Managing a Crisis in the New World of Social Media

Crisis Control: Containing
Widespread of Outrage Online &
Minimizing Reputation Damage
Presentation by: Ali Bullock

I H E L P C O M PA N I E S F I G U R E
OUT SOCIAL ENGAGEMENT

S O C I A L C H A N G E S T H E O L D VA L U E S ,
T H E O L D N A R AT I V E S , T H E O L D WAY S

I S TA R T E D T H E C X FA N PA G E O N
FACEBOOK… WITH ONE FAN. ME.
In 5 years we built a base of over 4 million
fans of fans in 20 countries.

PEOPLE. ITS ABOUT ENGAGEMENT
WITH PEOPLE..

I N S I G H T S :
-

W H I S K E Y

W E I G H T

-

1 9 1 2

L O S S

S U P E R F L O U S
H A I R

L O S S

MANAGING A CRISIS IN SOCIAL
MEDIA.

DON’T
HAVE A
CRISIS
IN THE
FIRST
PACE

 B u i l d
s o c i a l

y o u r

r e p u t a t i o n

m e d i a :

M e a n i n g f u l

a n d

 B u i l d
n e e d

y o u r
t h o s e

 U s e

t r u e

c o m m u n i t y
a d v o c a t e s

i n t e r n a l

o n

C S R

( y o u ’ l l
l a t e r )

e n g a g e m e n t

s t r a t e g i e s

w i t h

y o u r

e m p l o y e e s

 H a v e

s o c i a l

m e d i a

g u i d e l i n e s

 1 .

E v e r y t h i n g

h a p p e n s

a t

l i g h t n i n g - s p e e d

5 TRENDS
IN DIGITAL
CRISISMAN
AGEMENT

 2 .

P e o p l e

d e m a n d

“ h y p e r -

t r a n s p a r e n c y ”

 3 .

D i a l o g u e

a s

i m p o r t a n t

m e s s a g e

 4 .

R e p u t a t i o n

i s

a s

d e l i v e r y
i n

s o c i a l
m e d i a

 5 .

B r a n d

d e t r a c t o r s
t h e

s a m e

h a v e
t o o l s

E V E RY O N E M A K E S M I S TA K E S .
B E C A U S E T H E Y A R E H U M A N …

Stupid post to make on
a corporate channel.

E V E N

T H E

B E S T

O F

U S …

“ G R E AT D AY,

“ G R E AT D AY,

SHOOTING

PHOTOGRAPHING

ELEPHANTS FOR 8

ELEPHANTS FOR 8

HOURS”- ALI

HOURS”- ALI

BULLOCK, HEAD OF

BULLOCK, HEAD OF

COMMS WWF

COMMS WWF

.

# 1

 B a d

-

n e w s

t h a n

e v e r

T w i t t e r ,

S p e e d

H o u r s

j u s t

 W h e n

t o

m a t t e r

 H a v e
a n d

g e n e r a t e d

a

c r i s i s ,

r e a c t
o f

t o

y o u

f a s t

h o u r s ,

m e d i a

–

i n

n o t

s t r e a m l i n e d

m a y
a

d a y s
a p p r o a c h

t e a m

i n

p l a c e

 E x p e r i e n c e

i n

s o c i a l

m e d i a

r e s p o n d

f a s t

w i l l

a

m e d i a ,

t r a d i t i o n a l

e m e r g i n g

o u r

r e l e v a n t

r e s p o n d i n g

n e e d

a n d

“ l i f e s t r e a m s ”

a l l

c o n s u m e r
n o t

v i a

F a c e b o o k

 M o n i t o r

2 4

f a s t e r

b e f o r e

c o l l e c t i v e

T h e

F i r s t

s p r e a d s

h e l p

y o u

# 1

-

S p e e d

Hour 12
Hour 6

T h e

Micromedia

F i r s t
H o u r s

Hour 18

2 4

0 Hour

CRISIS
HITS

Mainstream

Blogs

Sharing

Hour 24

Editorial

IN 30 SECONDS
THIS PHOTO HAD
B E E N TA K E N A N D
UPLOADED TO
SOCIAL MEDIA

JOURNALISTS WORKING
IN REAL TIME

# a l i b u l l o c k

# c r i s i s c o m m s

 I T S

A B O U T

S Y M P A T H Y,

C O M M U N I T Y

&

E N G A G E M E N T

A S I A N A

A

P R E S S

P U T

R E L E A S E

8 HOURS

L AT E R .

 T H AT

W O R K E D

W O R L D ”

I N

T H E

O F

C O M M U N I C A T I O N S .

“ O L D

I T
S E
R E
S O
V O

T O O K A S I A N A 8 H O U R S T O
N D O U T A P R E S S
L E A S E . N O U P D A T E S O N
C I A L M E D I A T O F I L L T H E
I D …

T H I S

P H O T O W A S N ’ T T A K E N
J O U R N A L I S T, I T W A S

B Y A P H O T O
T A K E N B Y A
P A S S E N G E R .

H O W S H O U L D H AV E A S I A N A
RESPONDED?

I T ’ S N O T T H E M I S TA K E S M A D E U S I N G S O C I A L
M E D I A T H AT C A U S E B R A N D S T H E B I G G E S T
P R O B L E M S , I T ’ S H O W P O O R LY O R S L O W LY
THEY DEAL WITH THEM.

SAYING NOT HING OR TAKING TOO MUCH
TIME TO RESPOND IS AS BAD AS GETTING
YOUR FACTS WRONG.

 O n e - w a y

# 3 D i a l o g u e
G e t
R e a d y f o r
2 - Wa y
D i a l o g u e

w o r k
w h e r e

m e s s a g i n g
a n y m o r e

p e o p l e

 I n v i t i n g

d o e s n ’ t

i n

c r a v e

a

d i a l o g u e

c u s t o m e r s

c o n v e r s a t i o n
e f f e c t i v e
w h o
y o u

p r e s s

s c r i p t e d

m o s t

w a y

t o

b u i l d

a n d

w i l l
i f

s y s t e m

f o r

c r i t i c a l

b r a n d

s u p p o r t

c r i s i s

h i t s

s o l e l y

r e l e a s e s

a n d

i n t e r a c t i o n s

d o e s n ’ t

 A

a

t h e

 C o m m u n i c a t i n g
t h r o u g h

i n t o

i s

g o o d w i l l
a d v o c a t e s

w o r l d

s a t i s f y

l i s t e n i n g
t o

i s

r e m a i n i n g
r e s p o n s i v e

# 4 S e a r c h
R e p u t a t i o
n s a r e
B u i l t o r
B r o k e n
o n S o c i a l
M e d i a

 8 0 %

o f

I n t e r n e t

t h e i r

 O r g a n i c
t o

s e s s i o n

s e a r c h

s o c i a l

t h e

a t

i s

m e d i a

t o

 G o o g l e

u s e r s

s t a r t

s e a r c h

s e n s i t i v e

c o n t e n t

d u e

c r o s s - l i n k i n g

d e l i v e r s

“ u n i v e r s a l

m a k i n g

m u l t i m e d i a

s e a r c h ”

c r i t i c a l

 D i f f i c u l t
o n c e

i t

t o
i s

d i s l o d g e
i n

s e a r c h

c o n t e n t
r e s u l t s

WELCOME TO THE
NEW WORLD OF
SOCIAL (EVERYONE
HAS A CAMERA…)

SOCIAL MEDIA PUTS YOUR BRAND IN
THE HAND OF THE CONSUMER.

 A n

# 5 D e t r a c t o r s
Yo u r
D e t r a c t o r s
A r e
R e s o u r c e f u l

i n d i v i d u a l

t r a v e l

a r o u n d

 S m a l l

g e n e r a t e d

o w n

a l o n e

i s

a n d

t o

m e d i a
a n
n o

c a n

n i m b l e
m e d i a

c o n s u m e r
i s

c r i t i c a l

i n f l u e n c e r

c i r c l e s ,

c a n

o n l y

t o d a y

s o c i a l

 L i s t e n i n g

t h e i r

w o r l d

f a s t

w i t h

 E v e r y o n e

t h e

o r g a n i z a t i o n s
b e

c a n

e a s i l y

m o r e

o f t e n

v o i c e

s o

l o n g e r

m e t r i c

f o r

i n

t r a f f i c
b e

t h e

j u d g i n g

i n f l u e n c e

ANTON CASEY;
#5 - Detractors
… REMEMBER.
People see
EVERYTHING!

#5 - Detractors
… H E H A D N O S O C I A L C A P I TA L TO U S E .

BUT SOMETIMES YOU NEED COURAGE ON
SOCIAL MEDIA

C AT H AY PA C I F I C
S H E PA R D

V S

S E A

“CATHAY PACIFIC

SEVERAL OF WHOM WERE

PARTICIPATES IN THE

VERBALLY ASSAULTED AT OUR

DOLPHIN SLAVE TRADE.”

AIRPORTS BY PEOPLE ANGRY

- SEA SHEPERD

OVER THE STORY.

FROM PICKING UP THE STORY

- OUR POSTS ON SOCIAL

TO POSTING ON FACEBOOK

MEDIA TOOK HOURS TO GET

OVER 24 HOURS PASSED –

APPROVALS RATHER THAN
MINUTES.

THIS WAS TOO LONG
- WE DIDN’T INFORM STAFF
AROUND THE NETWORK,

“One can imagine what Cathay Pacific officials would say about their company’s participation in this

activity. Perhaps they would tell us that it is only business, and moving dolphins from Japan to China is
legal. Let us remember Cathay Pacific’s role in this. Let us also be informed. U.S. based American
Airlines just entered into a codesharing arrangement with Cathay Pacific. British Airways and Qantas
Airlines are also in that elite group. Perhaps those who care about the plight of dolphins should
remember this when they make business decisions about which airline to patronize..”
- SEA SHEPERD JUNE 8 2011

R I C O ’ B A R RY
G O O N C N N …

WA S

A B O U T

…WE KNEW THE STORY WASN’T

THEM TO HAND. I WAS HONEST

ACCURATE. BUT HOW DO YOU

AND 100% TRANSPARENT.

FACE SOMEONE AS RESPECTED
AS RIC O’BARRY, ONE OF THE

I SAID THAT IF IT TURNED OUT

WORLDS LEADING DOLPHIN

THE STORY WAS TRUE I WOULD

ADVOCATES.

RESIGN FROM CX. I WAS THAT
CONFIDENT IN MY BELIEF THAT

I WAS CONTACTED BY RIC

CX WOULD NOT HAVE

O’BARRYS FOUNDATION

TRANSPORTED THESE

(THANKS TO MY VOLENTEER

DOLPHINS.

WORK PHOTOGRAPHING
ANIMALS FOR CHARITIES SUCH

RIC DIDN’T GO ON CNN.

AS PETA, AAF, SPCA, HKDR
ACRES AND WWF.)

1 YEAR LATER WE BROUGHT
OUT A NEW SET OF GUIDELINES

I SPOKE TO RIC’S

THAT INCLUDED A BAN ON

REPRESENTATIVES AND GAVE

SHIPMENTS OF SHARKFIN…

THEM THE FACTS AS I HAD

TO

“Cathay Pacific holds a 32% stake in CKTS but has no direct involvement in its day-to-day
management. We will be contacting the handling agent to find out more about this incident.”
- CATHAY PACIFIC JUNE 8 2011

S O C I A L
&

M E D I A

A C C U R A T E
T H A T

1 4 0

N E E D S

A

Q U I C K

R E S P O N S E I N
C H A R A C T E R S

L E S S

.

S E V E R I T Y

2

C R I S I S

AT

C X

9.32am
CALL: “ALI, WE NEED
YOU IN THE CRISIS
COMMS CENTER…
NOW.”

9.40am
COMMS BRIEFING ON A
SEVERITY 2 INCIDENT
WITH A PLANE MAKING
AN EMERGENCY
LANDING.

10.12am
PEOPLE EVACUATED FROM
THE PLANE AND IMAGES /
POSTS START TO APPEAR ON
SOCIAL MEDIA CHANNELS.



W H AT W E

L E A R N T
T H AT D AY

WA S

I N VA L U A B L E

OUR CRISIS CENTER NEEDED UPDATING!

WE NEEDED MORE THAN JUST THE CORPORATE COMMS

TEAM IN THE ROOM. WE NEEDED CUSTOMER SERVICE,



OPS AND PERHAPS CRITICALLY, THE SOCIAL MEDIA
TEAM
SOCIAL MEDIA UPDATES WOULD NEED TO HAPPEN AT
THE SAME TIME AS TRADITIONAL MEDIA

BRIEFINGS

SOCIAL MEDIA CREATED 100 TIMES TH NOISE OTHER
CHANNELS DID
MOVING FORWARD WE WOULD NEED 24/7 MANNING OF
SOCIAL MEDIA ACROSS 20 DIFFERENT COUNTRIES



CUSTOMERS AND PASSENGERS USED SOCIAL MEDIA
FOR ENQUIRES AND COMMENTS



CUSTOMER SERVICE AND LISTENING FOR PASSENGER
OR RELATED ENQUIRIES ON SOCIAL AS CUSTOMERS
COULD NOT GET THROUGH ON THE PHONE LINES

L I S T E N I N G
E N A B L E D U S TO
M A K E I N F O M R E D
D E C I S I O N S A N D
C O M M U N I C AT I O N S .

5 K E Y S TO
D I G I TA L
C R I S I S
M A N A G E M
E N T Y O U
C A N
A P P LY TO
Y O U R
B U S I N E S S



S E T

U P

A

L I S T E N I N G

P O S T

P R O G R A M
T O D A Y



G E T

C - S U I T E

I M P O R T A N C E



O F

I D E N T I F Y

I N F L U E N C E R S

F O R

( A N D

B U Y - I N :

S O C I A L

T H E

T O P

T H E

M E D I A
O N L I N E

Y O U R

B U S I N E S S

B E G I N

B U I L D I N G

R E L A T I O N S H I P S )



K N O W
O N L I N E

H O W

Y O U

( E . G .

W I L L

“ S P E A K ”

T W I T T E R ,

B L O G ,

Y O U T U B E )



E S T A B L I S H

E N G A G E M E N T

S O C I A L

G U I D E L I N E S
Y O U R

M E D I A

A C R O S S

M A R C O M

T E A M




5 K E Y
T R A I T S
Y O U
M U S T
H AV E I N
C R I S I S

1 .

C O M P E T E N C E :

HANDLE A TOUGH PRESS CONFERENCE WITH DEXTERITY? YOU’RE DEEMED COMPETENT.
LOOK UNEASY BEFORE CAMERAS? YOU’RE NOT.




2 .

C R E D I B I L I T Y :

THERE’S ONE QUESTION THAT DRIVES THE PUBLIC’S PERCEPTION OF AN EXECUTIVE OR
SPOKESPERSON MORE THAN ANY OTHER: “DOES HE OR SHE GET IT?”




A

3 .

C O M M I T M E N T

SET THE RIGHT TONE, WITH ACTIONS AND WORDS TO THE MEDIA, AFFECTED

STAKEHOKDERS AND EMPLOYEES CONSISTENT MESSAGE OF ADDRESSING AND FIXING
THE ISSUE.




4 .

C A R I N G :

LITTLE MAKES THE PUBLIC TURN ON AN EXECUTIVE OR PUBLIC FIGURE IN CRISIS MORE

THAN SOMEONE WHO’S CAVALIER TOWARD ANY VICTIMS.




5 . C A P A B I L I T Y

:

SHOW THAT YOU OR YOUR CEO SOLVE THE PROBLEM AT HAND

I N

A

C R I S I S

( B O T H

C O M M U N I C A T I O N S

I N T E R N A L L Y

E X T E R N A L L Y )

I S

A N D

E S S E N C I A L .

S O C I A L

C H A N G E S

V A L U E S ,
N A R A T I V E S ,

T H E

T H E

T H E

O L D

O L D

O L D

W A Y S .

“ T H E

L I N E S

B E T W E E N

C O M M U N I C AT I O N S
B L U R R I N G

A N D

E N C O U R A G E
O F

A N Y

D O N ’ T

S H O U L D

H A S T E N

R E M A I N I N G
K N O W

O R

A R E

W E L C O M E ,

T H E

W A L L S .

W H E T H E R

A D V E R T I S I N G ,

T H E

P R O F E S S I O N S

W E

A N D

A L L

T E A R I N G

G R E AT

T H E Y ’ R E

I D E A S

P R ,

S O C I A L . ”

E D W A R D B O C H E S , C R E AT I V E D I R E C T O R

D O W N

THANK YOU FOR
YOUR TIME.
YOU CAN FIND A COPY OF THIS
PRESENTATION HERE:
WWW.SLIDESHARE.NET/ALIBULLOCK/P
RESENTATIONS
LINKEDIN: ALI BULLOCK

ALIBULLOCK@GMAIL.COM
WWW.ALIBULLOCK.COM

Managing a Crisis in the New World of Social Media

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