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What are the Do’s and Don’ts when Dealing with the Media? PR and Crisis Communications for Small Businesses

Is there a difference? Not really, because a PR firm is involved with the strategic process of managing the public image of a stakeholder, and is therefore intimately involved in the marketing process.

Using social media is too important for marketing a business to be ignored, yet many small business owners lack the time or the interest to actively engage in a social media conversation. So the next best thing is to delegate social media updates to a “trusted” employee or several employees. This is where a clear and concise social media policy would provide a great foundation for transparent communication with clients and potential customers. But what happens when that trust is broken, and an employee becomes disgruntled and lashes out various social networks? This has the makings of a PR disaster, although there are several things that you can do to be proactive in this situation.

Hunting moles and monitoring negative customer opinions require the same type of strategy, looking carefully for signs that they are there, and implementing a plan to minimize the damage.

What your salespeople say in front of the customer may not match what the marketing department planned because the emphasis is on the wrong message.

When your sales and business development processes needs a little extra boost, think “More Cowbell” in form of public relations!