These individuals and organizations are constantly trying to connect and interact with their large audiences via the internet, especially during a PR crisis. For example, this past November Chipotle Mexican Grill restaurants temporarily closed 43 of their stores after an E. coli outbreak that affected 45 of their customers and hospitalized at least 15 people. Although PR experts believe the Mexican restaurant will survive this unfortunate occurrence due to customer loyalty and the restaurant's overall popularity, some public relations practitioners are not pleased with how Chipotle's PR team is handling the situation. Aaron Kwitteken, PR professional and Forbes commentator, believes that the restaurant is not effectively using their social media accounts to spread awareness about the steps Chipotle is taking to ensure safe consumption of their food.Chipotle states on their website that since the outbreak the chain has expanded testing of key ingredients, examined all of its food-safety procedures, and has begun working with two food safety scientists to assess all of their food safety programs. However, this information has not been effectively spread through their social media accounts. Aaron states, "Sure they have been responding to customers on Twitter and Facebook, but none of their outbound, proactive communication deals with this issue. Most of their time online during and since the outbreak has been spent promoting their "boorito" for Halloween."
This incident is a prime example of how social media outlets like Twitter are key to managing PR crises and how not just anyone can handle the task of representing a brand or individual through social media. It is the job of a public relations practitioner to handle crises like the one mentioned above by managing communication between an organization or individual and various media outlets.
Social media outlets, such as Facebook and Twitter, have created new methods for PR practitioners to prevent and manage PR crises
Over the past few years the public has seen several scandals that have spread through social media, including Congressman Anthony Weiner's sexting scandal in 2013 and pop singer Ariana Grande's doughnut-licking scandal in 2015. Incidents like these are nightmares for public relations staff since consumers and fans are quick to notice when an individual or a brand messes up, and often turn to social media to vent their frustration. Because of this, PR personnel must immediately devise a plan to manage crises and attempt to positively and effectively communicate with the public before an individual or company's reputation is tainted over social media.
Facebook, the most visited social networking site in the United States, is a vital site for gaining consumer insights, building brand awareness, and creating customer loyalty. Sifan Xu is a graduate student pursuing his Ph.D with an emphasis in Public Relations and is a TA for the Introduction to Public Relations class here at the University of Maryland. He believes Facebook enables public relations practitioners to maintain a company's good standing with the public. Below he provides his insight about how Facebook should be used during a PR crises.
Sifan further emphasizes that media relations cannot be handled by just anyone. Although utilizing Facebook to connect with publics sounds straightforward, there is a specific skill set and technique to managing a person's or a company's online reputation. On Facebook, a PR professional must know how to shape messages that are relevant and interesting to a specific company or individual's audience. For example, a study shows that Facebook posts written in a narrative style are more effective in mitigating a crisis than posts written in a non-narrative format. An experienced PR professional is aware of strategies like this and is therefore able to better handle a public relations crisis through Facebook.
Another method public relations practitioners use to manage a PR crisis is by using Twitter to respond to costumers' complaints. A survey revealed that 72% of consumers expect a brand to respond to a complaint tweet within an hour. If the brand does not respond to the tweet in a timely manner, 38% of respondents will feel more negative about a brand. On the other hand, brands that do respond to tweets in a timely manner garner more favorable reactions from consumers, with 47% of respondents more likely to recommend the brand through social media and 34% more likely to buy more products from the brand.
Effectively disseminating information via social media during a PR crisis is especially challenging for global corporations that must reach publics all over the world
Another method public relations practitioners use to manage a PR crisis is by using Twitter to respond to costumers' complaints. A survey revealed that 72% of consumers expect a brand to respond to a complaint tweet within an hour. If the brand does not respond to the tweet in a timely manner, 38% of respondents will feel more negative about a brand. On the other hand, brands that do respond to tweets in a timely manner garner more favorable reactions from consumers, with 47% of respondents more likely to recommend the brand through social media and 34% more likely to buy more products from the brand.
Public relations practitioners also use Twitter to issue public apologies in order to placate unhappy publics during a PR crisis. A recent study analyzed 1,183 apologies made by companies via Twitter in response to customer complaints. Although individuals use Twitter to publicly apologize, the study revealed that corporate Twitter accounts use the words "sorry," "apology" or "apologize" 8.6 times as often as individuals. Publicly apologizing via Twitter offers individuals and companies an influential environment that can enhance their reputation and build relationships with existing and potential clients and fans. However, these apologies must seem genuine and are better received by the public when the company or individual follows up with actions that address the crisis.
Effectively disseminating information via social media during a PR crisis is especially challenging for global corporations that must reach publics all over the world
Global public relations is the planned and organized effort of a company to establish and build relations with publics of other nations. Global PR practitioners must recognize and adapt to language and cultural differences among the nations in which the company is being represented in. Taking into consideration these cultural and linguistic differences when representing a company is especially challenging to do via social media outlets.
One of the most recent global public relations crisis that occurred in 2015 was Volkswagen's emissions scandal. The German car manufacturer used a software on its vehicles that detected when the car was undergoing official emissions test. During the test the software would turn full emissions controls on but would greatly reduce the vehicles' pollution emissions control devices during normal driving conditions. This crisis had a catastrophic impact on the publics' perception of the company in a matter of days, according to a study by YouGov BrandIndex UK.
One of the most recent global public relations crisis that occurred in 2015 was Volkswagen's emissions scandal. The German car manufacturer used a software on its vehicles that detected when the car was undergoing official emissions test. During the test the software would turn full emissions controls on but would greatly reduce the vehicles' pollution emissions control devices during normal driving conditions. This crisis had a catastrophic impact on the publics' perception of the company in a matter of days, according to a study by YouGov BrandIndex UK.
Over the past month Volkswagen's media relations team has been extremely active on its various national social media accounts by releasing a series of tweets to try to regain the trust of the public. Although Volkswagen's public relations team took to Twitter to address their many publics, rebuilding the company's trust and reputation with its customers and government regulators can take several years. Sifan agrees that Volkswagen's PR team did a good job keeping customers informed about the crisis, however he believes that VW didn't take into consideration how much information they were sending out via social media accounts.
Sifan stresses the necessity of consistency when disseminating information via social media, especially when the company's headquarter is located in another country. Sifan goes on to address how Volkswagen must consider their various audiences not only in Germany and in the U.S., but all over the world. Effectively communicating with all those publics poses a challenge to public relations professionals in charge of media accounts because they must report to the headquarters in Germany, and ensure that the message they are sending to the public is consistent all over the world. Effectively disseminating global information is especially challenging for PR professionals in countries that do not use Twitter or Facebook.
Different social media outlets, such as Weibo in China, are used to facilitate PR work in countries where Twitter and Facebook are banned
Although public relations is commonly regarded as a profession developed in the United States, the practice has spread to most industrialized countries with large urban populations. China especially has seen an explosive growth in the public relations industry making it perhaps the fastest-growing PR market in the world.
The Internet and social media have played a large role in increasing revenues and expanding opportunities for organizations to create public relations campaigns that directly reach the Chinese public. Since Facebook, Twitter and YouTube are all blocked in China, PR professionals are limited in the social media platforms they can use to mitigate crises. One blogging site they use is called Weibo, which has over 600 million active users. Sean Fitzgerald, EVP of Ketchum's China office, told PRWeek in an article that, "Weibo has provided consumers with an immediate and powerful voice about brands." Several brands such as Nike and Pizza Hut have Weibo accounts controlled by PR firms that create and manage content for the brand. However, due to Weibo's censorship, PR in china remains largely influenced by the government.
Due to the government controlled media, public relations professionals in China must be conscious of the information they disseminate and how they interact with journalists
In China, public relations professionals must be aware of not only how the public will interpret their message, but also how the government will. It is extremely important for PR personnel to confirm the information they are spreading is not considered "sensitive information" by the government in order to ensure a successful public relations campaign.
Sifan was born and raised in a small suburb in Beijing, and went on to earn his B.A. degree in Communications from the University of International Relations in China. Below he shares his views about the public relations profession in his native country and how China's controlled media affects how public relations is practiced.
Sifan was born and raised in a small suburb in Beijing, and went on to earn his B.A. degree in Communications from the University of International Relations in China. Below he shares his views about the public relations profession in his native country and how China's controlled media affects how public relations is practiced.
Sifan later mentions that in addition to having to be conscious about how the government will interpret the information they are sending out, PR personnel in China must also consider how they interact with journalists.
Public relations professionals and journalists work hand in hand. PR people need journalists to spread information during PR crises through press releases, airtime on TV stations, and more. However, PR professionals must keep in mind that journalists in China continue to be one of the most poorly trained and paid professionals. Because of this, PR personnel must follow certain norms when interacting with journalists.
Cindy Payne, director of Asia Pacific Connections writes in an article, "Journalists in China are arguable the worst paid... [public relation professionals] are expected to provide a travel allowance to journalists attending launches and press conferences. These payments are usually discretely paid in a white envelope inserted in a media kit." This practice is part of China's "pay for play" culture in which it is common for several Chinese publications and broadcast outlets to require payment for printing a news story or interviewing an important executive on a talk show. Such practices would be considered offensive in other nations like the U.S.
Public relations professionals and journalists work hand in hand. PR people need journalists to spread information during PR crises through press releases, airtime on TV stations, and more. However, PR professionals must keep in mind that journalists in China continue to be one of the most poorly trained and paid professionals. Because of this, PR personnel must follow certain norms when interacting with journalists.
Cindy Payne, director of Asia Pacific Connections writes in an article, "Journalists in China are arguable the worst paid... [public relation professionals] are expected to provide a travel allowance to journalists attending launches and press conferences. These payments are usually discretely paid in a white envelope inserted in a media kit." This practice is part of China's "pay for play" culture in which it is common for several Chinese publications and broadcast outlets to require payment for printing a news story or interviewing an important executive on a talk show. Such practices would be considered offensive in other nations like the U.S.
Public relation practitioners in the U.S. are required to follow ethical guidelines just like journalists
Unlike in China, this "pay for play" culture is extremely frowned upon in the United States. Ethical and honest journalism is something our media prides itself on and takes several measures to ensure. For example, the New York Times has a whole page on their website addressing their standards and ethics that governs their journalists' conducts. The enforcement of ethical journalism is largely known by the American public, but the same cannot be said about the public relations profession.
The general public views public relations practitioners as being untrustworthy and unethical, which may be largely due to the profession's persuasive nature. However, PR professionals are held to the same standard journalists are and have the burden of making ethical decisions that take into consideration the public interest, the employer's self-interest, the standards of the public relations profession, and their personal values.
The general public views public relations practitioners as being untrustworthy and unethical, which may be largely due to the profession's persuasive nature. However, PR professionals are held to the same standard journalists are and have the burden of making ethical decisions that take into consideration the public interest, the employer's self-interest, the standards of the public relations profession, and their personal values.
The Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) is the largest national public relations organization in the world with over 22,000 members. PRSA created a comprehensive code of ethics for its members and all public relations professionals, which includes the following PRSA Values and Provisions of Conduct:
PRSA Values
- Advocacy
- Honesty
- Expertise
- Independence
- Loyalty
- Fairness
PRSA Provisions of Conduct
- Free flow of information
- Competition
- Disclosure of information
- Safeguarding confidences
- Conflicts of interest
- Enhancing the profession
Although the public relations profession is considered to be biased and manipulative by some due to its influential nature, PR professionals can still be ethical while being advocates. They must follow similar guidelines and keep similar ethics in mind as journalists do to ensure the legitimacy and effectiveness of the profession.
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