CEO / President
While the ghosts and ghouls are out this month, there’s a different kind of specter that keeps business leaders awake all year round: the chilling return of a previous public relations crisis. An old incident, long buried, suddenly crawling its way back into the headlines. Consider this your guide to exorcising past organizational demons and ensure bad press from beyond the grave doesn’t become a recurring nightmare.
Don’t get spooked by the skeletons in your organization’s closet.
If a crisis resurfaces, your first instinct might be to run in fear in the opposite direction. Resist it. Overreacting – issuing frantic denials, launching aggressive counter-attacks – often draws more attention to the very thing you want banished. The truth is, you likely care more about the issue than anyone else. News cycles and attention spans are shorter than ever. Acknowledge the issue calmly and succinctly, but always keep your gaze on the future.
Keep ghosts of crises past at bay with search engine optimization (SEO).
There are several ways to wield the power of SEO to repair your reputation online.
- Perform a thorough online analysis and keyword search of your organization’s name to assess damage.
- Craft positive, owned content. Think press releases, blogs, case studies and thought leadership pieces. Become more visible than any third-party’s negative story.
- Use “we” instead of your organization’s name in any content addressing the past mistake. This avoids inadvertently creating new digital breadcrumbs that link your brand’s name to the negative coverage.
- Bid on keywords through pay-per-click ads to regain some control over which stories are likely to appear at the top of Google’s search results page.
Appeasing public audiences can conjure up further problems.
The old adage of “you can’t please all of the people all of the time” is especially true in crisis situations.
Consider the issue that resurfaced. When your organization initially responded, was the response in alignment with organizational values? If so, stand by them respectfully. People value and trust an organization’s honesty and commitment to uphold its values more than an overly apologetic and performative “promise” to change.
If you decide the negative attention warrants another public response, stay forward-looking. Be transparent about the lessons you’ve learned, highlight the efforts you’ve made to resolve the issue since and state your eagerness to continue improving your organization into the future.
A well-practiced crisis plan is your strongest talisman against reputational damage.
Correctly handling a crisis when it first appears minimizes its power to cause you trouble later. Assume when, not if, a crisis will occur, and have a clear, prepared plan in place. Train your leaders to know their specific roles, practice different scenarios and debrief as a team after. And if a real crisis strikes and the dark forces of bad press become overpowering, who you gonna call? The professionals! We’ve got experts ready at Goff Public to help contain and repair your reputational issues alongside you.
Fostering relationships with your audiences that are built on transparency and accountability establishes trust far better than a forced apology years down the line. Harness the power you have now to tell your own story. Take accountability in the moment, lean into consistent and authentic communication, and let your past reputational demons rest in peace.