Crisis Communications Agency - Crisis Management Services

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A Crisis Communications Plan Ensures Reputation Protection

Crisis communications plans are designed to solidify an organization’’s response to how it will communicate a crisis to its stakeholders, primarily through traditional and social media channels. These steps ensure information reaches the most people possible, including employees, customers, media, the general public, and any other valuable partners. Most importantly, a crisis communications plan helps guarantee a quick response to the situation and the release of valuable information, as well as a consistent and well thought out message on all company platforms when a crisis occurs. That message depends largely on what the crisis involves and how everyone is affected by it.

We teach real time skills to effectively deliver key messages during and following a crisis so you can protect an organization’s reputation, address internal and external concerns, and ensure transparent communication across all channels.

Social Media: Your Worst Nightmare in a Crisis

Not too long ago, if your organization suffered a crisis, traditional media would have to take time reporting it. The crisis would also have to travel via word of mouth. Even without a plan in place, you would still have time to produce a response. In today's social media landscape, reaching thousands or millions instantly demands a strategic plan. Understanding the dynamics and channels is vital to address any negative narratives about your organization—whether true, verified, or not.

Crisis Situations Within Your Organization

Your organization may be faced with a financial, technological, or workplace crisis that needs immediate attention to mitigate negative publicity. You may be looking at disruption to operations that impacts employees, stakeholders, and investors. Whether it's technical failures, bad business decisions, or workplace violence, draw media attention and harm reputation. Addressing these crises requires a proactive plan and a media-trained spokesperson for effective crisis management.

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The Smart Connections PR team brought SimpliVity out of stealth mode in 2012. Smart Connections rolled out a PR program with short notice and was able to connect us to the media and analysts we needed to know, and the high-level coverage followed. I appreciate Smart Connections’ efforts in helping make SimpliVity synonymous with the term hyperconverged.

Doron Kempel, Chairman and CEO, SimpliVity

Smart Connections PR produces consistently strong results for our North America PR program. Jo and Dina have served as trusted communications counsel for several years and I’m continually impressed with their creativity, proactiveness, and attention to detail. I highly recommend Smart to any tech startup looking to raise brand awareness and connect with the media, analysts, and influencers who matter.

Jim Crook, Senior Director of Marketing, Ctera

I have worked with Joanne and Dina at Smart Connections PR for many years, and am always inspired by their great communication, hands-on and action-based approach to PR. Smart Connections PR is a boutique firm that feels like it’s much larger than it is. The value I have gotten from our relationship is unparalleled. The internal feedback I regularly receive on Joanne’s and Dina’s work is always top notch – they help make me look good and make my job much easier. I highly recommend this experienced B2B PR team to any organization looking for a high impact PR firm that gets things done

Kirill Kniazev, Marketing Director, Motili

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Media Training: A Crisis Becomes an Opportunity

Media Training Services

If your organization is faced with addressing a crisis, more than likely your designated spokesperson will be talking to the media and being equipped through proper training to deliver concise and effective messages cannot be overlooked. This may be the only time they will be in front of the media discussing the situation, so being able to handle the interview credibility makes all the difference between success or failure.

Even if it’s just delivering a statement and not taking media questions, demeanor, body language, and voice inflection will formulate opinions on how your organization is handling the crisis. Smart Connections PR can help turn a crisis into an opportunity by providing tailored advice for effective communication and reputation management.

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We create PR campaigns that bring results. Our clients are used to interacting with us in a very personal way, describing their stories, target audiences and preferred media outlets. Then we get to work and get our clients noticed. There’s nothing better.

Joanne

Frequently Asked Questions

What qualifies Smart Connections as the right agency for our needs?

Our crisis communications team has decades of experience providing selected spokespersons, company leadership, and/or employees with the necessary skills needed during and following a crisis situation. Our team has guided some of world’s most recognized brands, companies, and associations with real time skills to help mitigate both simple and complex challenges to help ensure a positive reputation with both the media and general public.

We're in the middle of a crisis; can you still help?

While it is always best to tackle a crisis at its beginning, it’s important to have a plan in place so that measures can be taken at any time during a crisis. Utilizing a team that includes former members of the media offers a real plus at any time during a crisis, simply because of a unique understanding of both the news cycle and how the media will use information. There is no wrong time to deal with a crisis. Not dealing with it at all can kill reputations and affect a company’s bottom line.

What does effective content creation do?

Providing effective content, especially for social media, is a key component to addressing a crisis head-on. Creating content to be delivered to a targeted audience also shows a proactive approach and allows you to ‘get ahead of the story.’ Social media content can also be shared in real time, providing invaluable metrics on how the crisis is being managed.

How is pricing determined?

We determine pricing based on whether the crisis training is for an individual or group, and if it’s conducted virtually, in person at a company location (preferred), or an external facility. If there is an existing crisis communications plan already in place, pricing would differ from one that needs to be crafted from scratch. Our team can work within most budgets.

What are some basic guidelines we'd need to follow when preparing a crisis prevention plan?

Who are your designated representatives to address the crisis, both internally and in front of the media? Is your company private or public? Do you have effective content that’s easily sharable? Every crisis is different but having a plan in place and properly trained spokespersons who understand the plan is critical to protecting reputations and mitigating external and internal damage.

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