Communications & Business Continuity

December 11, 2019 - Communication is a critical component of planning for business continuity. Whether it's a crisis response team communicating among themselves or communicating to the public, communication is an area that should be considered in your business continuity plan. All too often, however, not enough time and attention is devoted to this area. This week we are providing some information about this critical aspect of business continuity.

Technology has advanced to the point of being a near-constant force in society, and as such has given many ways to help keep society safe. In today's world, planning for violence could end up being the most important decision a business can make. (Item #1)

Effectively communicating information in a crisis is an important part of business continuity planning. Get the steps to follow in this emergency communication plan template. (Item #2)

Here's what you should know when it comes to communicating efficiently and ensuring business continuity during a natural disaster. (Item #3)

A crisis communications plan helps you determine how to provide accurate information to the right people via the appropriate channels. (Item #4) 

You may not be able to control the crisis---whether it's a life- or environment-threatening disaster (like an oil spill) or a reputational risk (like accusations of fiduciary mismanagement)—but you can control your response. (Item #5)


For the full issue, click here.

Reputation Management

November 13, 2019 - Along with your employees, your good reputation is your most important asset. What are you doing to protect it and maintain its value? If you're not doing enough, you could be in danger of losing or having a tarnished reputation from which you may never recover. Look at this week's articles for some things you could be doing right now to maintain or improve your reputation.

(#1)  There's one question, the answer to which can affect your longevity more than nearly anything else: How's your reputation? 

(#2)  We've compiled 72 of the most eye-opening reputation management stats for 2019.

(#3)  If you take the right steps, you can protect your reputation and maintain a strong brand.

(#4)  Here are five ways that you can protect your company's reputation on social media.

(#5)  However, one defines reputation, everyone agrees it's a precious enterprise asset and recognizes a reputation that has been damaged beyond repair.

For the full issue, click here.

Social Media

April 3, 2019 - Nearly all businesses use social media in one form or another, whether it's for marketing, customer/client communication, or other applications. We're not sure, however, if any businesses have made plans to respond to and manage a social media crisis. If you don't have a plan, these articles should convince you that you need one and also help you create one. Don't wait until it's too late to get started.

Use the tips in this article as a guide to help curb the spread of misinformation and improve your social media response to any crisis. (Item #1)   What can you do about Twitter? (Item #2)   Here's what to do if you end up with a full-blown social media crisis management situation on your hands. (Item #3)

Every company should have a social media crisis management plan in place; equipped with your crisis survival guide, you'll be prepared for even the worst situations. (Item #4)   The worst time to start planning for a crisis is when you're in the middle of one. (Item #5)   Like any other emergency strategy, a social media crisis plan is designed to offer a quick and appropriate response and funnel correct information to anyone looking to access it, including customers, employees, and the media. (Item #6)


For the full issue, click here.

Communication and Business Continuity

January 23, 2019 - Communication -- internal, external, crisis, and just plain every day -- is a key component of every successful organization. We all have stakeholders with whom we need to communicate on a regular (even daily) basis but we often don't have plans that enable us to implement effective communication when we need it. This week we look at some of the components of effective communication and the impact communication has on the continuity of operations.

Communication planning is an intricate part of preparedness and any continuity process. (Item #1)   Given its important role, crisis communication must be part of an effective business continuity plan, and not come as an improvised afterthought. (Item #2)   At the center of a business continuity plan for instances such as last year's Strand gas leak is the challenge of communication. (Item #3)

Communicating during a crisis is one of the most important elements of a workplace disaster. (Item #4)   Effective customer communication during a crisis really comes down to organization and collaboration.  (Item #5)   Despite having more channels, more ways to reach out to each other and more content, communication is breaking down in organizations. (Item #6)


For the full issue, click here.

Crisis Communication

October 17, 2018 - As you read through this week's articles, you will see several themes... respond quickly, tell the truth and apologize. There's lots more good information as well. Companies have to act like people in a crisis situation, and the way they communicate can enable that perception in their stakeholders. We hope you don't have to put this information to use, but, let's face it, stuff happens, and we all need whatever help we can get just in case.

Starbucks raised the bar on how to do what's right when something goes wrong. (Item #1)  Here are five crisis communications takeaways from the characters of "Stranger Things." (Item #2)  Unsure of where to begin preparing to communicate in a crisis? Here are seven tips your organization should master. (Item #3)

In this digital age, there are several questions crisis communication plans should address. (Item #4)  Here's a look at five examples of crisis communication fails and what we can learn from them about what not to do in a business crisis. (Item #5)  While this expert says that "crisis is inevitable," she believes that when handled properly a crisis can actually give a boost to an organization. (Item #6)


For the full issue, click here.

Social Media

April 11, 2018 - If you are using social media as a tool, your organization can benefit (or suffer) in many ways. Using it ineffectively can cause problems that might negatively impact your bottom line. Using it well to gain new customers can have the opposite effect. This week's articles highlight some of the effective ways to use this range of tools.

The author shares his thoughts on how to deal with a crisis in the public (Twitter)sphere. (Item #1)  Social media is better used as a customer service and brand-equity platform than a revenue generator. (Item #2)  Delivering exceptional customer service on social media means understanding (and focusing on) three fundamental areas. (Item #3)

Social media can help organizations share their stories and connect with their target audience--candidates, new hires, and current employees. (Item #4)  How does your nonprofit board support your social media efforts to engage with your members? (Item #5)  These are the essential elements of a solid social media employee advocacy training program. (Item #6)


For the full issue, click here.

Communication in the Post-Truth Era

April 4, 2018 - Fake news and alternative facts (notice hardly anyone says "lie" anymore) have been part of the communication landscape for a couple of years now. We find ourselves in the post-truth era. What does this mean to those of us who need to gain the public's trust to achieve our missions and improve our bottom lines? And what does it mean to our marketing communications? Crisis Communications? The most clues to navigating and surviving this era come from understanding what post-truth means, which is why we have chosen the following articles this week.

Corrections or counter-information to false rumors, lies, or "alternative facts" are very difficult, and should be a matter of public concern; in many cases, therefore, attenuating them may be the only hope. (Item #1)  Reporting the news and communicating to target audiences have become far more challenging because truth is increasingly relative and trusted information sources are suspect. (Item #2)  How should companies communicate in the Post-Truth era, particularly when it comes to the use of numbers? (Item #3)

The phenomenon or confirmation bias is one we all need to be aware of and figure out how to navigate. (Item #4)  Fake news. Clickbait. Sensationalism and misinformation. Americans are experiencing a plague of untrustworthy content, and content marketing isn't immune to the disease. (Item #5)  There's no Trade Practices Act for politics. And that's a shame. (Item #6)


For the full issue, click here.

Social Engineering

February 21, 2018 - Phishing, vishing (uses phone calls) and smishing (uses text messages) plus impersonation are the top four social engineering techniques used in more than half of the hack attacks these days. This week we're looking at what social engineering is, preventing attacks, your best defenses again these attacks and how to educate your employees about social engineering.

Here's what you need to know to protect your organization and your users from social engineers. (Item #1)   Twenty-eight infosec experts discuss how to prevent the most common social engineering attacks. (Item #2)   Cybercrooks use the dangerous weapon of social engineering to get at the weakest link: the user. (Item #3)

How social engineering works (and why you may never know you're a target). (Item #4)   But there are steps you can take to tighten your security against social engineering attacks. (Item #5)   Here's information about educating your staff to prevent them falling for social engineering scams. (Item #6)


For the full issue, click here.

Online Reputation Management

August 16, 2017 - Per the quote in this issue, while most people will look you up online, they won't go further than page one of the results. So if you have negative results on page one, you probably need to do something about them because all that other positive stuff on pages two and following won't matter. You might be able to do some reputation repair yourself or you might need the services of a specialist. But make no mistake about it -- something has to be done. This week, we offer articles that talk about how to DIY as well as what online reputation services can do for you.

Don't wait until your online reputation is a mess to do something about it. (Item #1)   Even if you have never had a strong online position, the people you are doing business with -- now or in the future -- are almost certainly checking up on you online with a fine-toothed comb. (Item #2)   The single critical -- even erroneous -- article is now a greater threat than ever and will glean even greater traction than before in an otherwise positive profile. (Item #3)

It's important to manage your online reputation properly. (Item #4)   If you need help with your online reputation, here are 50 companies that might be able to assist you. (Item #5)   There is a lot that online reputation management can do for a business, but here are three top misconceptions. (Item #6)


For the full issue, click here.

Social Media and Business Continuity

April 12, 2017 - Social media has been around quite a while now, and its use continues to grow. How does your company handle social media? Is it an important part of your business continuity plan? Do you encourage employees to use it or worry about the risks? Since it's not going away anytime soon, the time is definitely here to determine where social media fits into your BC strategy and how you're going to use it to best advantage. And don't forget that there are benefits AND risks of using social media in your business.

What's the secret to future-proofing your social-media strategy? (Item #1)   Small businesses should grab these five social media trends to consign old practices to the dustbin, embrace battle ready methods to win customers. (Item #2)   Social media can be a powerful tool in a business continuity management program arsenal. (Item #3)

Understanding how to monitor social media communications and interactions will enable you to both assess the risk and reap greater rewards through richer engagement. (Item #4)   Use technology to manage social media processes and embed corporate governance into the data management process to avoid the risks of social media. (Item #5)   Should employers be looking into their employees' social media habits/posts at work? (Item #6)


For the full issue, click here.

Communication in the Digital Post-Truth Era

April 5, 2017 - The Oxford Dictionaries recently named "post-truth" as their international word of the year. What does this mean for communication, crisis communication and reputation in this post-truth era? How has crisis communication changed and, interestingly, how has it not? While there are challenges, most experts agree that the basic principles of communicating in a crisis are still important. Read on and see what you think... have you changed the way you're handling crisis communication today?

The real challenge for communicators are the longer-term, structural trends around the democratization of publishing and real-time hyper-connectivity. (Item #1)   The term "fake news" has been made popular in the past six months, but it's always been around; how do you protect yourself? (Item #2)   When it comes to communicating in a crisis, hope is not a strategy. (Item #3)

It is tempting in a communications crisis for a firm to shut up shop and proffer little or no comment, or worse still, to attempt to misinform the public in order to save face. (Item #4)   Crisis communication is changing, but its principles remain the same. (Item #5)   What's different about navigating crisis communications in today's environment. (Item #6)


For the full issue, click here.

Social Media

Since 2000, social media use by businesses has grown and is now standard fare for many organizations. Others just don't want anything to do with it, fearing the risks it presents. But social media can play a critical role in business continuity, and this week's articles discuss that role and how to manage and/or mitigate the risks prevented.

Social media can now affect business continuity planning in countless ways. (Item #1)   Social media can save lives, keeping communities in touch during disasters, as well as managing corporate reputations during a crisis. (Item #2)   You will find yourself doing social media crisis management sooner rather than later.  (Item #3)

There are many ways business continuity managers can leverage social media in a crisis, but to be effective requires forethought and training. (Item #4)   It stands to reason that if companies do
not have a broad enough understanding of social media risks, they are likely not to have in place a broad enough approach to managing social media risks. (Item #5)   Firms need to identify the risks of social media, develop comprehensive governance policies to mitigate risk and then deploy the right technology to reinforce those policies. (Item #6)


Would you like these NewsBriefs delivered directly to you via email? -- http://www.attainium.net/newsbriefs/

Social Media

Social media... to some it's an incredibly useful business continuity tool, but to others it's an area fraught with potential disaster. Both views are valid. If, however, you have a plan for using social media in a crisis and/or responding to social media crises, you can avoid, or at the very least, mitigate a catastrophe. Do you have someone who monitors social media? What happens if they find negative comments? Do you know how to respond? If not, it might be helpful to look over the articles below and meet with your team to come up with a plan for dealing with the negative and using social media to your benefit.

There are both positives and negatives about the use of social media as a business continuity tool. (Item #1)   Handling negative social media comments is the topic of this brief video. (Item #2)   What can you do to avoid costly mistakes in developing and implementing social media strategies geared toward improving your organization's crisis management? (Item #3)

We can all learn from the mistakes of others... (Item #4)   But we can also learn from their successes. (Item #5)   It is important to remember that stakeholder engagement via social media must be geared toward building social capital and stakeholder trust well before a crisis occurs. (Item #6)


Past issues of the NewsBriefs are available at http://www.attainium.net/newsbriefs/

Social Media and Business Continuity

Social media has become an essential tool in the lives of people everywhere. It is used in major and minor disasters, as a marketing tool, and in many other ways by businesses and individuals, and its use is growing every year. There are some pitfalls, however, when using this medium, including damage to your organizational reputation. This week we look at the state of social media in business continuity, making and avoiding social media mistakes, and some statistics on social media use that could have you rethinking your use of this tool.

Social media is a powerful tool that can produce desired results when harnessed properly within a strategic plan. (Item #1) If you’re serious about managing your company’s online reputation, then you need to avoid these mistakes. (Item #2) Here are some tips on how to avoid social media mistakes. (Item #3)

Social media crises can happen to the best of brands, but even they don’t always respond in the best manner. (Item #4) Know what the fastest-growing demographic on Twitter is? Or how many new members join LinkedIn every second? The answers will surprise you! (Item #5) Social media is increasingly being integrated into disaster response plans and activities. (Item #6)

Social Media and Business Continuity

There are many pros and cons of using social media in business, including the concern about what to do if things go wrong. Many businesses today, however, are integrating social media into their Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery plans and activities. Read on to learn more about this evolving trend.

The use of social media as a business continuity tool is a trend on the upswing. (Item #1) HR professionals, should update their business continuity plans to include social media. (Item #2) Today’s consensus is that it is now a “smart practice” to include SM in BCP and COOP programs. (Item #3)

Twitter allows users to quickly and efficiently interact with one another 140 characters at a time through what is called a “tweet.” (Item #4) There’s a wrong and right way to handle a social media disaster. (Item #5) Two women in Missouri got on Facebook and helped after the Joplin tornado. (Item #6)

Social Media

Do you know the potential benefits and dangers of social media? How they can help in your continuity of operations efforts? How do you deal with the risks? This week's articles can help bring you up to date about this phenomenon that isn't just for kids anymore.

You have to understand and be able to manage social media's role in your organization. (Item #1) Only 25% of businesses currently use social networks as a tool; here's why you should use them. (Item #2) If you're not one of the businesses already using social media as a BC tool, you should be. (Item #3)

If you're going to use social media, then you need to make sure to include it in your plan and test it before disaster strikes. (Item #4) You do have to be able to control the use of social media in your organization in order to minimize the risks. (Item #5) The use of social media guidelines can help prevent problems. (Item #6)

Social Media and Business Continuity

More organizations today have instituted social media usage policies and many have Facebook pages, Twitter accounts, and blogs. Their business continuity plans, however, don't usually contain social media strategies. It seems that the time is ripe to update those plans to reflect the usage of these social media tools in your plans. This week's articles can help point out how to use social media as disaster response and recovery tools.

If you're one of the many who have questions about social media, here are some answers for you. (Item #1) Read how Facebook, text messages, and telehealth technologies play a role in emergency response. (Item #2) Today's technologically savvy employees  are connected through social media… you can take advantage of this in your BC plans. (Item #3)

Is social media the new crisis response tool? (Item #4) Don't be caught on the sidelines of the social media movement; put these tools to work for you. (Item #5) What's the point of Twitter in a business context? (Item #6)


Read it all at http://www.attainium.net/newsbriefs

Social Media and Business Continuity

Is your organization up to date on the most recent developments in enterprise social media? Have you observed how social media can aid an organization? Have you considered the possible drawbacks? Learn more about establishing and nurturing an enterprise social media and collaboration strategy in this week’s articles.

Is social media the ultimate BCM utility? (Item #1) Make sure to set up social media before a crisis hits. (Item #2) Emergency managers and business continuity planners agree that it’s smart practice to include social media in BCM and COOP programs. (Item #3)

Three common misperceptions have held back the use of social media in disaster response. (Item #4) It is critical that social media leaders determine the purpose of their initiatives before they deploy them. (Item #5) Social media has significantly changed how many companies communicate with their customers, employees and vendors. (Item #6)

Learn more at http://www.attainium.net/newsbriefs