Former colleague and current Examiner.com columnist, Phil Mann, recently interviewed me for his article, “The importance of workplace communications during a crisis.”
Key callout:
Donnelly argues that the employee audience is a crucial one that, in an ideal world, should be addressed first or at least simultaneously to the initial release of public information. He believes this is even more essential given the immediate access to information today via social media.
Ketchum, my employer, recently published the latest edition of its online magazine, Perspectives. Some previous posts I created for this blog have been combined and updated for one of the key articles of the magazine.
Check out the article if you:
Starlight, star…bright?
Many contemporary superstars – celebrities, artists, athletes, etc. – are embracing social networking to enjoy direct, authentic dialogue with the public. Today’s icons let thoughts flow through their fingertips, without the primping and protection of publicists or PR handlers. This is a good idea for the thoughtful, who share information that is complimentary to their image. However, this is a detrimental idea for those who expose a naiveté, bias or thoughts inconsistent with their image.
For professionals who manage sponsorships with these stars, social networking creates accelerated risks. From an issues and crisis perspective, I’ve long recommended “inoculation actions” for sponsorships. Here are those actions, applied to a sponsored star who is active on social networks:
Earlier this month, the U.S. Army Social Media Handbook was released to the public. It is a solid guide of practical tips for anyone engaging in digitally networked dialogue, whether for personal or professional use.
Many of the tips promote networking caution in the interest of saving lives on the battlefield (and at home) and also to save individual and troop reputation. From a crisis management standpoint, I thought these eight tips were standouts:
1. “All leaders must communicate social media expectations…” (p. 4)
So many organizations provide protocols that define out-of-bounds online behavior for social networking. It’s probably equally beneficial to illustrate the expected behavior. This approach provides the most clarity if the organization is pressed to take corrective actions.
2. Warnings on geotagging and location-based social networking (p. 5)
These warnings may be obvious to protect troop locations. Perhaps it is less obvious to consider how this seemingly innocent location-disclosure can harm personal privacy or sensitive corporate information. As one example, keep in mind that hackers love to collect information – including where you’ve been and when – before they infiltrate.
3. Online relationships – keep it professional (p. 6)
Following this very obvious guideline can keep many corporate executives out of HR trouble, or out of the courtrooms.
Public Relations Tactics, a monthly publication of PRSA, interviewed me and other PR veterans to solicit 2011 trends.
For those that don’t subscribe, here were my three published prognostications:
As an added bonus to my blog followers, here’s one 2011 trend that PRSA did not print:
Were there any trends I may have missed? Use the comments section below, please.
Jan. 25 update: Ketchum President Rob Flaherty provides his thoughts on “The Changing Crisis Management Landscape” through this podcast done for American Airlines’ audio series called “The Executive Report.”
