What to Say in the COVID-19 Crisis?

14 Mar What to Say in the COVID-19 Crisis?

Not all businesses have a fully-fledged marketing or PR team at their disposal, so if you’re wondering WTF to say (or not say) during the Coronavirus crisis, we’ve put together some pointers to help you feel prepared, not panicked.

The role of a PR professional is often to pre-empt the worst-case scenario and then plan for it accordingly. Although COVID-19 is unchartered territory, a communications plan should formulate your response to a variety of eventualities. These pointers can be used for any crisis.

1.Who might be affected by the crisis? Think about who you might need to tell if your product or service is impacted e.g Clients, customers, staff and suppliers.

2. What will you say to them? Address potential concerns and queries by pre-planning responses for a variety of hypothetical situations. The aim of the game is to ensure everyone is up to speed. Always deal in facts only. If you don’t have the answers at any given time, explain you are trying to get them or direct them to someone else who is authorised to provide more detail.

3. What channels are you going to use to communicate with these audiences? Put together copy for each channel accordingly in the event it needs to be shared promptly.

4. Who needs to approve what you say? Make sure the relevant team members are available to sign off on anything that may need the green light.

5. Review existing messages you have in-market or are primed to go live – these may need to be tweaked or postponed. For example, if you have pre-planned your social media content a few weeks in advance, make sure there isn’t anything contentious scheduled. The same can be applied to ad campaigns, EDMs and any other marketing materials.

6. Media announcements – is now a good time to share your news? The media are still looking for stories but remember newsrooms are under-resourced ordinarily and journalists’ time is stretched. Unless your news is Coronavirus related (integrity is key) or is essential breaking news otherwise, it may fall by the wayside. If the media release can wait, then think about a more appropriate time to tell the world your story.

7. Question everything you are doing. Are you being socially responsible? If there’s even a doubt in your mind, then don’t do it.

8. Finally, wash your hands friends.