How to manage your content in a crisis.

Crisis management plays a core part of any communication strategy. Even if it is something we’d rather hide away from.

I’ve spent the last few days seeing the global reaction to COVID-19 jump a serious level. What we’d hoped would be a relaxing long weekend away in Paris soaking up all the culture, wine and bread turned into a rapid rise in our anxiety and hours spent watching Netflix from a tiny Airbnb on a phone screen. The situation in France went from bad to worse, shining a harsh light on the reality of what could be to come in the UK.

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t scared. Scared for the health of my loved ones. Scared for the impact on my business. Scared for the livelihood of my clients.

And I don’t want to add to the noise; there really is so much of it. Every scroll seems to leave you faced with more scaremongering and less and less certainty.

But I believe there is a way I – and all small business owners – can help, even if it is in the tiniest way.

I wanted to start by sharing a few tips for crisis management in your communications, and how we can use our content to contribute to the protection and wellbeing of ourselves, our businesses and our customers.

I hope it helps, even just a little.

Understand the impact of the crisis.

This is key in figuring out who you need to communicate to and the message you need to be sharing.

Whether you are product or service based, list every aspect of your business and what the effect of the crisis could be. This should include any stakeholders and what their experience of the crisis might be.

Take my business, for example. Yes I am self employed and yes I have the capacity to work from home from my laptop; the actual mechanisms of my work can go on as normal.

However, it’s safe to assume that – for the foreseeable future – the content I produce for my clients will need to be more reactive and communication plans may need to be altered.

There is also the potential for lost income and partnerships if clients find themselves in difficult times, or (on the flip-side) a surge in the need for crisis communication management or overall digital marketing. Therefore I need to support my current clients as much as possible and make clear to any future clients how I can support them, whilst being generous with my advice and value adding content (such as this blog!).

Decide on your core message.

This is especially important when you are more than a one man band.

It’s crucial that your messaging around the crisis is consistent and aligned across all platforms. A crisis brings with it panic, and it is our job to soften that worry as much as possible. Making your messaging clear for your audience is a simple way to do that.

Alongside this is staying true to your voice. It can feel like the “sensible” option to make your messaging corporate and *serious*, but don’t forget the important brand voice that your audience has grown to recognise you for.

It comes back to making people feel safe and comfortable. No one wants to hear from a robot. Unless you’re Will Smith. Or Hogarth Hughes (props to anyone who gets THAT reference).

Identify your spokespeople and a workflow.

While having a core message will make it easier for everyone to sing from the same hymn sheet, it’s worthwhile to pinpoint a person / a few people who can be your “go to” people when it comes to commenting on the crisis.

Useful people to include are those with experience in PR, HR and legalities.

Once you’ve done this, start to figure out your workflow. Here you’ll want to plan:

• Where you are going to communicate (ie what channels)

• Who you need to contact

• How often you will publicly communicate the message

• How often you will internally communicate the message

You can opt for an in-house management of this if you have the capacity or bring in someone external to support you. The most important thing is to have your plan in place before you need it – last minute scrabbling is the ultimate enemy!

Be honest and proactive.

Don’t wait to communicate your message until the worst has happened. Put your audience at ease by drip-feeding the message and showing you are open to their thoughts and concerns.

And, of course, honesty is always the best policy. It can feel pretty damn scary to show your insecurities to the people who pay your bills (or the people whose bills you pay!), but your reputation will thank you for it. Being upfront will allow you to mitigate damage as much as possible, allow your stakeholders to feel involved in your decision making process and give you the chance to adapt your business plan to accomodate any future changes.

Even if your business has seen zero impact so far, you can still let people know that you are monitoring the crisis and that they will be the first ones to hear of updates.

Prepare yourself for press.

Let’s face it; the press are not always kind.

Build a press plan should the tables turn in a negative direction. Press releases, reaction statements, phone scripts and social media responses will all save you a massive added ball ache if you find yourself in a sudden situation that is out of your control.

If something were to happen, the golden rule is to acknowledge it immediately BUT without giving a knee-jerk reaction. Your response needs to be well thought out, human and responsible. This will help you limit the damage on your brand.

Maintain your content and prioritise SEO.

Remember, even if your current business climate feels bleak, there is a chance to pull it back.

More than ever, it’s important to maintain your content and business image in the wake of a crisis. Even if you find yourself closing shop or without clients, you can put the time and work in to keep your business high in the rankings and be seen as a beacon of knowledge during this difficult time.

This could be as simple as re-sharing previous (evergreen) content, or keeping up your social media presence. Plus, if your business does receive any negative backlash from the crisis, any new content you create will work to push that out of the spotlight.

By continuously showing up online you can preserve the image you have meticulously crafted and stay in the forefront of your audience’s mind once the storm passes.