When Crisis Communications Requires Silence, Not Action
By Meghan Tisinger for PRDaily
The myth that “all press is good press” is the reason that too many companies engage with the media haphazardly. Not every interview is worth doing, and always providing a comment can create more problems for your organization than solutions. This is especially true when a company is facing public backlash in the media.
When under attack, our natural instinct is to react and rebut falsehoods and outright lies. But that’s not always the right strategy. There is a distinct difference between correcting inaccurate information to prevent false statements from becoming part of a mainstream narrative and walking into a winless fight.
So how does a company defend and protect its reputation from libelous and slanderous statements while not opening the floodgates for social media attacks? The first rule when it comes to responding to negative press should be “do no harm.” There are two key indicators we look for when recommending our clients hold fire and not respond in real-time:
- When the majority of readers and followers of the publication, outlet or social media account are ideologically inclined to disagree with your position automatically.
- When commenting would give more oxygen to a story that is gaining limited traction — encouraging follow-up engagement by readers/listeners or a second wave of coverage.
During these types of attacks, the authors and consumers of this content may feel validated by your response and be encouraged to continue posting misinformation and negative opinions. Every time you offer a rebuttal or correction, that’s more ammunition they can use to distort facts and keep the topic current.
The same goes for social media. Before responding, organizations need to evaluate how many people are engaging with the post and the tenor of the commentary. If there is low engagement, responding may have the adverse effect of boosting the post’s visibility which could invite attention and further drive an unwanted conversation.
For more, click here.