By, Gerard Braud It is difficult to control what gets said on social media during a crisis. Often, the misinformation that is spread rapidly on social media causes panic and potential harm. Let’s look at a case study of Twitter gone bad when it hits the fan. When the Virginia Tech shooting occurred, Twitter was just […]
By Gerard Braud Your parents probably taught you there is a right place and a wrong place for everything. That is true for crisis communication and for social media. Many Gen X & Gen Y communicators think the bulk of their crisis communications can be done exclusively through social media. I disagree for many reasons. […]
By Gerard Braud As we examine the leadership gap, the generation gap, and shiny new object syndrome, let’s note that in many cases, in the world of crisis communications, social media can be a greater source of bad than good. The fact that a citizen can post a picture of a plane crash before the […]
By Gerard Braud Last week at the NRECA Connect 14 Conference in San Antonio, Texas, you participated in the “Social Media When It Hits the Fan” presentation. Now I want to help you encourage your co-op managers to be better prepared for crisis communications, as well as to better understand social media and where social media […]
By Gerard Braud In every crisis communications plan that I write for a client, I have a page that establishes a severity level for the crisis. Traditionally the severity level is determined by injuries and/or fatalities, as well as the speed at which media cover the event, as well as how long the event remains in […]
By Gerard Braud As we discuss social media as a crisis communication tool that allows you to reach your core audience, this is a good time to explore what I will describe as both the leadership gap and the generation gap, that social media presents. People in leadership positions, traditionally perform poorly in a crisis because […]
By Gerard Braud Here are your Free Crisis Communications Plan resources we discussed during my NRECA conference presentation in San Antonio last week. Free Resource #1 To download a Free copy of the First Critical Statement used in my Crisis Communications Plan, use the coupon code CRISISCOMPLAN when you select the item from my shopping cart. […]
By, Gerard Braud When a crisis happens, people go to the Internet looking for information about your crisis. If your company, government agency or non-profit organization is experiencing a crisis, you want to control the flow of official information through effective crisis communicationand a good Crisis Communications Plan. (See How to Write a Crisis Communications Plan.) […]
By, Gerard Braud Sometimes your company, government agency or non-profit organization experiences a crisis that is isolated just to your organization. Sometimes, your organization is part of a much bigger crisis, and while you have serious crisis issues to communicate, you are not the biggest part of the story. Social media is a terrific way to […]
By Gerard Braud With no electricity for 5 days and 6 feet of water from Hurricane Isaac surrounding my house on the shore of Lake Pontchartrain near New Orleans, I became the go-to correspondent for CNN & The Weather Channel. Using only my iPhone, Skype and 3G, I was able to send reports first to […]