Mobile & Crisis Communications

The final public relations practice to examine is crisis communications. In many ways, the uses for mobile in supporting crisis communications efforts are minor modifications of what has been discussed previously in this series.  The main difference, as with all crisis communications, is the importance that prior planning plays in successful execution.

It is common practice for crisis plans to include a ‘dark site’ or website that has been built and pre-populated with content and can be instantly made public in the event of a crisis. The same effort should be made with a mobile web site. In some ways, a mobile website might be even more important as it can be accessed from anywhere. The public does not have to be on a computer in order to receive what could be vital or time-sensitive information.

Imagine a situation where a company has to do a product recall. A mobile website would allow consumers to confirm instantly if they are affect says David Jones. “People hear about a product recall, and they think everyone is affected. Mobile offers the ability to control. Consumers can take a picture of the UPC on the products they have in their home, submit it to a mobile website and know immediately if they are affected.”

Simpler methods could also be used to ensure that less mobile savvy consumers are not disadvantaged. UPC codes could be sent in and processed by text message, for example. A product recall notice could tell consumers to text their UPC to a designated shortcode. Responses would confirm whether or not the product was affected and the message could contain a click to call feature to connect consumers to a response centre set up by the company.

Mobile’s responsiveness and contextual relevance can also be used to manage public safety situations. Many universities have implemented SMS emergency broadcast services to alert students in the event of an on-campus crisis. Companies could use their mobile database development efforts to similar effect.  As we’ve already discussed, the ‘always on, always with’ nature of the mobile phone means that members of the public would more than likely receive a text message alert well in advance of any email or public media notification.

Messages could contain links to mapping applications that are included on smartphones and direct the consumer to the closest emergency response units or other safe zones. For those without smartphones, a secondary message could be set up to provide safety information in response to a reply keyword texted in by the member of the public.

Careful planning and consideration of all variables would increase the chances of containing a crisis situation.  While each business or organization will have a unique set of potential crisis situations to plan for, mobile’s feature set, connectivity and contextual relevance provide a powerful tactical addition to any response.

Next Up: Some final wrap-up thoughts on mobile and public relations.

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