AHA Flip Cam Friday – March 18, 2011 from AHA Creative on Vimeo.
In today’s video, Ruth talks about what an organization needs to do when it’s in a crisis.
AHA Flip Cam Friday – March 18, 2011 from AHA Creative on Vimeo.
In today’s video, Ruth talks about what an organization needs to do when it’s in a crisis.
I have seen tough interviews from both sides – media and client – and it is one of the areas that we talk a great deal about at our Vancouver PR agency. An interview with a journalist can be of huge value in sharing information, in talking about your organization and – if an issue or crisis has happened – in providing background, the reason why it happened, and explaining what is happening now to your stakeholders and the public at large. (Just a note of caution here. If you are dealing with an issue or a crisis, as important as the media is, it isn’t the only avenue you should be taking to communicate with stakeholders and the public.)
We have heard for many years that content is king. Your stakeholders visit your website, your blog, Facebook page, Twitter page or other social networking sites to learn, to connect, to join a conversation and to either learn something or to tell you something. What you provide is important and it either leads to the person to return to your site because you provided value, created an opportunity to participate in a dialogue or offered something they want or need – or they don’t return.
While your organization may have valuable information that you want to share, it is important to approach content creation understanding what your stakeholders expect from you. It’s not always the same thing. This doesn’t mean you can’t provide the information that you feel is important. It does mean you need to find a different way to package it or put if forward and that you need to also focus on what stakeholders are interested in, relevant to what your organization does or provides to them. It’s all about them – not all about you. If you remember that, you will be ahead of the pack.
Mitch Joel of Twist Image has a great blog post about what type of content you should produce. We’re big fans of Mitch. If you are a communicator, his blog is a regular must read!
We are a courteous bunch at the AHA office. “Please,” “thank you,” “if you don’t mind…” those are regular (and appreciated) phrases at our Vancouver PR agency. In everything we do in our personal and professional lives, there is basic etiquette. Then there are ground rules specific to different areas that we practice – social media is one of those areas. It is important to know what is expected of you if you are going to participate in this area.
Social media has its own etiquette and it is important to know what that means prior to participation. We always recommend that our clients spend time online checking things out before jumping in and becoming actively involved. It is important to take the time to understand the culture and the specific environment that is relevant to the organization and its stakeholders.
Chris Brogan recently put up a great blog post on this topic. It lays out what to do and, as importantly, what not to do very clearly. It’s definitely worth a read.
The New York Times has an interesting piece on it as well.
We have had an interesting discussion on this study and the response it has received here in our Vancouver PR agency. While the report itself does show that young people prefer the fast, short updates provided by Facebook and Twitter – it appears to me that we are missing some context here. While Facebook and Twitter provide an opportunity for quick updates and fast outreach, often the updates link to an article, photos or a blog that goes deeper into the topic or idea.