Imagine this: a seemingly harmless social media post spirals into a PR nightmare. Negative headlines dominate news cycles, and your brand reputation takes a hit. Thanks to social media, this can happen in an instant.
Fortunately, PR professionals aren’t powerless. According to Determ research, a staggering 55% of PR professionals believe crisis management and communication are essential skills for success. Here’s the good news: crisis management tools can empower you to navigate challenging situations and safeguard your brand reputation.
💡 Read Crisis Management 101: How to Save Your Business When a Crisis Strikes
This blog post will equip you with the knowledge to:
- Identify key features of effective crisis management tools.
- Explore the top 7 crisis management solutions available.
- Understand the benefits of using these tools to mitigate potential damage and navigate crises effectively.
By leveraging the right tools and strategies, you can transform from a crisis reactor to a proactive crisis manager, ensuring your brand emerges stronger than ever.
Key Features of Effective Crisis Management Tools
Crisis management tools often offer a variety of features, some of which might be more important than others when it comes to dealing with a probing issue.
Here’s what features you should look for:
Real-time media monitoring
Look for 24/7 media monitoring across diverse media channels, including social media, news websites, blogs and forums. Make sure this platform is the first to notify you of issues arising. This gives you precious time to formulate a response strategy. And according to a study, businesses that leverage real-time media monitoring are able to identify and address potential crises 4 times faster than those relying on traditional methods.
Sentiment analysis
Not all mentions are created equal. Sentiment analysis allows for a quicker and more in depth identification of growth in mentions. There is a difference between responding to a frustrated customer and addressing a potential scandal.
Alerting and notification systems
Time is of essence during a crisis. Alerts and notifications ensure your team is immediately aware of the situation. Customizable alerts allow you to prioritize critical mentions.
Reporting and analytics
Data is your friend during a crisis. Crisis management tools offer comprehensive reporting and analytics features. They provide you with insights into how effective your communication was, allowing you to identify and modify areas for improvement. Additionally, historical data analysis helps you identify potential vulnerabilities and proactively plan for future challenges.
Top 7 Crisis Management Tools You Need to Try
Now that we’ve defined what the priorities are when it comes to choosing the best crisis management tool, let’s head into the top 7.
Sprout Social
While not solely a crisis management tool, Sprout Social offers features that can be valuable in the midst of a PR crisis. It allows you to monitor brand mentions across social media platforms, identify negative sentiment, and engage with stakeholders in real-time. Additionally, Sprout Social provides reporting and analytics that can help you track the progress of your crisis communication efforts.
Determ
Determ is a media monitoring and analytics platform that can be used to track brand mentions across all media channels, including social media, news websites, and blogs. It can also be used to identify emerging trends and potential crises. Determ offers a variety of features, including real-time alerts, sentiment analysis, and reporting and analytics. These features can help you stay ahead of potential crises and develop effective communication strategies.
One of Determ’s most useful features when it comes to crisis management is their alerting system. These customizable alerts give a heads-up on potential crises, so nothing can surprise you. You can receive notifications on Determ mobile app, Slack or email.
Here’s what Martina Crnčević from Zadar Tourist Board says about the tool:
“Numerous times, something would happen, and we’d be the last to know. Now, we are timely informed of everything. We check Determ every day, and if something important occurs, we automatically get an alert and are able to react immediately.”
Want to know more about Determ’s crisis management? Determ offers a free trial, after you book a demo.
Brandwatch
Brandwatch is a powerful social listening tool that can help you monitor online conversations about your brand and industry. It can also be used to identify emerging trends and potential crises. Brandwatch offers a variety of features, including sentiment analysis, influencer identification, and topic modeling. These features can help you understand the public perception of your brand and develop effective crisis communication strategies.
OneLogin
OneLogin is an identity and access management (IAM) solution that can help you secure your data and prevent unauthorized access. This is important during a crisis, as hackers may try to take advantage of the situation to steal sensitive information. OneLogin offers a variety of features, including multi-factor authentication, single sign-on, and user provisioning.
Nozomi Networks
Nozomi Networks is an operational technology (OT) security solution that can help you protect your critical infrastructure from cyberattacks. This is important during a crisis, as cyberattacks can disrupt your operations and damage your reputation. Nozomi Networks offers a variety of features, including real-time threat detection, vulnerability assessment, and incident response.
AgoraPulse
Similar to Sprout Social, Agorapulse is a social media management platform that can be used for crisis communication. It allows you to monitor brand mentions, track sentiment, and schedule social media posts. Agorapulse also offers features such as social listening reports, competitive analysis, and influencer identification.
Ragan Communications
Ragan Communications is a crisis communication consultancy that provides a variety of services, including crisis planning, media training, and crisis communication exercises. They can also help you develop a crisis communication plan and train your team on how to respond to a crisis.
Benefits of Using Crisis Management Tools
A single negative mention can snowball into a full-blown crisis. This makes crisis management tools no longer a luxury, but a necessity for PR professionals who need to be prepared for anything.
Here’s how these tools can help navigate challenging situations and protect your brand reputation:
Faster identification of potential crises
Traditional methods of crisis identification often rely on reactive measures like news alerts or negative customer feedback. According to a study by the Institute for Public Relations (IPR), organizations that take a proactive approach to crisis communication experience a 67% reduction in crisis intensity. Crisis management tools offer real-time monitoring across various channels, allowing you to identify potential issues the moment they emerge. This precious head start lets you develop a proactive strategy before a minor issue escalates into a major crisis.
Minimized reputational damage
The quicker you can contain a crisis, the less damage it does to your brand reputation. These tools help you minimize reputational damage by enabling a swift and effective response. By addressing concerns promptly and demonstrating transparency, you can prevent negative sentiment from spreading.
Improved decision-making through data insights
Gone are the days of relying on gut instinct to assess whether you’ve handled the crisis well. Crisis management tools provide valuable data insights through features like sentiment analysis and media monitoring reports. A report by Emplifi highlights that companies utilizing data and analytics in their crisis communication efforts experience a 15% increase in positive brand sentiment during a crisis.
These insights how audiences are reacting to the situation, allowing you to tailor your communication for maximum impact. Imagine the difference between issuing a generic press release and crafting a targeted message that directly addresses public concerns.
Proactive crisis planning and mitigation
These tools aren’t just for reactive situations. By analyzing historical data and identifying potential vulnerabilities, you can develop a crisis communication plan in advance. This outlines roles, responsibilities and communication protocols. This way you make sure of a smooth and coordinated crisis response.
Conclusion
By using a combination of these crisis management tools, PR professionals can be better prepared to respond to any crisis that may arise. Remember, a little preparation can go a long way in safeguarding your brand’s future.
