Brands and organisations are best served by being aware of their environment and pre-empting issues. This is important given how easily control of the narrative is lost due to the speed of communications online.
It’s over Anakin. I have the high ground.
In the Star Wars movie Revenge of the Sith, Obi-wan Kenobi manages to gain a tactical advantage and defeats Anakin by occupying the high ground both physically and metaphorically.
Anakin loses his legs in the fight.
It can be challenging maintaining control over all communications channels, especially when a crisis strikes.
This is compounded when the issue involves customers and the public. While it takes time for facts to be established internally, digital and social media channels are buzzing with speculations, distortions and assumptions of ill or negative intent.
Against this backdrop, many brands tend to assume a far more defensive position then required and adopt a siege mentality. The comments on social media resemble an army at the gates searching for a gap to exploit, widen and overwhelm the defenders.
That was the old playbook.
However, it does not need to be such. If organisations are willing to empower their front lines and be proactive, it can prevent small fires from becoming bigger and further fanned into flames.
We would look at 3 specific inflection points where we can prevent the environment and our figural opponent – in the form of digital commentators – from gaining the high ground.
Inflection point #1 – The calm before the storm
There is usually a window of time from the onset of the crisis to the escalation on digital channels where a brand can pre-empt with a statement or response towards accountability, transparency and action without giving away liability.
In an online environment where anonymity provides a measure of confidence, it can be difficult to identify which customers or groups to handle first.
Do not dilute your focus. Identify or acknowledge what the issue or problem is. Craft a statement that shares information about what is known at this point. Share the immediate steps being taken to handle the issue.
The objective is to convince as many commentators that there is a team behind the scenes managing the issue with logic and practicality. Promise to give updates on official communications channels with a realistic timeline, especially if it involves the public.
Inflection point #2 – Divide the enemy at the gate
Despite point #1, there will be commentators with different agendas rushing to share their opinions and feelings. Emotionally, it is fair for an organisation to acknowledge customers’ feelings, given that we (hopefully) care about our customers.
Continue to provide information in the form of updates on official communications channels such as a blog, social media feed or email. Make sure that traditional media can access official information readily, and that at least one media-trained representative is made available.
The objective in #2 is to answer as many key groups – customers, stakeholders, investors, etc – as possible with customised statements, narratives while reminding them about the timeline for fact-finding or investigation.
This step will whittle away the commentators that are there for a spectacle and help them realise that the issue is being dealt with rationally and respectfully.
Inflection point #3 – Meet speculation with facts across all communications channels
The passage of time online is relatively quicker than ‘real time’.
There will be a core group of commentators that are quick to offer analysis, interpretation and opinions that will be updated in their ‘real time’. These commentators will latch onto any sign and signal including narrative, copy used, time spent to respond and any delays in the process.
This is where brands usually go silent in order not to provoke or encourage speculation or further trolling.
In a move to prevent loss of the high ground, organisations should go on the offensive here. Provide calm and logical rebuttals of the speculations with facts. Share about the direction that the ongoing investigation is taking, without needing to provide specifics such as names, locations or other company-sensitive information.
Make sure that the sharing is done consistently across official channels to prevent any misunderstanding of the information; and for different commentator groups to assume a breach of defences.
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Photo by Jaime Spaniol on Unsplash
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