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How to bounce back from negative PR?

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We all know that effective, public relations is a key requirement to promote your organisation, engage stakeholders, increase brand awareness and increase profitability but what about protecting your company’s reputation?

With an increase in social media usage companies need to protect their brand 24/7 not only from an external perspective but from an internal one too. Monitoring what consumers are saying about your brand and what your employees are putting out on social media is paramount to ensuring what consumers are hearing about your brand is helpful, professional and promoting your company in a positive light.

Social media PR blunders can occur with a range of disasters and embarrassments. This can include employees posting messages that may have a serious detriment on the perception of your organisation such as negative comments about their employer or customers dissatisfied with a product or the service they have received.

When acting in the interests of the public it is imperative that a quick response is made to stop a crisis snowballing. The faster that you react to a complaint, a social media posting or negative comment about your brand the quicker you can rectify the situation and get the consumer back on track. Here are our tips on how you can ensure that your organisation protects its reputation.

Take Ownership!

It’s imperative that when faced with a PR disaster that has spiralled out of control that you take ownership and get back on track. Therefore, if you don’t have a specialised PR team in-house it is worthwhile hiring the services of a good PR agency or Consultant who is well versed and experienced in crisis management. In addition you need to act fast by setting up a crisis investigation team, keep up with media and social media channels to establish what is being said about your company. In addition you need to be quick enough to communicate with a clear message that you “own” the mistake, it is being taken very seriously and you are doing everything you can to rectify  the situation.

Turn negatives into opportunities

The best companies turn PR disasters into opportunities! If you can show consumers that you owned it, you took responsibility and you not only managed but exceeded their expectations, you’re onto a winner! Consumers, associates and stakeholders will see that you managed that disaster with clear authority, integrity and professionalism which are great attributes for your brand and will gain you credibility with the public and your peers.

Being defensive is not the way forward!

Engaging in negative comments on social media or making defensive statements to the media to protect the brand is not going to do you any initial favours. Instead put yourself in the position of the customer, if their complaint or accusation is completely justified take time to understand why they feel like they do, what you as a company could do better and what would make them feel valued as a customer. Remember you have just lost an essential brand value “Trust” so it is essential that you can turn that around and regain their confidence.

Build Your Reputation

You may have recovered your brand reputation in the short term but what lessons have you learnt from the crisis and what steps can you put in place to prevent it happening again? Have you developed a crisis communications strategy and are the necessary steps in place to ensure that everyone is clear on how to move forward. The Chartered Institute of Public Relations is a great place to start and if you’re not already a member become one at https://www.cipr.co.uk

If you would like to know more about the digital services we offer get in touch with 10Digital.

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10 Digital
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Content Marketing

Content Marketing otherwise known as non-interruption marketing is essentially creating valuable, relevant and consistent content for your consumers that will engage and create awareness about your brand.

Content marketing is really like a first date. If all you do is talk about yourself, there won’t be a second date.

David Beebe, TV Producer

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