"Crisis communication is a sub-specialty of the public relations profession that is designed to protect and defend an individual, company, or organization facing a public challenge to its reputation."
How to handle and report on crisis communications, such as natural disasters, terrorist attacks, or public health outbreaks.
Basics of Crisis Communication: An overview of the fundamental concepts and principles of Crisis Communication, including the definition of crisis, the role of communication in crisis mitigation, and the key stakeholders involved.
Types of Crises: The different types of crises that organizations may face, such as natural disasters, cyberattacks, product recalls, employee scandals, and political events, and how to communicate during each type.
Crisis Communication Planning: The importance of having a crisis communication plan in place, including a crisis communication team, crisis communication protocols, and crisis communication tools and technologies.
Crisis Communication Strategy: The key elements of crisis communication strategy, which include identifying the key messages, audience segmentation, message delivery channels, and timing of communication.
Crisis Communication Tactics: The different tactics and techniques used in crisis communication, such as press releases, spokesperson statements, social media monitoring, and crisis response websites.
Social Media and Crisis Communication: The role of social media in crisis communication, including the benefits and risks of using social media during a crisis, social media monitoring best practices, and social media crisis communication strategies.
Crisis Communication Monitoring and Measurement: Measurement of crisis communication efforts, including how to select the right metrics to measure, track, and analyze crisis communication, such as sentiment analysis.
Crisis Communication Ethics: The ethical considerations that should be taken into account when engaging in crisis communication, including issues of transparency, truthfulness, and the protection of privacy.
Crisis Communication Training: The importance of training for crisis communication teams, including the development of crisis communication simulation scenarios, role-playing exercises, and effective communication techniques.
Crisis Leadership: The importance of crisis leadership in managing and communicating during a crisis, including the qualities of effective crisis leaders, crisis management techniques, and strategies for crisis communication leadership.
Reputation Management: This type of crisis communication focuses on maintaining or repairing a company or individual's reputation following a crisis or negative event. It involves monitoring and responding to online chatter in a way that promotes positive sentiment toward the company or individual.
Product Recall: When a product poses a threat to public safety or health, a company must quickly and effectively communicate the recall to the public. This type of crisis communication requires a coordinated effort between the company, media outlets, and government agencies.
Natural Disaster Response: When a natural disaster hits, companies must quickly communicate what actions they are taking to help those affected. This often involves sharing information about resources available to those in need, like food, shelter, and medical care.
Financial Crisis Communications: Companies experiencing financial crises must communicate openly and honestly with stakeholders, including shareholders, consumers, and employees, about the situation. This includes outlining a plan to address the crisis and regularly giving updates on the company’s progress.
Employee Relations Crisis Communications: This type of crisis communication is used to address crises within a company’s workforce, such as allegations of harassment, discrimination, or workplace violence. Effective communication is critical to maintain employee morale and address any legal or regulatory issues.
Cybersecurity Crisis Communications: With the rise in cyber attacks, companies must be prepared to communicate with customers and stakeholders in the event of a data breach. This includes sharing information about what happened, what the company is doing to address the issue, and how customers can protect themselves.
Legal Crisis Communications: Companies may face a legal crisis if they are sued by a customer, employee, or other stakeholder. Effective communication can help mitigate any reputational damage and show that the company is taking steps to address the issue.
Political Crisis Communications: Companies may find themselves embroiled in political controversies or facing pressure to take a position on a political issue. Crisis communication in these situations involves carefully navigating public statements and responding to media inquiries in a way that doesn’t alienate stakeholders.
Leadership Crisis Communications: When a company’s top executive faces criminal charges or other serious allegations, crisis communication is necessary to address concerns about the company’s leadership and future direction.
Environmental Crisis Communications: Companies must communicate effectively when facing environmental disasters, such as oil spills or chemical leaks. This includes sharing information about the cause of the disaster, what the company is doing to mitigate the effects, and any remediation efforts.
"Crisis communication is aimed at raising awareness of a specific type of threat, the magnitude, outcomes, and specific behaviors to adopt to reduce the threat."
"Timothy Coombs defines crisis as 'the perception of an unpredictable event that threatens important expectancies of stakeholders and can seriously impact an organization's performance and generate negative outcomes'."
"Crisis communication is the collection, processing, and dissemination of information required to address a crisis situation."
"Meaning can be socially constructed; because of this, the way that the stakeholders of an organization perceive an event (positively, neutrally, or negatively) is a major contributing factor to whether the event will become a crisis."
"The term crisis 'should be reserved for serious events that require careful attention from management.'"
"Crisis management has been defined as 'a set of factors designed to combat crises and to lessen the actual damages inflicted.'"
"Crisis management should not merely be reactionary; it should also consist of preventative measures and preparation in anticipation of potential crises."
"Effective crisis management has the potential to greatly reduce the amount of damage the organization receives as a result of the crisis, and may even prevent an incident from ever developing into a crisis."