Newcomers to the field bring hunger, fresh perspective
Graduates of communications programs are leaving school more prepared than ever to do the daily work required to excel in the fields of PR and crisis management.
Of course, a student’s thesis is where they really get to flex the mental muscle built up over years of hard work, so when Tegan Ford, a graduate of the School of Journalism and Communication at Ottawa’s Carleton University, shared her recently-accepted thesis with us, we saw a great opportunity to show what type of work those entering the field are capable of producing.
Tegan’s thesis was all about social media crisis communications best practices, and what better topic to be expert in for today’s business climate? She kicks things off with a keen observation on the dangers involved in clinging to traditional one-way communication, and social media’s role in the shifting paradigm:
Communication experts have argued that crises are no longer a matter of “if” but “when” in corporate life. Corporations must be ready to respond to a crisis with the greatest proficiency, for it can easily damage an organization’s image, identity, and reputation.
It is for this reason that the field of crisis communications has developed theories and strategies to guide organizations through periods of crisis. However, most of these theories are based on traditional models of communications that emphasize a one-way flow of information from a single communicator to a mass audience. Social media has destabilized established frameworks for crisis communication. This thesis explores how experts in crisis communication conceptualize the disruptive effects of social media on crisis communication. The study presents findings that will contribute to both scholarship and professional practice.
Of course every thesis must be based around research, and Tegan spoke with a variety of experts, including our own Jonathan Bernstein, to get an idea of what their experience in the field had taught them about various key principles, such as participating in online conversation:
“So you have two choices, you join the conversation and try to manage best you can, or you let people say what they want to say, and that doesn’t work. It is a conversation, it will take place, you are either part of it or not” (Jonathan Bernstein, December 4, 2012).
“If you are an organization and you aren’t on social media to take part in the conversation and see what has been said about you, it will be hard for you to adjust your communications afterwards regarding that. You have to know what is going on. You need to be participating, you just don’t have a choice… Just to calm them down, calm the rumours, and let them know we are taking care of it” (Melissa Carroll, January 22, 2013).
All of this research is driving towards challenge-resistant, provable findings, like this list of best practices:
Given that escaping a crisis with as little damage as possible is very important for an organization’s short term and long-term prosperity, this thesis, through understanding how crisis communications experts are conceptualizing the change in crisis development and management in this social media era, served to compose best practices to exit a crisis with the least amount of damage.
Best practices include: immediate response in the event of a crisis; commitment to two-way dialogue; listening to the public, putting public 116 concerns over the corporation’s; building a relationship with the public prior to the onset of a crisis, llowing the public to get an understanding of the character, morals, and voice of the corporation; being accountable for corporate wrongdoing, before the public demands it; reacting and adapting quickly and effectively to the situation; maintaining honesty, openness, transparency, and credibility, avoiding minimization or denial of the truth; demonstrating humanity, authenticity, and compassion in all communications; performing real time monitoring, particularly in the event of a crisis; apologizing immediately upon offense and doing so effectively by demonstrating human qualities when expressing contrition for committing wrongdoing and avoiding corporate speak, legal jargon, and other formal discourses, using both traditional and social media distribution.
The full thesis is an excellent read (you can download it here), and verifies quite thoroughly the type of advice that those at the leading edge of crisis management are dishing out to clients on a daily basis. We’re happy we were able to help Tegan with her research for this project, and wish all you students out there the best of luck!
[Editor’s note: Tegan is actively seeking a place to apply her knowledge of crisis and corporate communication as well as social media. Her email is Tegan@dupls.com]
The BCM Blogging Team
https://www.bernsteincrisismanagement.com