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Crisis Communication: Centralizing the Flow of Information

One of the most important things to do in crisis communication is to ensure all communication flowing out of the organization is done by a very specific and small group of people. When crisis hits, one of the most damaging things to occur is for multiple versions of the story to emerge.

Take, for example, this scenario. A reporter calls and a random staff member answers the phone and when asked about the incident, the staff member responds with, “We’ll I’m not really sure, but I heard…”

The staff member may be correct, and he/she may be incorrect, but fiction will inevitably fester into fact if left unchecked, especially if it contradicts the official statement. To be an effective crisis communicator requires providing clear and consistent information and obvious paths to that information. This is why it’s critical that everyone on staff knows who may talk to the media and who may not. But, it’s just as important for everyone on staff to know who to direct questions to and for that person to make timely responses to reporters. A good idea is to print a simple document with the name and number of the person the reporter needs to speak with and give it to everyone in the building so that it’s clear what the communication flow should be.

Remember, we’re in ministry so we want to do the right thing. We’re expected to do the right thing. We don’t funnel reporters to a single person because we’re being obstructive. We funnel reporters because we want to ensure they get the correct information the simplest way possible.

Speaking to the Media: Following Up

There are times when the phone rings and a reporter is on the other end of the line with questions that you may or may not have all the information that you need to adequately answer. This can create a dilemma. Far too often people in this situation resort to (A) Making up information or (B) Just saying they don’t know. Option (A) is never a good option and (B) sometimes is viable. If you don’t know the answer, there is no shame in admitting it (unless you should know the answer).

Fortunately there is an option (C).

We don’t want to leave journalists with too little information if we can help it, so my general rule of thumb is to say something to the effect that, “I don’t have all the details to adequately answer that question in a way that will benefit you (the reporter), but if you give me your contact information and tell me when your deadline is, I’ll be happy to get you the information you need before the deadline.”

The thing to remember is that you actually need to get that information to the reporter when you say you will. This will serve a few purposes:

1.) It gets accurate information to the media.

2.) It earns you the respect of the reporter.

3.) It establishes you as a dependable contact with the reporter and he/she will be more
likely to seek you out for stories.

Reporters are simply people doing a job. The easier you make it for them, the better off you’ll be today, and the better off you’ll be the next time you need something published or the next time you’re facing a crisis.

Don't Be Afraid of the Big Bad Media

The news media have a peculiar reception among the masses. If a camera crew shows up for a big event, everyone is happy for the attention, but if the same crew shows up unexpectedly, then anxiety begins to creep in. For good or for ill, we often have a conflicted relationship with the media. We want them when it’s good for us, and we want to be as far away as possible when we’re not sure.

Which brings us to our next series on how to deal with the media professionally. I’d like to dispel some myths that have festered into fact in our society and give some insight on what journalists are looking for and what they’re not.

To begin with, journalists are not the boogieman. They’re simply men and women doing a job telling stories that they may or may not be personally invested in. They’re not out to get you. They’re simply searching for a good story to tell. Your job becomes helping them find that story. The easier you make their lives, the more they’ll appreciate you and your efforts. Which means you have increased the probability that they will run a story you’re pitching in the future because you have already established your credibility.

Secondly, there is no “liberal bias” in the media. This one of those phrases that gets tossed around so frequently that the public has ceased to question it. I know as many reporters with conservative values as I do those with progressive values. The truth is that very often the individual reporter doesn’t get a choice on what story they’re covering. It’s assigned to him/her by someone up the ladder who is focusing more on ratings than political perspective. When it comes to churches and non-profits, they’re typically looking for people doing really creative and meaningful things in their communities, or on the negative side, they’re looking for places of blatant hypocrisy.

The question for us becomes understanding their role, what motivates them and how we’re going to use the news media as a valuable resource instead of viewing them as opposition. Over the next few weeks we’ll be looking at specifics on how to work with them to create positive relationships and ultimately generate positive PR for your ministry.

The Social Spotlight: Facebook Fan Pages

When people think social media, they think Facebook. When a ministry begins to think of building a social media presence, Facebook is usually the first place they go. Why would they not want to start there? We looked last week at the positive returns a Google+ page can have for a ministry. This week we will look at how a ministry can benefit from maintaining a Facebook Fan Page and how to create one.

Maintaining Members

With the sheer number of people on Facebook, this is the best social media for members to be maintained. The great thing about a fan page is that even if the people aren’t members of the page, they can still see everything the page posts. Also with a fan page, what the membership views is up to the individual. Not only can the individual opt-into becoming a member, they can also choose how much information they see. The other great thing about a fan page is all someone has to do is search for the name of the ministry and it will automatically be the first thing returned in the search results. These things make having a fan page a must have for any ministry.

Creating a Fan Page

When a ministry goes to create a fan page, the first thing they must have is a Facebook profile. This does not have to be one dedicated to the ministry; an individual can have a profile in order to create the page. On the left-hand side of the home page for any individual is a “pages” link. In the top right hand corner of the page which opens, there is a “create the page” link. Clicking on this link will begin the page creation process. As with any social media profile you will begin with the page’s title, type of organization, and location. As you click through the different set-up pages, there will be options to add photos, create posting limitations, and add administrators to manage the page.

Using the Page

With the creation of the page, the organization must begin to decide on how to manage the page. They must decide who will post and how posting will take place. We have covered these questions in previous articles. Hopefully you will take the time to go back and read these articles to help launch the ministry’s fan page.

As always if you have any questions on how to set up a Facebook Fan Page for your organization, just leave them in the comments. We would love to start a conversation with you about how to further your ministry’s social presence through a Facebook Fan Page.

The Social Spotlight: Facebook Groups

Facebook seems to dominate the social scene at times. When looking at using Facebook as a ministry, there are many different areas that can be of assistance to any ministry. Last week we looked at Fan Pages and this week we will look at their Groups platform. The Groups platform has been where I personally have used social media the most for ministry. There are many great things about using Facebook groups and they are relatively easy to set up.

The Benefits of Groups

Groups provide a great way to stay in contact with people. There are many different settings for groups, which are not allowed on profile pages or fan pages. These allow for a more organized social media experience. With groups every post is sent in notification form to every member (on default settings). This allows for group members to be notified at any time. The groups can be either public or private. This means people can be added and dropped at any time. This also means that people can have an access view to the group if it is set to public. The various settings are easy to handle and can be changed at any time.

The Setup

Setting up groups is similar to every other social media setup. Of course with Facebook, a personal profile must first be created. Once this has been created, on the left-hand side of the news feed (home user page) there is a groups tab. Click the "more"button and in the top right-hand corner there is a "create a new group"button. When you select this button,you begin the process. You are able to select whom the group is open to. You can add new members there at the beginning. You can also select whether the group is public or private. There in a few simple steps a Facebook Group has been created.

The Reason

Facebook groups are set up to keep small or large pockets of individuals together and informed. Facebook groups are also great for a ministry seeking to plan an event or keep donors informed; this is a great way to stay on top of the details. Groups are also a good way to keep the behind-the-scenes information flowing. Really, Facebook groups can be used in as many ways as a ministry can dream up.

How is your ministry using Facebook groups? Do you have any questions about how to setup or start using Facebook groups? We would love to start the conversation!

The Social Spotlight: Google+

For a ministry delving into the social scene, Google+ may seem a strange place to start. This tends to ring especially true if the ministry has little to no experience in social media. However, for the immediate and long term both, this is potentially the best move a ministry could make.

If you remember back (or go back) a few months, we wrote an article about the importance of having your ministry's location online. This will play into why Google+ is the place to start. There are also greater web implications beyond simply having an accessible profile, and we will look at those and then explain how to set up a profile to maximize the potential of the ministry.

Searchable

Since Google owns Google+, everything that goes into the profile is found through search returns. This means a lot of beautiful things. The ministry's location is found, and not just an address, but a map, with directions, and an image of the ministry. The reason why we suggest this profile is made first is because when it is searched, it will come up in its own special section on the side (when using Google Search). This places it in full view (with the pictures added to the profile) for anyone searching. Also this can be another place where the ministry's website can be found. This is a great way to get the website in a noticeable place if there are multiple ministries with the same name.

How To Set-up the account

If you have a gmail account, most of the work is done for you. You simply go to plus.google.com and sign in (an alternate email can also used but there are a few more steps involved). The first thing you do is complete a personal profile. This isn’t particularly needed because once you get through those steps you will scroll down the left hand side to the “more” button where you will click to go to the “pages” button. Here you select whether you are an organization or business. At this point you begin to go through the same process of how you have set up the personal profile (if you did). Be as detailed as possible. Remember this profile could be the first thing that someone searching for your ministry online could see.

The End Result

With the account created, there isn’t much left to do. You have the opportunity to post things. At the minimum you should update the page with events happening for your ministry. If you want to be more interactive than this, there are articles we have written before which address how to properly engage your audience. Give those a look if you have any reservations or need inspiration.

With a Google+ Page created, a ministry is going to receive more visibility when searched. People are going to be able to have a faster access to the ministry and be able to pinpoint the ministry's location and times of operation. The end result is a more professional looking organization which has moved into the technology age.

The Social Spotlight: Twitter

People use Twitter in many ways. There are advantages with Twitter that other social media platforms do not afford. However, as we look into Twitter, we will also see there are disadvantages to the platform. Even though there may be disadvantages, these are not reasons why a ministry should not consider using Twitter in their social ministry.

Why Twitter?

Twitter offers an instant manner that many other social media platforms have not embraced fully. Although for many social media platforms notifications can be set up for smart phones, Twitter has a service which rises above notifications. Every person has the option when they follow a Twitter account to receive text messages from profiles they follow. This creates a great way for ministry followers to stay updated directly from the organization at no cost. Twitter is centered around this sharing mentality. With limited posting abilities (140 characters) an organization can share upcoming events, changes in hours, updates to the website, interesting information related to the ministry or simple notes of encouragement. The benefits of establishing a Twitter account are pretty simple. The key is to make sure the demographics are there to follow the ministry.

Who Isn’t Here?

This is a big issue that Twitter and its users both are working to overcome. One of the larger questions about Twitter has been its adoption rate among different demographics. Many young people and professionals are using Twitter, however outside of those demographics there are few others actively ‘tweeting’ (as it’s called). The main reason why most ministries choose not to dive into Twitter is because of the fewer users as opposed to Facebook. The reason we suggest to look past this is because with every profile there is greater visibility for the ministry and the set up and use of Twitter is one of the easier social media platforms.

How to Start

When first logging on to Twitter, you will be first prompted for a name, email, and password. It is suggested that you use the ministry title, email, and a password easy to remember to start with. Upon hitting enter there will be an option to select the username. Choose a username as central to the organization as possible. Whether it is an acronym or the actual ministry name, only twenty characters are available for the name. After this choice the ministry can then set up their privacy settings and user profile image. The best thing an organization can do is to set up their profile to be public and use their logo as an image. After these things are done, the ministry is ready to begin tweeting. Share the ministry's Twitter handle through all available means, and this will begin the influx of followers the ministry needs for their Twitter profile to become useful.

With a functioning Twitter profile, a ministry can stay in immediate connection with followers like no other social media platform can. If a ministry becomes active beyond general public service announcements on Twitter, they will see activity from their followers also. It is all about how the ministry uses the tools. As always if there are any questions about the platform or suggestions you have to add we would love to hear them in the comments.

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