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\n\t\tOpinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.\t<\/p>\n
With all the high-stakes moments out there in the public sphere, businesses and business leaders need to have a handle on reputation management more than ever. One ill-advised tweet that goes viral<\/a> can cause as much damage as a full-length expos\u00e9, and yet the two scenarios do not pose the same threats or require the same type of response.<\/p>\n \u201cTriage\u201d is necessary, sure, but what kind, what does it entail and how do you best enact it? These are questions I regularly face at my PR firm<\/a>, where I\u2019ve been navigating reputation management crises for years and am responsible for both calming and expertly coaching my clients through them.<\/p>\n I\u2019ll tell you what I tell them: Some fires burn hot and fast on social media, some burn slow and wide in the press, and, unfortunately, some do both. Determining the type of damage-control intervention that will be most effective at dousing the flames is the key to appropriate response strategy.<\/p>\n Before delving into the triage tools of the trade, I want to clarify that we are indeed talking about reputation crises that surface on social versus those that spread in media outlets, but we\u2019re also <\/i>talking about responding to a crisis \u2014 any kind of crisis \u2014 primarily in the online digital realm versus the more traditional media outlet realm.<\/p>\n So the \u201cfires\u201d I just talked about? It\u2019s important to differentiate the characteristics of each, to not treat every crisis like it\u2019s the same crisis, because that\u2019s the fastest way to lose control of a narrative.<\/p>\n In other words, digital fires spread differently than media fires, and as such, they each warrant their own language, timing and tone to tame them.<\/p>\n A crisis that breaks online doesn\u2019t unfold; it detonates. And followers don\u2019t just react instantly, they react emotionally. Screenshots and reshares pop up at lightning speed, and comments from accounts completely unknown to you can rack up 10,000 likes over just your lunch hour.<\/p>\n Compounding the complexities of this online battleground is the fact that digital content is now algorithm-driven. This is the reality of digital reputation management today: it must recognize that digital crises run on feelings much more than facts and that what you\u2019re trying to quell are actually faceless, nameless mathematical formulas intended to amplify conversations, not confirm accuracy.<\/p>\n Amid such unprecedented pacing and unpredictability, you have to do far more than just monitor comments or draft counter-posts to halt the progress of a crisis. Digital triage must take into account the psychology of online audiences, who respond to \u201cvibes\u201d first, information second. That\u2019s why tone and timing are everything.<\/p>\n In the first few hours, then, rather than concentrating on a full statement for release, I advise following what I call the ASAP technique:<\/p>\n Then comes the most important part of digital triage: knowing how to transform a digital moment into a solid, far-reaching communications strategy before the media grabs the steering wheel \u2026 and hangs on to it.<\/p>\n Once a digital spark ignites into a story that garners press attention, the game changes. To take control of the longer-term narrative, you have to call on more tactics in your playbook, not just lowering the volume of the loudest commenters, but redirecting public opinion.<\/p>\n Reclaiming and stabilizing your brand reputation involves utilizing specific tools (like legal counsel, brand protection approaches and time-proven PR methods), crafting a message cadence that will resonate and executing highly strategic delivery of crisis intervention steps.<\/p>\n Careful sequencing plays a much bigger role in media crises than in digital crises because you\u2019re dealing with a cast of characters \u2014 journalists, editors, news producers \u2014 who will fact-check, cross-check and contextualize the information you provide.<\/p>\n Because every word carries weight when conducting media triage, you will want to:<\/p>\n Media crises aren\u2019t about making noise; they\u2019re about establishing credibility<\/a>. Properly triaging them therefore calls for intention over instinctual reaction and shifting from emotional management to narrative architecture.<\/p>\n How convenient it would be if publicized mistakes walked a single, clear path. In reality, they almost never do. Instead, they start in one lane and cross over into another, sometimes quite swiftly.<\/p>\n Similarly, reputation management doesn\u2019t apply to just social platforms or just media outlets. There\u2019s lots of overlap that can occur, making it challenging to know where to start and when to pivot. If you drag your heels in responding digitally, the incident can become a news headline. If you\u2019re too reactive in the press, people will set fire to the story online and then continue feeding the flames.<\/p>\n Therein lies the rub of the media cycle and why modern crisis management<\/a> has been elevated into an art form all its own. When a digital discussion blossoms into a media story (or vice versa), tone, messaging and factual accuracy should align across both, and traditional PR approaches should be coupled with leading-edge measures to keep mere rumors from gathering dangerous momentum.<\/p>\n Here are some final guidelines you can follow to skillfully maneuver this tricky terrain:<\/p>\n Crisis work doesn\u2019t need to be flawless to be impactful. Clarity, compassion and honesty are what people respond to the most. When you position these elements at the forefront of your strategy, you will regain trust \u2014 and that\u2019s the real prize in today\u2019s marketplace, both in terms of digital reputation and media management.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n With all the high-stakes moments out there in the public sphere, businesses and business leaders need to have a handle on reputation management more than ever. One ill-advised tweet that goes viral<\/a> can cause as much damage as a full-length expos\u00e9, and yet the two scenarios do not pose the same threats or require the same type of response.<\/p>\n \u201cTriage\u201d is necessary, sure, but what kind, what does it entail and how do you best enact it? These are questions I regularly face at my PR firm<\/a>, where I\u2019ve been navigating reputation management crises for years and am responsible for both calming and expertly coaching my clients through them.<\/p>\n I\u2019ll tell you what I tell them: Some fires burn hot and fast on social media, some burn slow and wide in the press, and, unfortunately, some do both. Determining the type of damage-control intervention that will be most effective at dousing the flames is the key to appropriate response strategy.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\nSocial vs. press platforms<\/h2>\n
Digital triage: Fast and furious<\/h2>\n
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Media triage: Slower but potentially more significant<\/h2>\n
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Where digital reputation management and media management intersect<\/h2>\n
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Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n
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