Mark Story is an adjunct professor of public relations at the University of Maryland and Director of New Media at the Securities and Exchange Commission. He was previously Senior Vice President at international communications firm Fleishman-Hillard. Story shared advice for associations related to crisis communications and social media adoption with SmartBrief’s Abe Silk.

Note: The views expressed here are Mark Story’s and his alone and do not necessarily reflect those of the Chairman, Commissioners, or his colleagues at the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Your background is in public relations and crisis communications. How can companies such as BP who are going through crises overcome public backlash through social media?  Any specific advice for trade associations representing companies in industries like energy or petroleum that have to deal with similar crises?

BP is an example unto itself. There is nothing that they can do from a crisis communications standpoint until the oil stops flowing. As for associations, they often need to “take the bullet” for member companies. And the companies sometimes forget the three basic rules of crisis communications:

1)      Avoid the crisis. The most wonderful crisis plan will sit on the shelf for years (hopefully being updated every quarter) and never be used if no crises occur. And speaking of BP, I think it is pretty surprising that a company that does offshore drilling and makes billions would not have something in their playbook for “what happens if an offshore rig blows up?”

2)      Always tell the truth – or at least what you know. If you lie, there are hundreds of thousands of wannabe investigative journalists (and real ones) who will nail you.  Tell the truth even when it hurts.

3)      Have your most senior executive do the speaking for the company (presuming that he or she is media trained).  In times of a crisis, people do not want to hear from the communications team, they want to hear from the senior most executive.

In your opinion, what are some of the biggest concerns (risks) trade associations face when creating a social media strategy? How can these concerns (risks) be mitigated?

It’s hard running communications for an association because those who pay the bills are often competitors in the marketplace. Competitors can have different communications agendas — yet want the association to speak with one voice.

The biggest risk that an association can take is to do nothing. Conversations about the member company’s businesses and issues are already taking place, so not participating in these is detrimental. This risk can be mitigated by selling the member companies and internal association constituencies on the idea that establishing a mutually beneficial online relationship with stakeholders using social media can help advance the association’s mission. Social media can be risky, but doing nothing is riskier.

Do you think that different platforms pose different risks, and how can they be overcome?

The risks of different social media tools are more dependent upon the communications environment of the association and its member companies than a particular tool. For example, it’s a risk to put up a Facebook page if all you are doing is posting press releases. This is not engagement, it is one-way communication. Twitter is a great, free tool, but if you have nothing to say on a regular basis, it’s a risk to have an outdated page. Finally, if you are in a highly controversial issues arena, using YouTube is quick and easy for issue ads, but they have to be done is a way that does not invite lampoon ads. I can think of one example in which an association did an ad with two people talking underneath a tree and it was quickly lampooned; and visits to the parody videos outnumbered the original by 10 to one.

Editor’s note: On Tuesday July, 20th, Story will share more about managing risks related to associations’ use of social media as part of our Buzz2010 event series in Washington, DC. Space is limited – sign up here.

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