Five Strategies for Bouncing Back from Bad Press

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‘Any press is good press.’ 

While this age old adage is ubiquitous, a company or individual who’s ever been on the receiving end of bad press can quickly tell you it’s a myth. The truth is that negative media attention can in fact do damage – not only does bad publicity feel frankly awful in the moment, but it can also hurt morale, create disruption, and break down hard-won trust in your business for the long-run. 

But though bad press should be taken seriously, it doesn’t follow that it should necessarily be seriously damaging. If handled with truth, tact and compassion, it’s possible to come out stronger on the other side – especially if you adopt the following five strategies:

Triage. 

A single piece of bad press can rapidly spiral out of control, so it’s important to act quickly and to get in front of the situation as early as possible. Evaluate the urgency of the issue: how serious is the piece of bad press? Is the story likely to be picked up by other outlets or social media? From there, you can then decide your strategy. If the story seems like a one-off, it may make sense to hold off on a response, while monitoring the situation and putting together a communications plan in case the situation escalates. In other cases, it may be more strategic to issue a response immediately – or at minimum, offer a simple holding statement that can serve to stem the tide while you gather all the facts.

Get your story straight.

Before responding, it’s critical that you have a clear picture of the situation at hand. Ask yourself and your team: what are the facts? Is the story accurate or fair? And most importantly, what do you believe in? A solid communications – and business – strategy should always be open to constructive criticism, but you may at times be criticized for decisions that you ultimately stand behind. (Take, for instance, the backlash and Gillette’s thoughtful response to its controversial We Believe advert in 2019.) In such a complex communications environment, only by digging deep, doing your research and understanding how the situation relations to your broader business, can you ensure that you present the right response – one that you can be proud of at the end of the day.

Don’t pass the buck.

Though it can be tempting to become defensive or critical in the face of a PR crisis, the best approach is always to embrace accountability. Take ownership of the situation and address the issue head-on by owning up to where you may have gone wrong, and by tactfully correcting the facts where you feel coverage was unfair. If warranted, publicly lay out your plan of correction, which can help to assure your audience that you actually intend to make good on the situation. Ultimately, the more responsive you are to negative press, the more trust you can build in your brand reputation. 

Leverage all the channels available to you.

While a media relations approach that responds clearly and compassionately to bad publicity remains an essential part of any crisis communications strategy, today’s environment provides many more channels that can help you get your message out. For example, social media channels offer an opportunity to respond directly to customer questions or concerns, while longer-form platforms – such as your company website, pressroom or online blog – can allow you to respond with more detail and nuance than possible in a media statement. As such, an increasing number of companies – ranging from KFC to Tesla – are opting to lean on their owned media channels as a key part of their public relations response.

Make lemonade.

The savviest PR practitioners understand that bad press can be a learning moment for your business. It highlights areas where your business is vulnerable, and offers valuable feedback on how you can adjust your product/service, customer or communications strategy to not only better avoid such situations, but to strengthen your business in the future. As such, taking the time to evaluate learnings from the situation and to invest in a long term PR program can pay serious dividends for your brand’s reputation over time. Indeed, when it comes to dealing with negative press, the best spin you can do is to turn one bad piece into an opportunity for your business to build and grow.

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