t want to have repeated on find printed on the front page of the local paper.

Even worse, don’t ever say ‘no comment’ as this usually means you’ve got something to hide and a journalist worth his/her salt will just keep digging.

5. Keep it simple – think about speaking in a soundbyte – everything you need to get across in 30 seconds. So, avoid jargon if you can, keep statistics and figures to a minimum and try and tell your story in an interesting way.

If your last media interview left you shaken or you want to share your own useful tips, please get in touch.