When you’re running a business, good public relations can be one of the biggest assets for the future of your thriving company. No matter if you’re a huge, multinational operation, or a small business just getting your taste of the world around you, PR can be a saving grace.
Eventually, your company is going to face an instance of bad PR, whether that be from a local newspaper that writes up a less than flattering article about you, or a public mistake that shines a bad light on your business. Everyone faces bad PR at least once in their company’s lifespan, so it’s important to know what to do with the inevitable occurs.
Here are some tips that can help your business out when you’re stuck in a tough spot.
Have A Plan
The first step to handling any bad situation is, of course, to have a straightforward and well-thought-out plan. When a bad PR situation occurs, knowing what you need to do first to remedy the disaster is key in preventing further apocalyptic consequences.
Think about how bad PR could affect your business, and build a plan around preventing the most probable scenarios.
Elect A Spokesperson
When disaster strikes, you can’t expect someone to take up the charge of speaking to the media or customers to tactfully explain why the disaster happened.
That’s why you always need to make it someone’s job to be the company spokesperson. This person will have to know the company very well, and be able to work under extreme pressure and scrutiny. Hire a public relations school graduate if possible, but if you’re a small business who can’t afford to hire a specific person for that job, elect someone with great speaking and management skills.
Get To The Problem First
When a PR disaster does occur, you always want to be the first person to get to the problem, ahead of all the news outlets, social media users, and haters out there who are going to automatically jump down your throat with a negative spin on the situation.
By releasing a statement first, on your own terms, you have the advantage of telling your side of the story instead of having to play defense. The ball will be in your court.
Spin It Positively
After getting to the problem before anyone else has a chance to, you can turn a negative problem into a positive solution.
You want to be able to spin the perceived problem in a positive way. Even if you just tweeted out on your personal social media account your hatred for a certain high ranking member of the government, you can cover your tail by issuing a positive statement.
This could be in the form of a public apology on your website, through a press release, or through social media. An apology might not seem like a positive spin, but it’s much more positive than keeping silent. When you’re completely silent about an issue, than people really start to think you’re up to no good and can’t be trusted.
It’ll Go Away Eventually
Yes, the bad PR is terrible and stressful in the first few days after it occurs. But just remember, this is the Internet age, and while news travels fast these days, it also dissipates fairly quickly.
In a few weeks, no one will even remember the negative attention that your company got, the customer that left that nasty review on your website, or the terrible comment you got on your Facebook page.
Remember that time DiGiorno Pizza tweeted an offensive tweet about domestic abuse? Of course you don’t, because people forgot about it a few weeks after it happened. You really have to be searching specifically for a news story about that incident to find any info on it, because no one is talking about it anymore.
Eventually, something else more interesting and more scandalous will come along, and no one will even remember your bad PR.
Bad PR stinks, but it’s not the worst thing in the world. As long as you’re prepared for the inevitable, you’ll come out on the other side stronger, and more confident in your business than you were before the disaster!
Leave a Reply