PR Company, Internet Marketing

Riding out the PR storm – how to make the best of a public relations disaster (Part 1)

Is your company prepared for a PR storm… and not a good one? There comes a time where every business needs to be ready in case something bad happens. Whether you’re anticipating the worst or just like to be prepared, we’re not about to judge. What we will say is that even if your company is whiter than white, having a PR crisis plan in place can really help you if the worst case scenario becomes a reality.

Well, the first thing you need to do is appoint a spokesperson. This doesn’t necessarily have to be the managing director, but it ought to be somebody with accountability and responsibility within the company. Before you make the appointment, you need to ask yourself if they represent the look of your brand. For example, if you were appointing a spokesperson for a bank, you wouldn’t choose someone with long hair, a beard and who wouldn’t look out of place on a Thai beach. You would choose a spokesperson who looks clean cut and comfortable in a suit! As superficial as this may sound, if a person is representing your brand then it is important that in times of trouble, those who know and possibly love your brand don’t feel alienated by the person you choose to represent you.

Fortunately, when choosing a spokesperson, it isn’t all about how you look, it is also about how they conduct themselves. Are they naturally confident? A lot of people might “fake it ’til they make it” but under pressure, confidence shines through and helps reassure those around them which is particularly good for broadcast appearances.

On the subject of broadcast appearances, consider media training for newly appointed spokespeople. Many people are perfectly confident until they have a camera or a microphone shoved in their face. Not only that, but broadcasters need soundbites, so it is important for a spokesperson to be aware of how to construct their messages in a way that mean journalists don’t have to edit your message beyond meaning. Camera angles and aggressive questioning should also be practised.

With social networking being so prominent in people’s social lives, we also feel it is vital to cover the divide between a public and a private persona. We all have our private lives but in 2009 John Sawers, a newly-appointed head of MI6, discovered the value of such privacy. His wife posted pictures of their holidays, and whilst wearing Speedos is hardly a national secret, it does little to help one’s public image having personal information in the public domain. Whilst we don’t advise anyone withdraw from all social media, we do advise that spokespeople are made fully aware of why they should keep private information and opinions locked down and how they are able to do this.

Do you have a back up in case your PR spokesperson is on holiday or unavailable? It’s always good practice to have a back up!

Finally, if you have a PR agency then it is advisable that they are directly in touch with your spokesperson should the event you have trained for but hope never happens, happens.

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