Drill, baby, drill (your crisis response, that is)

Of all the many dimensions to a company’s response to a crisis, none is more important than adhering to the company’s published values. You know what I’m talking about, right? They get posted in frames on corridor walls. They emblazon the backs of employee security badges. They are enshrined on dedicated intranet and website pages. They are trumpeted at new-hire orientations. They are reiterated at town hall meetings.

Peruse a few corporate values statements selected randomly from the “About” sections of their websites and you’ll detect common threads:

At IBM, according to the website, “IBMers value dedication to every client’s…

Read More »

KONY 2012: Social media and crisis communication lessons learned

By any measure, the launch last Monday of the KONY 2012 video is a massive social media success. But there were negative repercussions, some of which could have long-lasting implications for Invisible Children, the institution behind the video.

In case you were in a coma last week, Invisible Children released its 30-minute video designed to make Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony famous. The leader of the guerilla group Lord’s Resistance Army has been active for decades. Among his tactics is abducting children to become sex slaves or child soldiers. Since 1986, some 66,000 children have been forced to become soldiers in the LRA. The… Read More »

FIR Interview: Walgreens Social Media Director Adam Kmiec

FIR co-hosts Neville Hobson and Shel Holtz interview Adam Kmiec, director of social media for Walgreens, the largest drug store chain in the U.S. and a Fortune 50 company. Walgreens has engaged in the last 10 days or so in a social media-focused effort to build awareness among customers of alternatives to Express Scripts, the prescription benefit manager through which hundreds of thousands of people pay for the prescription medications. Unable to reach an agreement to renew their contract, Walgreens no longer accepts Express Scripts but using mechanisms like Prescription Savings Club membership (left) to retain customers.

The… Read More »

Zappos sticks to its values in communicating customer database breach

Zappos is a social media darling. The company’s adoption of Twitter, its encouragement of employees to engage online openly during work and CEO Tony Hsieh’s commitment to social channels are all trotted out regularly in articles, books and talks. I’m as gung-ho on Zappos’ use of social media as anybody.

One test remained, however. All of Zappos’ social activities have so far been employed in pursuit of brand building and reputation by linking those activities to the company’s customer service-focused values. But how would the company do when faced with something negative, bad publicity if not an outright crisis?

By midday today, it’s… Read More »

A tale of two organizations’ Facebook responses to crises

Two current crises demonstrate the value of candor in an organization’s social-focused communication efforts. In both cases, nothing the organization says will keep people from being upset and unhappy. But in one instance, the company acknowledged the fact and provided an opportunity for people to vent while at the same time confining much of the discussion to comments on its own Facebook post. In the other, an attempt to minimize discussion has led to a rash of critical comments crowding its Facebook wall.

In one corner is American Airlines, which lost Jack the Cat, a pet being transported on one of its flights. When it was discovered… Read More »

Companies most ready for social business don’t block employees from social media, have fewer crises

Cross-posted from Stop Blocking.

There are great companies, and there are all the rest.

The great companies are places where people want to work, and hence make the list of the top 100 companies to work for. Great companies also tend to be forward-looking. At the Altimeter Group—the analyst firm founded by Groundswell co-author Charlene Li—“Advanced” companies are at far end of the spectrum of efforts to weave social media into their business structures and processes.

Of 144 businesses surveyed for Altimeter’s latest report—Social Business Readiness—only 18 qualified as “Advanced.” The criteria for these organizations include… Read More »

Page 1 of 9 pages  1 2 3 >  Last ›