Sharing Responsibility for Social Media Crisis Management

Erik Bernstein crisis communications, crisis management, Erik Bernstein, Jonathan Bernstein, media training, online reputation management, public relations, social media 2 Comments

Get everyone involved in social media and bolster your crisis management People work best when feel that they have ownership of a project. It’s a long-accepted fact of business and team building, so why are so few integrating that thought with their online reputation management programs? Often the social media …

KitchenAid Turns Social Media Fail into Reputation Win

Erik Bernstein crisis communications, crisis management, crisis public relations, Crisis Response, Erik Bernstein, Jonathan Bernstein, KitchenAid, online reputation management, PR, social media 3 Comments

How a nasty post became a boon for housewares giant Now Kitchenaid can add itself to the list of companies who’ve run into social media crises stemming from an apparent slip of the mouse. Right smack in the middle of last week’s presidential debate, this post went out from the …

Social Media Doesn’t Close for the Weekend

Erik Bernstein crisis communications, crisis management, crisis preparation, Crisis Prevention, crisis public relations, Crisis Response, Erik Bernstein, Jonathan Bernstein, online reputation management, PR, public relations, social media Leave a Comment

Use online reputation management to help you catch problems early, or risk walking into a full-blown crisis Monday morning We applaud social media networks for allowing us to communicate with the public on a massive scale, but it’s critical to remember that while many businesses may close for the weekend, …

#drought12

Erik Bernstein crisis communications, crisis management, Crisis Response, Erik Bernstein, Jonathan Bernstein, online reputation management, public relations, social media Leave a Comment

Farmers put social media to work in combating a devastating drought The reach and flexibility of social media makes it an ideal crisis management tool, even in industries that are thousands of years old. When a crushing drought put the crops of farmers across the U.S. in danger, they turned …

Bic’s “For Her” Crisis, or How to Play Ostrich

Erik Bernstein crisis management, Crisis Response, Erik Bernstein, Jonathan Bernstein, online reputation management, reputation management, social media Leave a Comment

Nonexistent crisis management from the pen maker Are you a woman? Are those manly black, white, red and blue pens keeping you from writing? Well look no further, because Bic’s “for Her” line is here! Yes, we’re being sarcastic, but no, we aren’t making up the “for Her” line. Industry …

Colleges Use Social Media to Defuse Bomb Threats

Erik Bernstein crisis communications, crisis management, Crisis Prevention, Crisis Response, Erik Bernstein, Jonathan Bernstein, school crisis management, social media Leave a Comment

Crisis management that reaches its intended audience This past Friday, the University of Texas at Austin and North Dakota State both received bomb threats from unidentified individuals. The obvious first step after receiving such a threat is to clear the area, but how do you notify the tens of thousands …

No “Likes” for Facebook’s Crisis Management

Erik Bernstein crisis communications, crisis management, Crisis Response, Erik Bernstein, Facebook, Jonathan Bernstein, online reputation management, public relations, social media Leave a Comment

What drives a social media innovator to sit silent while his stock plummets? With Facebook stock, one of the most anticipated public offerings, well…ever, sinking from day one, you would think that the company would be eager to trot out the man who brought it all together, THE face of …

Yeah We Lost Your Kid, So What?

Erik Bernstein crisis communications, crisis management, Crisis Prevention, crisis public relations, Crisis Response, Erik Bernstein, Jonathan Bernstein, online reputation management, social media 1 Comment

Appallingly poor online crisis management from United Airlines United Airlines was riding a wave of social media success following the Olympics. With Facebook contests and Twitter stunts accompanying pictures of returning athletes embracing United staff, the campaign was a mounting success. Suddenly, the Monday after closing ceremonies, a new and …

The Crisis Show Ep. 10 – Akin, West Nile, Sports Crises, and that’s not all!

Erik Bernstein crisis communications, crisis management, Crisis Prevention, crisis public relations, Crisis Response, Jonathan Bernstein, Karen Freberg, online reputation management, reputation management, Rich Klein, social media, The Crisis Show Leave a Comment

In the latest episode of The Crisis Show, hosts Jonathan Bernstein, Rich Klein, and Melissa Agnes welcomed guest Karen Freberg, assistant professor in Strategic Communications at the University of Louisville and adjunct faculty member for West Virginia University. The crisis management mishaps continue to roll in, and we covered the …

Progressive’s #Crisisfail

Erik Bernstein crisis communications, crisis management, crisis public relations, Crisis Response, online reputation management, Progressive, public relations, social media Leave a Comment

Don’t let lawyers control your crisis management Progressive has made a fortune branding itself as the “everyman” of the insurance world with its kitschy commercials, but a major crisis management failure has caused the brand harm it could have avoided. At the heart of the controversy is a Tumblr created …

Crisis Management for One, Please

Erik Bernstein crisis communications, crisis management, crisis preparation, Crisis Prevention, Crisis Response, Erik Bernstein, Jonathan Bernstein, public relations, reputation management, social media Leave a Comment

Protecting your reputation on the ‘net When your small business is reliant largely on word of mouth, as they so often are, how do you protect its reputation when upset customers get vocal on the web? This quote, from an AmEx Open Forum article by Angela Stringfellow, features some solid …

Alleged Delta Employee’s Reddit Posts Create Crisis Management Stir

Erik Bernstein crisis communications, crisis management, Crisis Prevention, crisis public relations, Crisis Response, Erik Bernstein, Jonathan Bernstein, online reputation management, Reddit, reputation management, social media 1 Comment

Respond when your reputation’s threatened The popularity of social media has certainly opened up organizations to new types of crises. For a perfect example, take a look at how a poster on Reddit.com, claiming to be a Delta Airlines employee, responded to a complaint about poor baggage handling: “People get …

Talk to Your Online Community in Times of Crisis

Erik Bernstein crisis communications, crisis management, crisis public relations, Crisis Response, Erik Bernstein, Jonathan Bernstein, reputation management, social media Leave a Comment

Crisis management calls for constant communication One of our most-used sayings here at Bernstein Crisis Management is, “in the absence of communication, rumor and innuendo fill the gap.” Never has that been more true than now, where the line between accredited media member and amateur e-reporter is almost completely blurred. …

Rumors Cause Crisis Management Catastrophe

Erik Bernstein crisis communications, crisis management, crisis preparation, Crisis Prevention, crisis public relations, Crisis Response, media training, public relations, reputation management, social media Leave a Comment

Catch trouble early to prevent crisis management nightmares It was a blood-boiler of a story, a menacing tale of government gone too far: The Environmental Protection Agency was spying on Midwestern farmers with the same aerial “drones” used to kill terrorists overseas. This month, the idea has been repeated in …

A Crisis in One Culture May Be Commonplace in Another

Erik Bernstein crisis communications, crisis management, crisis preparation, Crisis Prevention, crisis public relations, Crisis Response, media training, Olympics, public relations, reputation management, social media, Tony Jaques 1 Comment

It depends on the culture [Editor’s note:  We’re pleased to bring you this article from crisis consultant Tony Jaques.] While the Internet and online technology is rapidly flattening out cultural differences, an incident in Australia provides a reminder that what might be commonplace in one country can trigger a reputational …