What do you do when a potential PR disaster hits? I am really asking this question. Yes, we go to school to get an idea of how to handle a crisis. We practice “mock” crisis press conferences, and we even write reports saying what we would do in certain situtations. But what is the best way to handle this type of situation when it actually hits home?

The reason I ask is because this almost happened to me with my internship before spring break. I work at Storybook Farms. Storybook Farms is a non-profit organization that specializes in therapeutic horseback riding for children with severe disabilities and children suffering from terminal illnesses. We also take kids suffering from a loss of a parent or loved one. We were conducting a board meeting at Storybook Farms when all of a sudden a fire sprang up and began to light our pastures on fire. Thank goodness a neighbor saw this from his house and came over to warn us. It took a long time for the fire department to put out the flames, but had this fire - which was caused by lightning - burned up all our pastures and our barn, Storybook Farms would have ceased to exist. Many families and people in the community would have been affected. Storybook Farms would have had to start from scratch all over again. Thankfully it did not affect our farm in ways where we had to restructure. We count our blessings every day that the wind was blowing in the opposite direction.

So, what would you have done? What would you have done if the place you work at or intern at would have gone up in flames. Contact the media? Contact the families? What are the appropriate approaches in these circumstances. Like I said, we are versed in school what to do if a situation arises, but no one really knows what to do until it happens to you, and even then, are you really sure what the right thing to do is? Crisis management is key in our industry, lets just hope that when a crisis arises, someone knows exactly what to do!

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All of us have been taught how to write a press release or, as my professors always stressed, a news release. Old-school experts ingrained in us the need for media relations. We were writing for the media, not necessarily the customer. The news release had to be “big news.” We were slaves to the reporters who chose whether to pick up the story. By then, the news was no longer worthy. Our only ROI was clipping services.

No longer do these rules apply - enter PR 2.0. We need to alter the way we think about news releases and learn how to capture the journalist online. The citizen gatekeepers, as well as, the professional journalists are those seeking our virtual information. The Web is allowing customers to read releases in real-time. In this customer-centric environment, news releases are having a dramatic impact on consumer action effectiveness. In his e-book, The New Rules of PR, David Meerman Scott, addresses the need for change and the necessity to talk directly to the customer. Instead of the strict pyramid model release, we need to switch gears and think of the release as a feature “article ready” story.

Don’t just send press releases when “big news” is happening; find good reasons to send them all the time.

• Instead of just targeting a handful of journalists, create press releases that appeal directly to your buyers.
• Write releases replete with keyword-rich copy.
• Create links in releases to deliver potential customers to landing pages on your Web site.
• Optimize press release delivery for searching and browsing.
• Drive people into the sales process with press releases.

Old habits die hard, but we must be advocates of the modern news release. Word of mouth marketing is one, if not the most powerful tool in the communication professional’s arsenal. Remember there is a difference between viral and word of mouth marketing. If you don’t know, look it up. (Editor’s note: read more about viral and word of mouth marketing)

Just recently, I finished my Masters Degree in Communications and was curious to know how many students are stumbling into social media or guided by their school program. If it had not been for online night school I think I would have been stuck in 2001 when traditional media relations were not questioned. Recently, Global PR Blog Week 2.0 took up the question of students and if they should be blogging. Listen to the podcast. If you are reading this, you already have your feet wet in PR 2.0. Take the plunge!

Lauren Vargas is Founder and President of 12comm Public Relations in Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas, and is the author of Communicators Anonymous – a blog discussing a 12-step public relations program for a stronger and more authentic communications industry.

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