Unfortunately, the information we share may not always be accurate. This is exemplified through a recent article from the Austin American Statesman, which reported on a viral TikTok video that falsely claimed professors within the UT System could be punished, disciplined, fired, demoted or sent to jail for using the word “racism.”

Despite being untrue, the video gained significant traction, with over 379,000 views and nearly 100,000 likes as of Wednesday. This video is not the first nor the last of its kind.

This is just one example of the challenges of managing your brand in today’s social media landscape, where anyone can publish information that may damage your reputation. From negative product reviews to false information, it can be difficult to maintain control over your public image. So how can you protect your brand from this kind of misinformation?

It starts with being proactive.

You need to form clear, concise messaging that articulates your policies and positions.  

Communications crises often snowball when people are left without clear information; and, thus, draw their own conclusions. This is especially precarious when partisan policies are involved: someone believes something contentious is true, they get on their soapbox, it spreads like wildfire.

Clear, accessible information about your policies allows everyone to verify if the information they are watching in a viral clip is real or not.

It’s important to practice social listening and be prepared to deploy rapid response.

Unless someone with celebrity status gets involved, there is often a slow up-tick on a post. If you — or, better, a communications team — are actively monitoring your social media, you can catch and address any harmful accusations before they go nuclear.

Know how to strategically discredit the misinformation.

Organizations and individuals can first issue statements on their own websites and platforms to combat a lie — but bringing in a reputable third-party ups the ante. A statement published by a news organization or an article like the one in the Statesman helps to bring additional legitimacy to the retort.

Being on the receiving end of a viral lie is not a happy position for an individual or organization, but with a strategic communications plan — you can help set the record straight.

The post Combatting Viral Lies appeared first on The Mach 1 Group.

When an attack or breach occurs, organizations are left scrambling to respond, retain stakeholder confidence and comply with Security Breach Notification Laws. Having a crisis communications plan specifically for a cyber security incident can protect your reputation when the pressure is on.

Provide Updates

Regular updates show that the company is committed to protecting its customers and rebuilding trust. This information provides an opportunity for the company to show leadership in the face of a challenge. By openly sharing information about the incident and the steps to resolve it, the company can demonstrate its dedication to its customers and its commitment to safeguarding their information.

Know the Regulatory Requirements

Depending on the industry, specific laws and regulations must be followed in the wake of an attack. Failing to comply with these requirements can lead to steep fines and other penalties – and further damage to the company’s reputation. In some cases, it may even be necessary to notify customers or other stakeholders about the incident. Staying up to date on regulatory issues is critical.

Identify changes

In the wake of a cyber-attack, companies need to take stock of their vulnerabilities and make changes to prevent future attacks. This may involve strengthening security protocols, increasing employee awareness and training, and improving communication and collaboration between different departments. By taking these steps, companies can reduce the risk of suffering another cyber-attack and help protect their data and reputation.

Cyberattacks will be a growing concern for all organizations, no matter how small the company. Developing your plan for communicating during a crisis can help you stay ahead of the curve and ensure that no matter what happens – good or bad – you come out on top!

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What is a crisis (types) and crisis management

A crisis is a critical moment or turn of events. It can be damaging, such as a natural disaster, or positive, such as landing a major new client. Crises can also be planned for, such as a company going through a merger, or unplanned, such as a sudden drop in sales. Either way, it is important to have a plan in place to manage the situation. Crisis management is the process of coming up with a plan to address a crisis. This usually includes identifying who is in charge of each step of the response and what resources are available. It may also involve setting up a command center to coordinate the response effort. Crisis management is essential to running any business, and it can mean the difference between weathering the storm and being overwhelmed by it.

Early warning signs of a crisis

A communications crisis can quickly spiral out of control, damaging an organization’s reputation and causing irreparable harm to relationships with key stakeholders. While it is impossible to predict every crisis, some early warning signs indicate a problem is brewing. For example, if customer-facing employees start to see an increase in complaints, there may be an issue that needs to be addressed. Similarly, if there is a sudden increase in negative social media commentary, it could be an indication that the public is losing faith in the organization. The most unmistakable sign that a crisis is coming is when you start receiving questions from the media. By being attuned to these early warning signs, organizations can take steps to head off a crisis before it erupts.

When to take action (before the crisis escalates)

In any given situation, there is always a point at which things could go either way. This point is often referred to as the “tipping point.” For example, imagine that you are driving on a dirt road. Up ahead, you see a pothole. You have two choices: you can either move around the pothole or drive directly over it. If you choose to drive around the pothole, you may go off the road. However, if you drive over the pothole, you risk damaging your tires. The tipping point is the point at which you must decide which course of action to take. In general, it is best to have a plan before you reach that tipping point so that when you see the pothole, you know exactly what you will do and can execute the plan flawlessly.

How to find the right crisis management professional

That’s where crisis management professionals come in. They can help you navigate the often-chaotic waters of a significant problem and develop a strategy for addressing the issue and minimizing damage. How do you find the right crisis management professional?

There are a few key factors to consider. First, you’ll want to ensure that the individual or firm you’re working with has experience dealing with crises similar to yours. They should also be able to provide references from past clients who can attest to their effectiveness. Additionally, you’ll want to ensure that they have a good understanding of both traditional and digital media and the ability to manage an effective crisis communications campaign. By keeping these factors in mind, you can ensure that you find the right crisis management professional for your needs. Above all, remember that you are hiring crisis communication pros to guide you – find a firm you trust during your most vulnerable moments.

The post When to Reach Out to a Crisis Management Professional appeared first on The Mach 1 Group.

When a crisis strikes, the clock starts ticking. Unfortunately, it takes most companies an average of 21 hours to respond. During that time, news has already spread as more than a quarter of crises are picked up by international media outlets within an hour, and two-thirds of crises reach media outlets worldwide within the first 24 hours.

Every second counts when you’re dealing with a crisis. Here are a few tips to help speed up your response when the clock is ticking.

Have a Plan

Organizations that implement a crisis communications process that allows for swift communication – even as facts are still being gathered and response plans finalized – reap the benefits of appearing more transparent, more responsive and able to handle any emergency.

Know Your Message

While you cannot prepare for every situation, you likely know your organization’s risks. Before a crisis strikes, review your organization’s messaging and compile potential talking points for a situation. These talking points should include your organization’s mission, values and recent achievements. Having this messaging ready to go allows your response team to mitigate the situation quickly.

Keep a Lookout

There are often indications before a crisis strikes. Thanks to the rise of technology, murmurs of a crisis often occur on social media before hitting the news. By monitoring keywords related to your organization and industry on social media, especially Twitter, your organization can get early warning signs of a crisis and gain a valuable advantage in your response time.

Companies are graded on how they handle a crisis and how they communicate about it. If you’re unsure how long it would take your organization to activate your crisis plans, now is the time to test them — before an actual incident occurs.

The post The Clock is Ticking; How to Make your Crisis Response Timely appeared first on The Mach 1 Group.

To protect its reputation, brand and mission, organizations can take smart steps to prepare their crisis communications response ahead of time. Below are a few tips for getting ahead of your next crisis:

Form a Committee

When a crisis strikes, reaction time matters. Forming a crisis communications committee ahead of time brings together a team to triage the situation, streamline approval and share information internally. This group should consist of essential internal stakeholders who meet regularly to discuss the potential crisis. Once formed, the committee should pick a spokesperson who can be the organization’s voice when the time comes.

Assess Vulnerabilities

Once the Communications Committee is formed, take a deep look into the operation, structure, and potential vulnerabilities. By mapping out potential crises, the committee can prepare holding statements and response strategies, which will allow for quicker responses when the time comes.

Consider Outside Help

When a crisis strikes, the pressure is on. To alleviate skyrocketing workloads and refine strategy, 74% of companies that faced a major crisis over the past five years have brought in external support. Incorporating a crisis response firm into your planning can help ease stress and ensure your emergency plan is deployed quickly and efficiently.

Ben Franklin once said, “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” Crises are inevitable, but you can weather your next emergency by investing time to develop strategies and build a team in advance.

The post Planning for a Crisis appeared first on The Mach 1 Group.

Like many, the news of Ukraine’s invasion and the subsequent violence has weighed heavy on our hearts. This conflict is reshaping our world from a new humanitarian crisis to economic woes and fears for the future.

Whether it’s outreach to reporters or communication with stakeholders, during times like these, continuing with your planned communications strategy may feel trite and out of touch. Below are a few lessons we’ve learned as a public affairs and crisis communications firm on adapting to challenging times.

Lead with Empathy

Behind every organization and message is a group of people. Showing humanity during times of uncertainty can go a long way. Sincerely acknowledging the situation and its impact humanize your communications strategy and help your message break through the noise.

Realign Expectations

During times of crisis, breaking news is constant. As a result, mainstream national news outlets are focused on getting information out as quickly and accurately as possible. The fast-paced focus on the conflict may prevent traditional news outlets from picking up non-related stories. Rather than planning to land a piece in these outlets, consider using this time to build relationships with industry reporters, record podcasts or explore thought leadership opportunities.

Focus on the Positive

When news cycles are consistently heavy, it’s human nature for us to seek out positive, feel-good narratives. Try pitching success stories of individuals or your organization to provide a bright spot in news coverage and increase your likelihood that it gets picked up.

It was Archbishop Desmond Tutu who said, “Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.” Be it powerful demonstrations of human resilience or lessons in leadership; there are glimmers of light even when things feel dark.

The post Communicating in Challenging Times appeared first on The Mach 1 Group.

An important lesson from last week’s cold weather? How far we’ve come since the Big Freeze of ’21! State officials and energy providers heard the public loud and clear and have made upgrades not just to infrastructure, but to their transparency with rate payers and voters.

Pro-Active Communications

Energy providers across the state have moved to a proactive approach. Providers like the Pedernales Electric Cooperative and Austin Energy pre-empted last week’s storm with preparation tips and ways to stay connected during the event.

If there’s a potential crisis on the horizon, providing helpful information in advance can assuage stakeholder concerns if the situation does hit.

Real-Time User-Friendly Updates

Since the event, the Electricity Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) has provided real-time information to consumers in an easy-to-understand fashion. Their new grid information dashboard helps anxious consumers track current energy use, projected use and current energy reserves.

The easy-to-follow graphics and real-time updates help stakeholders feel involved and informed. While not every organization needs a dashboard, providing social media or newsletter updates highlighting important information with easy-to-follow graphics is a great way to build trust with stakeholders.

Consistent and Unified Messaging

As weather radars began to predict plummeting temperatures and increased precipitation last week, Gov. Abbott addressed the state, bringing in experts from the Public Utility Commission (PUC), ERCOT and the Texas Division of Emergency Management to provide updates and prepare Texans for the storm. Texas’ major agencies and State leadership presented a unified front, reiterating consistent messaging. PUC and ERCOT officials offered reassurance, detailing weatherization changes since 2021 and reiterating the predicted demand and supply metrics. The oil and gas industry proactively communicated their supply levels and echoed the Governor’s message. Gov. Abbott followed up with additional press conferences providing updates and reassuring the public.

Everyone sang from the same song sheet and we give the effort an A+.

And now, the best life hack ever from the great American poet Ralph Waldo Emerson:

“Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day. You shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense.”

May you have a serene day!

The post A Year Later: Lessons in Crisis Comms appeared first on The Mach 1 Group.

When preparing for a crisis, it’s essential to imagine potential scenarios and how they might pan out. Doing so will allow you to create protocols that determine staffing, messaging needs and
outreach (or lack thereof).

We’ve outlined 4 Crisis Levels with specific indicators to help you navigate the situationap propriately: Dormant, Active, Serious and Severe.

Level 1: Dormant
In this case, the crisis draws little to no awareness, and the general public, media and influencers are unaware. In these instances, it’s important to have messaging like holding statements in place in case matters escalate, but it’s not an “all-hands-on-deck” scenario.

Level 2: Active
In this scenario, an incident may (or may not) have happened and is currently under investigation, and there’s moderate, steady media attention. At this level, your external partners (companies you work with, board members, etc.) might be getting media requests. Immediate communication about the next steps with your stakeholders and the general public is essential. You want them to know you take the situation seriously and are investigating internally.

Level 3: Serious
At this level, media is developing considerable interest. Reporters might be onsite at the incident, and outside parties (who may or may not be involved) are beginning to speak publicly on the incident. This is where it becomes an “all-hands-on-deck” scenario. Your Crisis Communications Committee must have messaging in place, spokespeople prepped and professionals on board to mitigate reporter inquiries.

Level 4: Severe
We refer to this scenario as “DEFCON 1.” You are in a full-blown crisis: print and broadcast media have emerged onsite for live reporting; the public MAY BE expressing outrage, and media is consistently pressing you for information. This is when your professional, seasoned spokespeople and response architects should be in place to triage response and build a recovery strategy with you. Your attorneys should have their sleeves rolled up, advising on legal strategy and be in close touch with your communicators.

The Mach 1 Group has helped organizations navigate every Crisis Level. On good days, we help inoculate against a potential reputation crisis. On bad days, we parachute in to handle some of the most challenging crises organizations can face, managing and mitigating reputational assaults, stabilizing and rebuilding. For more information on how we can help, CLICK HERE.

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Crisis communication is the art of planning ahead. One of the most effective ways to manage a crisis is to create a Crisis Communications Committee proactively.

Crisis Committee Responsibilities

The initial responsibility of your crisis committee will be to triage the immediate response; this includes creating a timeline, designating a spokesperson, and deciding on an audience. Depending on the nature of your crisis, your audience may vary. It could be the legislature, media, investors, or the general public. Defining your target audience is a crucial first step and will help guide the rest of your strategy.

Once the initial assessment is complete, the committee is tasked with ensuring effective messaging tactics (press releases, interviews, briefings, etc.) are in place for deployment.

Tips for Successful Crisis Comms Committees

• Leave messaging to the professionals.

  The phrase “too many cooks in the kitchen” tends to apply to crafting messaging during a crisis. In some organizations, crisis messaging is created by a committee rather than an experienced communications professional, and the result tends to be disjointed, overly technical or legal, or fails to address the questions media are bound to ask.

  If you are a non-communications person on a communications committee, rather than rewriting or offering edits, provide a quick background summary or context that could help the communications team message complex issues.

   

• Pick a spokesperson based on talent – not seniority.

  One of the first responsibilities of the Crisis Communications Committee is to pick a spokesperson. In many cases, they may not have a CEO who is adept at public speaking or responding to media but put him or her forward nonetheless to show they are taking the crisis seriously at the highest level. In these cases, organizations are better off appointing a less senior spokesperson who has more experience in crisis communications.

   

In a crisis, it’s about putting out the fire. When our crisis communications committee is overly cautious about who may feel a drop of water, the fire could spread. Act fast and use the best tools available to deal with the emergency, then rebuild.

The Mach 1 Group specializes in helping organizations establish a robust, effective plan of action. For more information on how we can help before, during, and after a crisis, CLICK HERE.

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It’s not the crisis that determines your reputation but how you respond to the situation. Small mistakes or the wrong plan of action can have a devastating impact.

Some of the most common risk factors we see during a crisis include:

TIMING: when to inform the public
INFORMATION: what is the right and wrong type of information to share with the public
SPOKESPERSON: it’s not always who is best qualified to speak, it’s who can do it well

Let’s talk more in-depth about just one of those risk factors: TIMING.

In a crisis, organizations may view communications simply as part of the crisis management process and may seek to manage it consecutively, failing to create a separate process that allows it to take place in tandem. While closely aligned, the crisis communications process and the crisis management process must not be allowed to get in each other’s way; rather, they must occur concurrently with close coordination and cooperation.

A common mistake is that many organizations work to gather all available information and finalize a plan before communicating publicly. During this process, they lose valuable opportunities to reassure their audiences, even if the situation is still developing, failing to recognize that a reassuring, if not substantive response, is far better than no response at all.

Constant reassuring communication with your audience makes them feel not only informed but as if they are part of the process. It’s as if you are taking their hand and moving them through the steps along with you, resulting in greater trust and the audience coming to your same conclusions based on the narrative YOU present. If you wait and only communicate when you have all the answers, the public is left to their own story of events and making it harder to regain trust. It’s a lot like a grade school math equation—show your work and receive credit regardless of the correct answer.

The Mach 1 Group has helped dozens of organizations establish a plan of action that takes these risk factors — and more — into account. For more information on how we can help before, during, and after a crisis, CLICK HERE.

The post Risk Factors During a Crisis appeared first on The Mach 1 Group.

Every organization faces the risk of a crisis. Winter Storm Uri rocked many Texas organizations back on their heels: electric companies and their associations, water authorities, renewable energy groups, and even hotels facing price gouging criticism.

Organizations that fail to prioritize communications during a crisis are at increased risk.

As a result, even though an organization may be diligently engaged in crisis management, the external perception of a crisis can quickly snowball, and you could find yourself facing reputation damage, increased scrutiny from regulators, loss of funding, and other unnecessary consequences.

At the Mach 1 Group, we work with organizations to implement custom crisis communications plans that prioritize:

• SPEED: Even as facts are still being gathered and response plans finalized, swift communications prevent brand fires from gaining momentum.
• ACCOUNTABILITY: Taking responsibility instills trust and pre-empts blame.
• FACTS: Sharing clear, concise information prevents speculation and empowers operations to move forward.

And crisis response is more critical today than ever before. With social media and a 24hr news cycle, information — and misinformation — travels FAST.

The post Implementing an Effective Crisis Communications Plan appeared first on The Mach 1 Group.

Last month, Texas faced an unprecedented large-scale crisis. During a natural disaster and state of emergency, most industries, associations, and businesses need to divert to crisis communications.

Why? Whether you are an energy company needing to reach customers and mitigate fallout or a retail business that was lucky enough to keep power, every organization faces vulnerabilities during an emergency. Being prepared and having a crisis communication response plan allows an organization to:

Get the RIGHT information → To the RIGHT people → At the RIGHT time.

A good crisis communications response plan keeps YOU in control of the narrative. It identifies vulnerabilities and potential criticisms, works to avoid pitfalls and the dissemination of misinformation, and diverts attention to your organization’s strengths and goodwill efforts.

The Mach 1 Group is comprised of seasoned crisis and messaging experts. Our team has been in both the board room and the control room during major corporate, state, and national crises. Armed with the knowledge of how to plan for and execute effective responses, over the next few weeks, we’ll be breaking down crisis communications, including:

• Proper Implementation
• Risk Factors
• Levels of Crisis
• Establishing a Communications Crisis Committee

The post Texas’ Communications Crisis appeared first on The Mach 1 Group.