At a recent conference on crisis communications, a participant stopped me and asked this question:  What do you do when your leadership is not communicating?  WHAT? Her real question was this: during a recent crisis in her town, the city leaders were not communicating to the tourism pros in town, yet the reputation of that […]

Read More

Add Crisis of Reputation to Your Crisis Planning Kit

  • Fran Stephenson
  • January 8, 2015
  • 4 min read

Most companies planning for their crisis communications focus on physical types of crises like natural disasters and crime. Increasingly, however, it’s just as likely that an organization will face a crisis of reputation and the crisis will happen on social networks. This is a shocker to many traditional companies. You can just imagine the CEO […]

Read More

33 Ways to Apologize in a Crisis

  • Fran Stephenson
  • September 24, 2014
  • 3 min read

Two weeks ago, I was fortunate to be invited to speak at Social Media Breakfast in Houston, organized by my friend and colleague, Kami Watson Huyse. The topic: “Crisis at the Speed of a Tweet” was a lively discussion, talk-show style, with more than 75 interested participants. The event is live-streamed and you can watch […]

Read More

7 Deadly Sins of Companies in Crisis

  • Fran Stephenson
  • September 11, 2014
  • 2 min read

Every day, a company somewhere finds itself in crisis. Some will handle it expertly but others will completely bomb out. Here are seven epic mistakes or “sins” that will lead an organization in crisis down a path of fractured reputation and poor crisis response. 1. Unprepared — the unprepared organization has no plan, wallows in […]

Read More

How to Tame that Arrogant Spokesperson

  • Fran Stephenson
  • June 18, 2014
  • 3 min read

There’s nothing more challenging for a crisis management team than an inflexible spokesperson. You can picture it in your mind instantly. This person knows everything, will not take direction, cannot take constructive criticism. In a crisis, the person who becomes the face of your organization should ooze humility. He or she should represent, with extreme […]

Read More

Essential Elements of a Crisis Communications Plan

  • Fran Stephenson
  • June 11, 2014
  • 5 min read

Formulating a crisis response and communications plan is an important first step in preparing for your next crisis. Some of the best crisis plans are simple. Rather than envisioning every “if this, then that” circumstance, a robust crisis plan which is somewhat vague might be the perfect framework for your organization. Every crisis plan contains […]

Read More

Coping in a Crisis: What to do the First Hour

  • Fran Stephenson
  • November 29, 2012
  • 3 min read

How you respond in a crisis largely depends on what you do in the first hour after you become aware that something bad has happened in your organization. The suggestions given here are to supplement the crisis communication plan you are already using and should help with work flow in the first hour. Clear Your […]

Read More

Roundabout Responses in a Crisis

  • Fran Stephenson
  • September 5, 2012
  • 2 min read

It’s hitting the fan. Your organization is in crisis and you have 30 minutes to get your act together and prepare the first response.  The challenge for any organization in crisis is that you are still gathering facts to figure out what happened yet the “always-on” media and persistent public demand a response. It is […]

Read More

Before Your Next Crisis: Assign Roles and Responsibilities

  • Fran Stephenson
  • June 17, 2011
  • 3 min read

Earlier this week, I taught two classes at the TTIA’s Tourism College at Texas State University. The program, in its second year, will lead students who participate all three years to a certificate called “Certified Tourism Executive” or CTE. While teaching the sophomore class this week, we examined a mock crisis in small groups.  Our […]

Read More

Crisis Planning includes Packing a Bag

  • Fran Stephenson
  • June 15, 2011
  • 3 min read

There’s a crisis every day somewhere in the world and plenty of advice from marketing and public relations professionals on how organizations should handle communicating when they happen. But rarely have I seen an attempt to outline the supplies you need to have on hand before your crisis hits. When I was the communications director […]

Read More

Archives

Categories