This blog post isn’t about Obama; it is about the fact that you need to be vigilant when dealing with the media – especially when there is a camera, microphone or audio recorder involved. Obama is a smart guy, he deals with the media on a daily basis… it was a lapse in judgment. And it happens to the best of us.

Of course there are things you wouldn’t necessarily want to say publicly. It doesn’t mean you are hiding anything. It’s just a fact of business, of politics, of life. It’s important to remember that whatever you say or write – in an email, in a text, in a memo, on Twitter or Facebook or LinkedIn, leave on a voicemail or say to a colleague in the line at Starbucks – can be shared. And depending who you are, what organization you work with and what you are saying – it may well be shared.

Be careful what you say out loud. Be careful what you say on social media. Be careful what you write in emails. Never discuss confidential topics if there is a microphone, camera or tape recorder in the room. They might be on – and hot.

The people on my Facebook page represent a range of relationships to me. Some are close friends, other acquaintances, others are former colleagues and some I have only met either briefly in person or not at all. It’s a bit like a neighbourhood coffee shop where there are a lot of different people hanging out.

With the recent changes on Facebook I have seen this happening more recently, but it really hit home the other night when a friend happened to comment on her friend’s photo. I am not connected at all to the person who uploaded the photo, but I could not only see the photo (which was of a party where people were clearly tipsy), but I could see all of the comments below the photo. The person that uploaded the image likely has no idea how many “strangers” could see that image or the conversations that followed. I don’t know what this person does for a living (although I do now know where she lives and what bar she goes to, thanks to the comments), but what if that was a VP in your office or a board member? (Please don’t think that VPs or board members are too responsible to do such things—they’re human.)

Organizations are using social media networks to check out potential employees, research competitors, and check on current employees. And they aren’t the only ones using social media networks to find things out. There is no buffer zone anymore; it’s important to remember that.

I believe that most of what is shared on social media networks is done in the spirit of good fun, but how it is perceived or used can hurt your professional and personal reputation and it could reflect on your brand reputation as well.

Step 1: Clearly identify your stakeholder groups.

This blog post isn’t about what to do should your organization be faced with an issue or a crisis. It is about what you can do today, proactively, even if there isn’t the slightest evidence that there might be a challenge in your future. (A word of warning: A small mistake by someone in your organization could get a lot of interest online and turn into a huge crisis. Don’t think a crisis would never happen to you. It can. And at some point, it likely will.)

Back to today’s post…

We are often asked to develop issues and crisis communications plans for clients. One of the components that we include focuses on what the organization is doing now, at this moment, when there isn’t a challenge looming on the horizon. We find that there are a lot of organizations that aren’t proactively building relationships with their stakeholder groups. Not only is that dangerous, but it’s bad business. (Marketing and sales information doesn’t count as relationship building material, just for the record. And from what I have seen on some Twitter and Facebook pages, there are organizations out there that don’t realize that.)

Using Groupon or promoting a product or service through advertising, direct marketing or other channels is fine, but if that is the only connection you have with your stakeholder group, then you aren’t building relationships—you are setting up transactions. Transactions don’t necessarily create loyalty, encourage your customers or clients to tell others about your organization, and they won’t come to your defence if you are facing an issue or crisis.

We have clients in diverse industry sectors. At first glance, some seem to have more sizzle than others; their stories are easy to identify. For others, it takes a bit of digging to see what would be of interest. However, in all the years that I have been a story chaser, both as a journalist for Maclean’s and as a communicator, I have not yet found one industry or organization that didn’t have a compelling story to tell to their stakeholder group. And that’s the thing to remember—the whole world doesn’t have to be engaged, just your stakeholder group.

The first step to proactively building relationships with your stakeholders is to clearly identify each of your stakeholder groups. Who are they? What is the relationship to your organization and to each other? What do they want to know about your organization? (Not what you want to tell them, but what do they want to know?) How do they want to learn about you? (Facebook, Twitter, your website, a blog, etc.) What traditional media do they read, watch or listen to? Spend some time really getting to know who your stakeholders are. You might be surprised at what you learn.

For our clients, we spend time understanding their stakeholders. Depending on the project, we often create stakeholder character profiles complete with visuals, personalities, likes and dislikes. It’s a creative exercise that gets us thinking about how we need to share information.

Stay tuned for my next blog post on how to identify your organization’s interesting and compelling story.

It seems that a local politician used the images of two children in campaign brochures without getting permission from their parents. As a communicator, when I see issues like this, I wonder how it happened. In this day and age, taking photos of children without the written consent of their parent(s) or legal guardian(s) isn’t a smart move. Using those photos without written consent is a big deal.

It is important to get written consent when you take images – photos or video. And to clearly spell out in the consent form where the images will be used. Depending on what they will be used for, we also often outline how long the images will be used. If you are using real people (as opposed to paid models), they have the right to know how the image will be used – is it for your organization’s website, promotional print materials, will it be shared with media? Clearly define what the images will be used for, get the person’s signature on the consent/release form and live up to this agreement. Don’t use the images for anything other than what the person has agreed to.

According to the news report, the father of the children used in the brochure is unhappy not just because the photos were used, but because the politician appeared dismissive when she called to apologize. Now, I wasn’t on that call, so I have no idea what happened. However, the best piece of advice that I can give here is that if something happens and you use an image without written permission, take the concerns of the person seriously. Acknowledge the issue and their feelings about it. Explain how you will make it right and what you will do to ensure that it never happens again. This is respect in action, and it is at the foundation of reputation management.

Do you have an image release form that you use for photo and video shoots? Have you ever had to deal with an issue like this? I’d love to hear from you.

This technical issue brings up a key point in what we do as communicators. Our Fast Take Fridays are important to us. We plan them out carefully, deciding what topics are relevant, why they matter to you and what tips and hints to share. The ones we did in Paris were a bit of a bonus and I have to admit, I took the technical aspects for granted. Something we never do on a client project.  This technical issue actually allows me to talk about the value of planning and the importance of it.

The magic of a great communications initiative is in the planning—whether it is a video, a brand journalism campaign, an article, media relations outreach, speech writing or any kind of writing for that matter, a town hall event (or any event), a communications audit, an issue and crisis communication plan…well, you get my drift. You have to be prepared for the what ifs—because in our world, if you don’t have a Plan B, Plan C and Plan D, you are going to find yourself overwhelmed and reacting, rather than proactively making strategic decisions and shifting your efforts to generate results.

Here at AHA, we go through a process for everything we do that allows for review, constructive criticism, input, revisions and once that is all done—before it goes to our client—we do another reality check. We review the strategy, the approach, the tactics and all of the details again with what we call tough love. The objective is to pretty much tear it apart, if we can. That way, we look at all the angles and we don’t get so enamored by an idea or approach that we lose perspective. It is a crucial step for success.  Then we send it to our client and go through a process with them to make sure, from their perspective, it meets their standards and expectations.

At AHA, we’ve done quite a bit of work in the entertainment world and one of the most valuable lessons we have learned from that industry is that the more effort and attention paid in preproduction, the better the end result. And in some areas, there is an additional benefit. We have done work with clients in developing issue and crisis communication plans that, to date, have never been needed. My feeling is that because we went through the planning process to develop an issue and crisis communications plan, extra attention was paid to certain elements that were highlighted in the process that could become an issue. By identifying potential challenges, the organizations are able to proactively minimize their risk and find solutions. That doesn’t mean that an issue or crisis won’t arise, but if it does, they are well prepared.

How and when an organization responds and reaches out using traditional communications vehicles and through social media is crucial. One of the challenges is that social media has turned the world into a 24/7 news cycle. Many organizations aren’t prepared for that. How do you strategically and authentically respond if you aren’t prepared?

There are many steps an organization can take to put processes in place in case they are faced with an issue or crisis. It makes it a great deal more straightforward to deal with the issue at hand, rather than trying to decide what the approval process is for a tweet or blog.

We often work with clients to prepare issues and crisis communication plans. There are times, when the development of the plan includes a session with senior executives and/or staff. This workshop takes them through case studies of issues that played out online and puts some potentially real life scenarios in front of them. It’s a great opportunity for an organization to come together and work through what needs to happen and to understand how and when to respond.

I mentioned in Monday’s blog post that I would focus on some of the tools we, at AHA, provide to clients and why they are of value. I think before I do that, I should take a step back and define what good public relations is – to us. (I don’t want this blog post to be too long, so next Wednesday I will focus on the specific tactics. Although, I have to warn you, I got a bit carried away – today’s post is a little long!)

Good public relations is working in partnership with clients. Even when it is challenging, we tell them what they need to hear – rather than just take orders and deliver what they want us to. We identify what they need (which isn’t always the same) and we approach what we do with optimistic realism. Timelines, deadlines, client resources and budgets also have to be taken into consideration.

Good PR is about building positive long-term relationships. We can build excitement about the launch of a new product, service or initiative; but we always advise our clients that – whether it’s us or in-house moving forward – the launch is just the beginning. You need to consistently provide relevant, informative, engaging and authentic communication to media, bloggers and all stakeholder groups.

Good PR embraces the critics. The online world provides an incredibly valuable focus group that organizations can tap into on a regular basis. The fact is, some organizations will always be criticized, no matter what they do. The key is to recognize the value of what you can gain from listening and, when appropriate, responding to the criticism.

Good PR blends both reactive and active. Proactively reaching out to stakeholders and responding quickly to opportunities and potential issues are both important in public relations.

Good PR is measurable. Understanding the objectives of a campaign, project or initiative is important. Defining what you want to achieve (in an optimistically realistic way) is crucial to measurement. There are many tools and technologies that can assist in measurement. We believe that measuring should be an ongoing approach throughout a campaign – not just at the end – so adjustments can be made as necessary.

Good PR is credible and balanced. This is a point that is often the most difficult for some senior executives to understand. We are experiencing a shift in how consumers expect organizations to communicate. They don’t want challenges or issues to be fluffed over or – worse – hidden or denied. Truth, transparency and authenticity are crucial to building long-term relationships. This is an area that is sensitive and needs to be strategically managed. Having an open and honest discussion with your public relations team about this approach can provide huge value to your organization.

Good PR builds your brand; it is at the heart of reputation management. An organization’s reputation is built day by day, action by action; and public relations helps to share the success, achievements and community interactions of your organization. Sharing what your organization does well and how you participate in your communities is of huge importance. Should an issue or a crisis happen, you have already built credibility and trust with your stakeholders.

Good PR is only as good as your service, product or initiative, and how clients or customers are dealt with comes into this. Good PR can create interest, engage people and raise the profile of your organization, but then it’s up to the people to deliver on the brand promise. Good PR can’t fix a bad company – and it shouldn’t.

And, of course, good PR tells the story of your organization. There are so many incredible stories that are begging to be told; it’s one of the things that inspires us at AHA. Telling stories in different formats for different audiences is at the core of good public relations. People love a good story. They want to cheer for an underdog and see someone break down barriers and succeed. They want to know how something came about and why it matters. They want to know about the “human” side of an organization – about the people, the passion and the community. A good story that is well told and delivered to the right people, using the right medium, provides huge return-on-investment.

What do you think? What do you consider good PR?

Unfortunately that neglect has come back to create internal issues. There are human resource challenges, inefficiencies between departments and some information circulating is just plain wrong – and it is creating concern and anxiety among employees. In the past, this organization had not considered communication a priority. That has changed. There is a new Chief Operating Officer (COO) who is committed to creating open, two-way communication opportunities. He is also ready to work with staff to identify and improve the blocks to communication.

In beginning to create a strategic plan for internal communications, we quickly realized that it is going to take more than an inspiring speech and a promise to respond from the new COO. Credibility and trust need to be rebuilt and the employees are a little skeptical about whether honest, open and two-way communication will become their day-to-day reality. This is going to take a culture change and for that to happen, the shift has to come from a range of areas within the organization. We’re still working this through and will blog more about the innovative ways we’re working with this company to move forward in this area.

For this post, we’re focused on the importance of an organization to quickly and thoughtfully respond to an issue. One of the challenges that most organizations now face is that it is crucial to respond quickly when a potential issue, challenge or opportunity comes up. Gone are the days when you had days or weeks to think about things, to develop the right messaging and positioning. Our world is now fast paced. There is an expectation of a quick response for both internal and external stakeholders. At best, you have 24 hours – and I have to admit, even that seems like a long, drawn-out response time to me. Journalists update their online articles and post new articles throughout the day and night. There is no more news cycle tied to print production and broadcast times. Many people connect with their BlackBerry or iPhone and very few people don’t check their inbox, Facebook, Twitter or other social networking accounts on a daily basis.

Each organization is different, but there seems to be a gap when it comes to providing information to stakeholders in a timely fashion. Approval processes are outdated and cumbersome. Creating a streamlined process is crucial.

Could your organization turn around a response within 24 hours? Within 12 hours? How about eight hours or in four? If it was urgent and a crisis hit, could you have a written document, a video or other form of communication developed, approved and distributed in an hour? These are important questions to ask yourself and your colleagues.