Here are five Coronavirus Public Relations (PR) Tips for Your Brand
Lauren Beeching
MANAGING YOUR CORONAVIRUS RESPONSES
As we’ll all know by now, many areas of life from religious traditions to social customs and global events will be impacted as this awful Coronavirus spreads. While the virus presents significant health risks, it also presents challenges for many business owners of all sizes.
Companies will likely feel the impact on their bottom line as it becomes necessary for workers and customers/clients to self-isolate or be put under quarantine. In a crisis communications situation like this, communications strategies are more important than ever. During times of crisis, it is key to maintain a calm, collected brand voice and keep open channels of communication with customers/clients, team members and stakeholders.
Make sure YOUR CRISIS COMMUNICATIONS PLAN IS UP-TO-DATE.
Now is the time to dig out your crisis communications plan and have a meeting with your team to review it. With a crisis of this magnitude, it is important to ensure that you have a clear chain of command detailed in your crisis comms plan, with backup options to account for the potential that key decision-makers may be sick and unable to participate in vital decision making.
What should be included in your crisis communications plan:
Chain of command for decision making related to closures
Chain of command for fielding media inquiries
Phone numbers for all team members and key stakeholders
Phone numbers for your local health department
Holding statements for addressing coronavirus exposure
Work-from-home policies
In this plan, it’s also a good idea to include information about how work will proceed if employees are not able to come into the office and must work remotely due to quarantine procedures. Having your work-from-home policy for times of crisis clearly laid out in your crisis communications plan will help reduce confusion and the potential of an infected employee coming to work.
Finally, be sure to update your holding statements to include messaging addressing coronavirus. If your organisation is directly impacted by coronavirus or an employee or customer/client becomes ill, time will be of the essence. Having statements prepared will allow you to move as quickly as possible to share information with key stakeholders.
If you do not have a crisis communications plan prepared, contact us immediately and we can help you draft one.
COMMUNICATE YOUR PLAN INTERNALLY & CROSS-TRAIN SPOKESPEOPLE
Once you have updated your crisis communications plan, it’s time to run through potential scenarios and make sure that all key team members are aware of the role they will play should you need to activate the plan.
Given the likelihood that at least one member of your team will be impacted by the coronavirus, whether infected themselves or unable to work as they care for a sick loved one, it is critical to cross-train employees to execute the plan and serve as spokespeople. We recommend our customers/clients hold a quick 15-minute meeting each day to review key roles, new developments and responsibilities, as they may change quickly in this rapidly evolving situation.
To ensure that your organisation does not spread any misinformation, it is important to clarify your media policy with your entire team and clearly identify which of your employees are authorised to act as spokespeople and make sure all team members know who to refer media inquiries to.
CREATE A DEDICATED WEBPAGE FOR CORONAVIRUS RELATED UPDATES
In a quickly moving situation, it may be suitable to have a centralised location where updates and the latest information can be compiled is key to avoiding confusion. Many organisations have already created landing pages dedicated to providing information about the coronavirus and their mitigation efforts.
We recommend that companies place a link to this dedicated page on the homepage of their website. Key information to include on the page:
Information about whether or not any of your employees or locations have been exposed to the virus. While you should not identify employees, it is important to communicate whether there are any active or monitored cases tied to your organisation or facilities.
Details about your contingency plans. If you serve customers/clients in-person, include information about whether your locations are open or not and how you will or will not serve customers/clients if you close.
Preventative measures that are underway. If your government/organisation is encouraging employees to work from home, reduce nonessential travel, implement additional cleaning procedures or take any other precautions to minimise the risk of exposure, share these details.
A statement that the webpage reflects the situation as it currently stands and as this is a rapidly evolving situation, your organisation will continue to evaluate the best course of action and update the page with the latest information as it is available.
Contact information for your primary media spokesperson and leadership team member overseeing coronavirus preparedness.
IDENTIFY THE BEST CHANNELS TO COMMUNICATE YOUR RESPONSE EXTERNALLY
Given the rapid spread of the coronavirus and the likelihood that a majority of organisations will be impacted in one way or another, we recommend that all organisations begin communicating with customers/clients and external stakeholders about their preparedness.
The purpose of such communications is to reassure your customers/clients and customers that you are aware of the severity of the situation and have contingency plans in place to address the situation, should your organisation be directly impacted.
Email newsletters and social media offer effective ways to communicate these messages. While you don’t need to share the entirety of your crisis plan publicly, we recommend including the following items:
A statement about how you are prioritising employee and customer/client safety and will continue to closely monitor the situation
Details about preventative measures that are underway within your organisation
A link to the webpage mentioned above where customers/clients can find the latest information about your response
COMMUNICATE WITH EMPLOYEES EARLY AND OFTEN
No matter where you are located in the world, if you have not already communicated with your employees about your plans to respond to the coronavirus, you are very behind. Communicating early and thoroughly can help reduce panic and anxiety among your workforce.
While you may still be finalising details like compensation if employees are unable to come to work or whether or not to close your office, it is important to let your team know that you are working on a plan to address these concerns.
INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS SHOULD INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING:
A message that your organisation is aware of the situation and making contingency plans to limit the disruption to business
Information about precautionary measures that are being taken, such as restricting nonessential travel, cancelling events or sanitising common spaces.