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“Don’t over-react and make sure you know statutory regula- want to monitor and keep on top of it. Stories that are mundane
tions so you know how to respond,” says Bench. “Don’t hide can take off on social media.”
things. We’re trained to protect the clients. Know what’s con- Good monitoring includes keeping up with relevant infor-
fdential and be aware of third party privacy. The legal part of mation. Even if your organization decides to minimize use of
the decision is minimal. You have to focus on getting out more social media, be aware that others will be communicating.
information to protect the brand as opposed to future litiga- “Other organizations will be using social media in a crisis,”
tion. Volkswagen can save a few dollars on legal but they lose says Shapiro. “For example, police and fre departments might
their reputation. You don’t recover from brand damage easily.” be sending out information that relates to your company. Regu-
lators are communicators too. So it’s important that your voice

Step 3 Get the Word Out is heard.”
Make sure to identify who will be spokesperson (usually the
The elephant in the room for crisis management is social me- CEO or president of the organization) and have a system to cre-
dia. Nowadays major scandals don’t just play out in the newspa- ate short, clear statements that can be quickly released to the
pers and on TV but also on Facebook, Twitter and other social public.
networks. Both GM and Volkswagen have taken a hit from cus- “With BP, the CEO at the initial stage said this is a textbook
tomers on social media. For in-house counsel, they must work case in handling a crisis,” says Ratchford. “Then a few days later,
closely with the communications team to make sure the facts he said he wanted his life back and that was unfortunate. In the
released are correct. US Gulf states, BP is still running ads that they’re committed to
Social media doesn’t have to be an enemy. Not only can orga- the economy there and cleaning up the environment.”
nizations communicate directly to consumers, employees and For GM, their spokesperson has helped them move towards
other stakeholders, but organizations can also get instant feed- a brighter future. CEO Mary Barra is committed to changing
back on whether its communication is effective. GM’s corporate culture. She created a product integrity team so
“Social media is more than getting the message out,” says that product defects can be fxed quickly. Meanwhile Volkswa-
Ratchford. “It’s most important because you can monitor gen’s troubles continue. The company may be liable for up to
the story. You can measure the story and even by location $18 billion in fnes from the EPA.
because a lot of social media has GPS location associated “A crisis can damage a brand’s reputation in a lasting way,”
with it. We can identify how many are responding and where says Ratchford. “If the information comes out before you’re
they’re responding.” ready and you don’t respond, you lose credibility in the frst
For social media to work, you need good monitoring. Ratch- few days. It’s better to pull off the Band-Aid quickly. The public
ford points out that accounts used to promote products or ser- is not as judgmental as you think. They’re more surprised that
vices should not be used when releasing information. people don’t rectify the situation. Just share what’s important to
“Brand banners in social media can sometimes be inappro- them. There’s a crisis and here’s how to deal with it.” ❚
priate,” says Ratchford. “You don’t want to have promotional
content right by tweets on what you’re fxing as a corporation.
Maybe you want to do that stuff on a corporate account. You Julie Sobowale is a writer and journalist based in Halifax.

“In-house counsel have the critical job “other organizations will be using
of putting in place appropriate crisis social media in a crisis. regulators
management plans. They are part of helping are communicators too. so it’s
to create good governance so their
organization should be in a ready position. important that your voice is heard. ”
”
Jane Shapiro, SVP National Practice
Todd Burke, Senior Litigation Partner, Gowlings Leader for Crisis Communications,
Hill and Knowlton Strategies

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