Rules of crisis communication for nonprofits
“I’m not sure how to respond to this situation on social media.”
A text message I’ve found myself typing on more than one occasion over the last few years and the same message that prompted me to write this article for you.
From the early days of the pandemic to a racial justice revolution to the imminent war in Ukraine, it feels like there is a monumental or once-in-a-lifetime event happening every other day.
This is especially true after the last 3 years. You want to show up and show solidarity. But when it comes to your organization --- how do you do this?
Like the rest of the world, I’ve been glued to the crisis unfolding in Ukraine, and while I’m watching in horror at the devastation and destruction, I’m also fascinated by the role that social media is playing in this conflict. It’s the first war we are watching unfold on social media.
In particular, watching the stark difference between the leaders, specifically how President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky has handled his communication and response.
While being literally in the line of fire, President Zelensky’s response has been a source of truth for everyone around the world watching the events play out His approach has been both authentic and unifying and an example of how courage is contagious.
So, how’s he doing it?
And what tips can you take away from his response when faced with a crisis of your own?
Navigating any of these events as a human is hard and overwhelming, but maneuvering them as the leader of an organization can be a bit tricky. Thanks to the digital age and social media, crises are more prevalent, accelerate quicker, and can spin out of control much faster.
It’s daunting. And, if you’re a leader feeling paralyzed at what your next step needs to be, it's ok. You're not alone.
In this post, I’m breaking down my approach to responding to a crisis and how you can continue to build trust as a leader in your organization by using social media.
The 2 Common Types of Crises
If you’re wondering where my obsession with unpacking crisis communication came from, let me tell you a quick story:
It was the summer of 2008 and I walked bright-eyed and bushy-tailed into my new job as a Communications Coordinator at Bank of America.
I had made it. I was in the corporate world. I had a suit. I was going places.
As I walked to my new desk, I noticed everyone gathered around the TV.
Bank of America had just bought Merril Lynch for pennies on the dollar. The markets were crashing. The world was diving headfirst into a once-in-a-lifetime recession, and I was about to get a crash course in crisis communication.
The first thing to embody about crisis communication: you may not be able to control the crisis, but you can control your response. Let’s define the two types of crises you’re likely to experience:
A reputational risk where the crisis is about your organization and directly impacts your organization’s reputation (like accusations of harassment or mismanagement of funds).
A life or environment crisis where the events happening around you are impacting your community and might conflict with your values as an organization (like wildfires or a global pandemic)
The first step forward is likely going to feel uncomfortable and like you’re stepping into unknown territory. Because that’s exactly what you are doing.
Rules of crisis communication for nonprofits
Erroring on the side of communicating with your stakeholders vs. not, even if to say that you don’t have all the details, builds trust and a sense of calmness amongst the chaos.
Now, before you jump into communicating, there are a few steps that you need to take. The 3 basic components of crisis communication:
Be quick to respond. You want your audience to hear from you as soon as possible.
Put people first. Understand the people you’re communicating with and tailor the message based on the platforms you’re using.
Be clear, concise, and actionable. If you’re in the middle of a crisis, get to the point and be clear in your message.
With those components in mind, your next step is to formulate your response and identify your crisis communication language. This is the language you will reiterate over and over how you are navigating the challenges in front of you.
5 steps to help you plan your crisis communication
➜ 1. Pause and learn
A panicked response that you will have to walk back later will likely cause more damage than waiting and providing a well-thought-out response.
Take a moment to understand the full extent of the crisis.
Gather information from reputable sources, get to the root of the situation and why it started in the first place.
If there’s time, discuss with a few trusted stakeholders in your community about their take on the situation.
➜ 2. Center around the people and values of an organization
What does your organization stand for? When crisis strikes and you’re unsure of how to respond, you can always fall back on the values of your organization. It’s important to remember that you are the spokesperson for your organization and it is your responsibility to respond with those values in mind.
But ditch the corporate response. We’ve all seen them. They are stale, robotic, and feel out of touch – and that’s because they likely are.
While I do believe in having some key crisis communication talking points to ensure you’re clearly and concisely articulating your message, I also firmly believe in speaking authentically and with compassion. And talking and writing like you’re a human.
➜ 3. Use empathy and be brave
It’s clear that nonprofit organizations have a deep understanding of empathy because it’s at the root of what they do every day – understanding the big problems of the world and developing ways to solve them.
Empathy is not only good for business, but it’s good for humanity. Your response to a crisis needs empathy because at its core it means understanding what people are feeling, creating connections, and being inclusive.
But empathy is also being vulnerable. You have to stand in alignment with your values as an organization and step into your bravery when it’s possible people may disagree with you.
This article from Inc. reiterates how vulnerable and challenging empathy can be and we often look for a positive reaction in return. It’s important to remember that if empathy isn’t reciprocated, don’t give up.
➜ 4. Acknowledge you’re not an expert
It’s ok not to know everything about a crisis, but it’s not ok to pretend to be an expert when you are not. The spread of misinformation is rampant on social media and you don’t want to be a proponent of spreading misinformation – whether unintentional or not. And, again, why it’s important to go back to finding reliable sources to gather your information.
In a recent podcast, I listened to with Kara Swisher as she explained the weaponization of the internet when looking for information:
If you’re searching on Google, the priority in the search is speed, accuracy, and context, whereas on YouTube, the priority is still the speed of receiving information but engagement and virality are next in line.
Now in some cases, your organization might actually be a subject matter expert. If this is the case, then communicating with the facts and not opinions will elevate you to being a trusted source of information.
➜ 5. Take responsibility when you don’t get it right
You can take all the right steps and still not get it right. That’s ok – you’re still human. When you know better, do better. If you respond in a way that you find out later is harmful, then acknowledge the harm you caused. You’ll want to be careful in becoming defensive, even when your intent was not to cause harm.
Reminder: The good work you are doing still matters
“There’s always something,” is a phrase I’m accustomed to living on a farm, but it’s usually in response to a tractor breaking down or an auger getting stuck in a windstorm.
Unfortunately, the reality is that this goes for the world we live in too. There will always be a crisis happening somewhere for someone – but at the end of the day, you don’t have the capacity to respond to every single one of them.
Is important to be aware of the tone of the conversations going on with your staff, beneficiaries, volunteers, and board members? Absolutely, yes, to the best of your ability.
But — the work you are doing — showing up for those you serve, this is also important. You are still doing good in the world and your people need you to keep showing up!
I know that navigating this kind of thing can be hard.
If you’re looking for support in creating your own social media plan, then join me for a Social Media Sprint Week. You’ll get access to the framework I use to provide engaging and value-driven content with all of my clients, as well as in my own business. I will also be showing up live to support you in creating a plan that is in alignment with the values of your organization.
Learn more about Sprint Week! Ready to enroll? Go here.
