‘As communicators we deal with crisis all the time. If we do our jobs well, most people won’t know they ever happened.’- Victoria Harris, PR Newswire

Do you have a crisis communication plan in this social media age? Why? Well because bad things do happen from time to time. More so if you are operating a big business. Ask Kenya Airways (KQ) or Mumias Sugar Company (MSC).

Any brand that does not have a crisis communication team (plan) handy is planning to succumb to crisis hits. You would rather have a crisis communication team ready, without any incident; than be without and go through an incident that will drive you out of business. It happened to PanAm. Do you remember them?

Pan American Airline’s flight was destroyed by terrorists over Lockerbie. The company suffered a PR disaster when it emerged that warnings had been given about a bomb on the aircraft. The fact that PanAm received an average of four bomb warnings a day made no difference to the public perception. Shortly afterward, PanAm went out of business. Just like that.

However, this article isn’t so much about having a crisis communication plan: rather how do we plan for a crisis in this social media age? The idea here is integrating social media into your crisis communication plan. For reasons known: social media is the new media, and its reach has made companies more susceptible to potentially damaging situations.

In a research by Altimeter Group: ‘It has been more than 10 years since social media began to disrupt organizations. In that time, it has gone from being a “bright shiny object” that confounded business leaders, to becoming a widely adopted means of customer engagement.' This is where the people (customers ) who hold your brand's life are.

As much as social media has dissolved traditional boundaries, creating a sense of proximity between brands and consumers, it has also made companies more vulnerable. Considering that, we have over 1 billion facebook users and 400 million tweets sent per day: how can we afford not to integrate social media into our crisis communication plan?

The other day: we heard of how James Mwangi - CEO Equity Bank, allegedly sexually harassed Esther Passaris - founder of the adopt-a-light program. The article by Cyprian Nyakundi was validated by Esther’s own comment on the matter. I imagine, this ‘expose’ must have caught James Mwangi, unawares. Right? As much as its toll has not been felt, we all know it has left a crevice. Through social media, many heard about this. Even before the mainstream media picked it up. Back to the matter at hand.

For you to develop a strong crisis strategy, there are best practices that integrate social media into the traditional crisis communications framework that are essential. You need to know these 10 things in order to leverage social media to manage and even prevent crises:

1. Implement Policies to Address Potential Vulnerabilities

Have you noticed the way, employees don’t quite know when they should or shouldn’t comment on matters touching on the company? It is not their fault. Who wouldn’t want committed employees? But, this is tricky grounds.

In this age, there is a thin line between personal and professional lives. Once, this is not clear, chances are high of employees commenting on topics, which would otherwise result in irreparable damages. What to do? The team responsible for handling any crisis: should have clear policies, detailing what participants (social media) should do or not do in particular situations.

For instance: In the event a customer comments negatively about a product, let the social media manager, and or marketing director respond to the comment.

2. Use Social Media as a Tool for Crisis Monitoring

Where else if not on social media? If you would like to know what people are saying about your brand, go on social media and do the noble thing: listen. Armed with this knowledge, why not use social media to track issues that might affect your brand? Your social media team should man the social media space ready to fish any comment that might otherwise result in a full-blown catastrophe if left unattended.

3. Understand the Response-ability of Social Media

Gone are the days, when you only had to be close to traditional media to know your roof is on fire. Traditional media’s, inaccessibility, made it take longer for word to spread. Today, residents in Nairobi, in a matter of minutes, will know what is happening in Garissa. To imply that social media has significantly altered the rate at which information is exchanged and consumed. 

Social media has substantially reduced the window organizations have to respond in moments of crisis. On facebook, it might take 12 hours to respond to a crisis, while on twitter it is a matter of minutes. This new normal has to be factored in. Not only should you have people ready to act during normal working hours: but also after working hours – Mon-Fri: 9am-5pm.

4. Establish a Framework for Response

In a crisis communication, we have what we call, a war room. This is where; the crisis team goes in to put out the fire and come out either victorious and or the people who brought down an entire organization. You would not dream to be part of that team. At least when things pan out differently.

Regardless of the outcome: it is important that you have all passwords, gadgets accessible for such a time. You should well in advance, establish who will be your fighters in the “war room” as well as which individuals will be making decisions and communicating directives to teams tasked with responding to events on the ground. This team should be ready at all times: more so during this time.

5. Build a Social Media Crisis Toolkit

Make sure to include social media when preparing toolkits for your crisis response efforts. These include standardized, pre-approved templates for blog posts, tweets, and other social media platforms that are in harmony with the rest of the brand's response efforts.

6. Know Where to Respond

With the many channels, you must know where your constituents are. The idea is to make sure that your message reaches your constituents directly. This proves that you are willing to engage with your audiences, in the forums where they are. Do not stop there. Make sure that you include all other communication channels.

7. Prepare Your Employees in Advance

To be forewarned is to be fore-armed. As management, you want to maintain a consistent message across the company. From customer care to the c-suite, everyone should read from the same script.

8. Establish the Proper Tone

Remember when you were developing your strategy: there was that section of choosing a company tone: formal or informal? In the wake of a crisis, you must not let that restrict you in your responses. Make sure that in your message, you do not come out as insensitive just because you chose to an informal tone when responding to a crisis. Just remember to choose a tone depending on the context and situation at hand.

9. Hit the Automation Kill Switch

With the many social channels owned by a company, the use of software to manage these channels has been necessary. But in a crisis, all these software must be shut down. Everything needs to be brought under the care of the crisis communication team. The reason is, in the event that your release a post off topic, you might just be seen as insensitive and carefree of the needs of the customers and all affected parties.

10. Be Honest, Be Transparent

Ultimately, in all crisis honesty will help you go a long way. “There is no such thing as too much information. During a disaster or crisis, Twitter, and other social media can provide an instant view of conditions on the ground.” – The Guardian

Continued transparency and communication will help keep the public informed and updated throughout the duration of a crisis. Even sharing bad news in these moments will be appreciated for its honest and will help re-establish long-term trust once the crisis abates.

A chain is only as strong, as its weakest link. I have found this wisdom quite helpful in enforcing teamwork and the need to have everything laid out well, prior to taking massive amounts of action.

The same holds true when developing an airtight communications strategy. It is imperative that we know and understand what each element entails, before plunging into a mission that most certainly projects the future of the organization. So far, we have looked at strategic analysis and strategic intent. In this post, let us move a step further and look at strategic action.

Taking Strategic Action

‘Strategic action is concerned with the translation of the strategic intent’ says Cornelissen, ‘or chosen strategic option into action.’ Yes, we have done the analysis-fact finding mission; we have generated suitable options tailored to deliver certain key objectives. It is time we put the ideas into action.

Specify the Communication Objectives and the Role Communication Will Play

Before the suggested communication programs are implemented, it needs to be clear from the outset; the role communication is going to play in this instance. Is it a support or lead role? Having this in mind makes it clear on the direction to go and programmes to implement.

A first fundamental issue that needs to be decided upon before working out the content of the communications strategy, the communications programme, is the role that communications is to play in the overall corporate and market strategies for the organization. {Sic.}

Knowing the role communication will play makes it possible to determine the communication objectives as well as the communication tactics that are feasible to use. These objectives need to satisfy the SMART criteria, as do all other objectives. They need to be Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Realistic, and Targeted.

 Planning Communication Tactics

You have your objectives in place. The role communication is going to play is in check. What next? After defining the communication objectives and its contribution to corporate and/or market strategies made specific, the next step is to determine the elements of the communications programme: the stakeholder audiences to address and the message and channel tactics to use.

The stakeholder analysis we engaged in in the first elements helped us identify the key audiences we needed to target first, for us to achieve the desired effect. These showed us who the target audience would be of our communications programmes.

For our programmes to deliver the desired effects, we need to define the target audience. This is about media usage, usage of the company’s products, geo-demographic characteristics, membership of interest groups etc. Once we have a clear understanding of our target audience, anything, and everything about them: guided by our communication objectives, then we can determine the message to use in the communication programmes.

This will involve determining the main themes of the communications message (from which the specific copy can be developed), and the tone and type of response (awareness, attitude/reputation, behaviours) that the message will seek to evoke. The important factor is thus to decide what the message should say in relation to the organization’s identity, as it needs to reflect and be in tune with the values of the organization, as well as the stakeholder audience in hand. {Sic.}

Once we have our message, it follows that we need to settle on effective media channels to use. Knowing the most efficient and effective channel that will get our message across to the target audiences is as important as determining the message to deliver.

‘Discussion around media selection has recently centred or the notion of ‘zero-based’ selection, where the most appropriate medium in the light of the criteria selected is chosen, rather than a pre-fixed and standard choice for a medium that may have worked in the past.’ {Sic.}

Organizational Arrangements

‘Once the communications programme has been filled in – that is, when the objectives, message, media and audience are all specified – the next step is to consider the organizational arrangements that need to be made to carry out the programme and as such effectuate the communications strategy.’ Says Cornelissen.

These questions need answers:

• What budget is required for the envisaged plan?
• Who is to be responsible for carrying it out?
• What changes in organizational structure and design are needed to support and carry out the plan?
• What will different departments be held responsible for?
• What are the key tasks to be carried out?
• Are the practitioners involved up to the task, or is retraining necessary?

Answering these question brings to light the capability of the organization to actualize the communication strategy developed.

In developing a communication strategy, often professionals from different departments will need to collaborate. Thus, the need for an organization to have in place mechanisms and structures that support such interactions and collaboration.

Lastly, Cornelissen advices, ‘to take into account whether the proposed communications strategy adapts or builds on existing strategies – an incremental approach – or whether, because of the inadequacy of existing strategies or because management sees the need to change fundamentally the direction of the organization, a completely new communications strategy is suggested.

Are we ready to determine the message, media channels, and ability of the organization to implement the communications strategy? Let us find out. Shall we.

We have covered strategic analysis, a fact-finding mission, if I may. Nevertheless, what happens once you have all the information you need in place? Armed with all the relevant information it's time to act. Don’t you agree? In writing a communications strategy, this is the strategic intent phase.

What actions do you have lined up?

‘Strategic intent proceeds from this analysis and involves the formulation of a strategic vision,’ says Cornelissen, ‘around which possible courses of action are formulated, evaluated, and eventually chosen.’ In other words, strategic intent sets the agenda. By considering the current position of the corporation, strategic intent sets the direction the corporation needs to take for the realization of the desired ‘new’ position.

This desired position is achieved in the following ways:

Identifying Bases of Strategic Choice

Before the options available for a corporation are tabled, certain key factors need understanding. Luckily, these strategic options are embedded in the mission and vision statements of the corporation. Mission and vision statements express the desire of stakeholders. If the vision statements stipulates the need to be the best in the region, then that is the objective management strives to meet.

‘Some of these bases of strategic choice arise from an understanding of stakeholder expectations and influence, which may already be reflected in mission and vision statements that provide overall guidance about the nature or aspirations of the organization.’, says Cornelissen.

These bases are:

Competitive advantage:This involves knowing what differentiates the corporation from others. Could it be superior services at affordable costs or unique products that meet the needs of a segment of the customers? Competitive strategy makes it easy for a corporation to penetrate a given market.

Organization Identity:According to Cornelissen, ‘identity sets boundaries to the strategic options open to the organization in terms of how people within the organization see themselves and the company they work for, and predetermines how the company should be profiled and positioned with stakeholders and the markets in its environment.’

Generating Strategic Options

In planning, we are advised to think on paper. Once you have your goal written down, you should list all the necessary steps you need to take to meet that particular set goal. I borrowed this gem from Brain Tracy’s Ultimate Goal program. In other words, what Brian Tracy is merely advising is once you have established your goal; enumerate a list of options (actions) for which to engage in order to realize your goal.

The same holds true for strategic options. ‘These courses of action emanate from the bases of strategic choice as identified above, and include options concerning which stakeholders and markets to address and target, and what the organization wants to achieve with them.’ {Sic.}

Case in Point: in the 1970s and 1980s, Shell, for example, was a respected multinational in the petroleum industry steeped in a technological and engineering ethos. By the 1990s, changing market conditions and public scepticism posed the organization other choices of strategic direction. The company had to ask itself what the basis of its business and success was: profitability or public legitimacy, or both. {Sic.}

At this point, we need to understand the role communication plays: Firstly, gaining legitimacy with important stakeholder groups, and secondly, enhancing the organizations reputation and preserving its legitimacy.

According to Cornelissen, ‘Indeed, in developing strategies, a potential danger may be that managers do not consider any but the most obvious course of action – and the most obvious is not always the best.’ He explains, ‘A helpful step in strategic intent can therefore be to evaluate and limit strategic options.’ Avail limited and worthy options for consideration.

Evaluation and Selection of Strategic Options

In settling on an option-we need to have at the back of our minds: an option that will be a ‘fit’ between the organization, its resource capability, and its environment. All options needs to meet the suitability, feasibility, and acceptability test.

‘The process of selecting strategic options cannot always be viewed or understood as a purely objective, logical act. It is strongly influenced by the values of managers and other groups with interest in the organization, and ultimately may very much reflect the power structure within the organization.’ explains Cornelissen.

Having clear intentions is a step closer to executing an effective communications strategy. Once you know what exactly you want to do, positive results are in the pipeline. It is time to act. Happy option-storming.

The post preceding this, talked about the 4 elements we need to consider when working on a communications strategy. I am positive that it gave you a solid foundation on the topic. In this post, we will look at each of the elements in detail. Read along; let us hone this skill together.

The first element we looked at was strategic analysis. An element that must precede all others in order to gain a solid understanding of the corporation. Without this element, you are like a ship without a rudder. 

Flickr | Simon Cunningham

When looking at strategic analysis, what are we looking for? This is the question, is it not? Strategic analysis does not stop at understanding the strategic position of the corporation. It goes on to look at any changes taking place within and outside the environment surrounding the corporation.

‘The aim of strategic analysis is, then, to form a view of the key influences’ says Cornelissen, ‘on the present and future well-being of the organization, and what opportunities are afforded by the environment and the competencies of the organization.’

These are the three analysis that comprise of this element:

Organization-Environment Analysis

Cornelissen says the organization exists in the context of a complex commercial, economic, political, technological, social, and cultural world. Moreover, as we know, these environment changes in a heartbeat. These unprecedented change, or otherwise can affect the company greatly.

We know and appreciate that change is inevitable. Thus, depending on the positioning of a corporation, these environmental changes might result into a lucrative opportunity or present a threat that will shake the very fabric of the corporation. We would rather be casualties of the former. Right?

During these stage use these two tools: DESTEP analysis and   SWOT analysis.

‘A DESTEP analysis is a broad analysis of the various demographic, economic, social, technological, ecological and political developments and factors that are expected to have an impact upon the organization and its operations.’ Says Cornelissen. This guided framework enables management to deduce the most pressing changes and foresee any future changes in the environment. 

A SWOT analysis on the other hand, stands for an investigation of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. This involves taking a blank sheet of paper and subdividing into four quadrants and at the top of each quadrant, one through four indicate the titles strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Proceed to list what you factors you think fall under each category.

The first half of this analysis – strengths and weaknesses – examines the company’s position, its capabilities, operations, and products vis-à-vis stakeholders, competitor activities, environmental trends, and company resources. The second half of the SWOT takes this review further to examine the opportunities and threats identified within the environment, including, for instance, market opportunities, political regulation, and shareholder activism. {Sic} At the heart of this analysis, lies the need to know which groups will support the corporations and which ones would hinder any move the corporation might decide to make.

Remember that the whole purpose of organization-environment analysis is not to generate long lists of factors and points, but to provide a concise and to-the-point analysis of the organization and its current position within the environment, adds Cornelissen.

Market and Competitive Analysis

Corporations exist to meet the needs of certain markets. Conducting market research is a prerequisite when it comes to penetrating a new market. Once you are in the market, it follows that you would like to dominate the market. Thus the need for market and competitive analysis.

‘…identify what the competitive position of the organization and its products is within the markets in which it operates and whether the organization can target and serve those markets in a way that at least rivals, if not exceeds, its nearest competitors.’ advises Cornelissen.

Gone are the days of John D. Rockefeller and Andrew Carnegie, where they monopolized entire industries.Today, competition is as alive as our beating hearts. And it would be a big mistake for anyone in business, to think that they are all alone. The business ground shifted in the favour of the majority.

‘An analysis of the structure of a market includes identifying the size of the market and trends within it, and whether the market can be further partitioned into different market segments. An analysis of the customers includes gathering data and drawing up a detailed profile of customers within the market or market segments in terms of their buying and consumer behaviour.’ states Cornelissen. This is what is referred to as market analysis.

In conducting competitor analysis, Michael Porter is the go-to person. His five forces model is often used to conduct a thorough competitive analysis. ‘The five forces – each with a different threat – are industry competitors (threat of intense segment rivalry), potential entrants (threat of new entrants), substitutes (threat of substitute products), buyers (threat of buyers’ growing bargaining power), and suppliers (threat of suppliers’ growing bargaining power).’ {Sic}

Stakeholder Analysis

The corporation exists to meet certain interests. It follows that cultivating and sustaining a great relationship between corporation and stakeholders is something we need to think of consistently and persistently. It is a fragile relationship.

‘Stakeholder analysis should at least provide some answers to the following questions: how will the organization’s actions affect stakeholders? What influence can stakeholders exert on the organization that may affect the realization of its goals? What type of consequences may result from either’s actions? What type of behaviours from stakeholders does the organization wish to encourage? What reputation does the organization have with its stakeholders?’ {Sic}

In conducting stakeholder analysis, these two tools come in handy. Stakeholder mapping and reputation research.

‘Stakeholder mapping is an analytical tool whereby managers start with identifying all stakeholder groups of an organization and display their relationship to the organization,’ says Cornelissen, ‘and one another visually in a map. This mapping exercise should enable the primary stakeholder relationships to be identified and the patterns of interdependence to emerge.’ Consider going on a journey to a new town-you will need a map to know which route to follow and so forth. That is the idea behind this stakeholder mapping tool.

Through qualitative methods of research, in-depth interviews, and focus group sessions, and quantitative methods of reputation research; the latter including a larger sample of respondents who are then asked to rate the organization on a number of pre-defined dimensions. The outcomes of such reputation research may be compared to a target or benchmark that the company has set for itself in terms of how it wants to be known and appreciated by key stakeholder groups.

Since strategic analysis is the gateway to writing an effective communications strategy, taking a considerable amount of time to have all your facts right is imperative. By conducting organization-environment, market & competitive and stakeholder analysis, you will be armed with information on which to make informed decisions. Consider this a shot in the arm. Lock and load.

A biologist, G.F. Gause of Moscow University, who experimented with two microorganisms, birthed the concept of strategy. By putting the two microorganisms in a controlled environment and introducing food, they were left to feed or die. His hypothesis was that for both of the two microorganisms to survive, one must belong to a different species. Otherwise, they would die. This illuminated the idea that, at the heart of every strategy is competition. That for any organism to survive through the competition, it must be different. This is true in business as well.

Flickr| Sean McEntee

Today, every member of the C-suite wants a strategy. The CEO wants a business strategy that will ensure his company not only survives during tough times, but also remains profitable. The CMO wants a marketing strategy to conquer the new markets. In all meetings all that matters is strategy. In addition, why is this; competition is closer than most corporates thought possible.

When Andrew Carnegie had conquered the Steel industry, he knew he was unstoppable. Not until John D., Rockefeller aimed at his industry. Rockefeller devised a scheme to take over Carnegie’s steel industry by producing iron ores-raw material needed for steel manufacturing. Despite Carnegie’s attempt not to consider Rockefeller a worthy competitor in the steel business, he was reminded of whom he was dealing with. Rockefeller wanted to penetrate the steel business. Carnegie wanted to continue monopolizing the steel business. A strategy was born. In order to keep his monopoly, Carnegie offered to buy the entire mine. Rockefeller agreed. It was a win-win. Clever strategy, I must say.

So what is strategy? According to Bruce D. Henderson, a strategy is the deliberate search of a plan of action that will develop a business’s competitive advantage and compound it. It is a plan that makes a corporation more competitive. Each department needs to embrace the whole concept of strategy and with it curve out a plan that promises to make the corporation better.

Those of us in the communications space need to apply this concept as well. Understanding and creating a communication strategy is one of the key functions of anyone dreaming of having a career in communications. Better yet, to those already in the profession it is a must have skill. Over the years, communications has become a strategic management function charged with counselling senior management, and guiding and managing the reputations and relationships with important stakeholder groups that may influence the organization’s operations.

Guy Murphy is his book, Communications Strategy, defines a communications strategy as a holistic planning approach, to engaging a brands audience to ensure greater effectiveness. These are tactics that the corporation will employ to ensure they keep their target audience talking and at the same time, drive the corporate vision and mission.

In its purest essence, our job has always been communication, shaping and moulding information to be consumed, passed on. What happens when you are called upon to yarn words into a communication strategy? Before you write that communications strategy, this are the phases that you need to think about. They are strategic analysis, strategic intent, strategic action, and evaluation.

Strategic Analysis

When conducting this analysis consider your organizational environment, market and competitors and stakeholders. This is about understanding what is going on outside and within a corporation. Most importantly, how they will affect the corporation.

What resources does the company have? What service or product is the corporation offering that is of superior value than all in the market? Understanding the stakeholders, where they want to go-their aspirations, and how this special interest group can affect the progress of the corporation. Taking a great deal of care to scan these sections, results in a solid understanding of the status of the corporation.

Strategic Intent

Once you have a clear understanding of the status of the corporation, it is time to proceed to the second phase. Strategic intent proceeds from this analysis and involves the formulation of a strategic vision, around which possible courses of action are formulated, evaluated, and eventually chosen. To imply that it is time to chart a way forward. During this phase, a clear direction is set and married with objectives with the execution of this communication strategy.

Strategic Action

 Time to act. Translating intent to action takes place during this phase. In the course of writing your communication strategy, figuring out what to do is key. At the end of the day, the strategy is written to meet certain objectives. Through diligent execution. Joep Cornelissen says, ‘various strategic programmes will emanate from the strategic intent, but the focus here is only on the sort of steps that are important in planning communications strategy implementation.’

Tracking and Evaluation

 It was the age of big oil and big tobacco. Time is coming for big data to take over. When everything has to be quantified. By religiously monitoring and evaluating the progress, during the execution is not only necessary but also beneficial. It is my knowing if a communications programme is meeting the intended need or not, and if so why? As Joep Cornelissen put it: ‘Here it is important to identify suitable impact measures (i.e. changes in awareness, attitude and reputation, or behaviour) rather than relying on interim measures of communications effects such as media coverage or simple exposure, and to evaluate the effects achieved against the target or benchmark set with the initial objectives of the communications programme.’

Writing a communication strategy is a task that can make or break a corporation. Everything tat happens in corporations borders on communication. Having a solid understanding of the tenets that make up a communication strategy will equip you with a strong foundation for which to write your communication strategy. Happy writing!