The importance of speed in crisis communications

In today’s digital world, one thing is becoming ever more important in the realm of crisis communications – speed.

Now, that doesn’t mean that something as important as writing a statement should be rushed. Far from it. But what it does mean is the golden window for time to respond to journalists – and now, social media users – is becoming increasingly small.

Here, Senior Copywriter and former journalist Oliver Sullivan looks at why speed has become so vital.

The decline of print media

News websites are a great place to get up-to-date, snappy news about the things that matter to you. Gone are the days of waiting for the next print edition to be published to get the latest update to a story.

Likewise, it’s the same with waiting for the next TV bulletin.

Indeed, stories can be written, uploaded and updated in minutes before they are shared for the world to see. Videos can quickly be posted too.

That means the window for sending a statement over to a journalist in the event of a crisis has drastically reduced. You need to be on the ball to ensure the best possible outcome for your organisation.

The rise of social media

As many as 4 billion people around the world have a social media account in 2024. From Facebook to X and Instagram to TikTok, social media apps provide a platform for huge audiences to speak about your brand.

That means that today – whether you have a social media presence or not – people could be freely posting about your business. And in a crisis, that could be asking questions or spreading information about your troubles.

So it’s not just newspapers or websites you need to worry about your statement appearing in. It’s social media channels too.

How long do you have to respond to a PR crisis?

Every journalist’s deadline differs in times of crisis. For lower level crises, they could still give you several days time, although when it comes to the higher calibre, it could be minutes.

A journalist is within their rights to publish a story without your comment, although many will (and ethically should) state in their story that your organisation has been contacted.

PR specialists used to talk about a so-called “golden hour” to respond to a crisis, although this has since been replaced by the “critical 15” with the rise of social media.

Now, that’s not a lot of time – is it?

That’s why preparation is key. At Prominent, we strategically create effective crisis communications plans for our clients which help speed up the process and ready us for any potential bumps in the road.

That includes setting a communication pathway for the sign off process and identifying potential crises before they happen through regular meetings and updates.

With that information we are able to craft template statements which can be easily adapted while retaining a clear stance that echo your business’ values.

Crisis communications can be a minefield. But it’s a minefield that can be navigated safely and even result in more positive outcomes should it be handled effectively.

That’s why businesses turn to us here at Prominent.

If you are in need of crisis communications support, call the team today on 01473 276126.

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