8 crisis myths you should ignore

There are many approaches to mitigate a PR fiasco, but some tactics are misguided—and dangerous for your reputation. Make sure you avoid committing these common mistakes.

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A lot has been written about crisis communications.

Type the phrase into Google, and it returns more than 16 million results. Search “crisis media management,” and you will see more than seven million results.

Is it really helpful to have so much information and advice available with just a few taps on a keyboard? There are certainly a few recurring myths and misconceptions contained within those pages.

Here are eight myths that don’t add up:

1. “Journalists are the enemy.”

Under the intense pressure of a crisis media management situation, you could be forgiven for thinking the media are the enemy and wising they would move on to another story.

However, you cannot allow those thoughts to impact your judgement.

The media is a tool you must to embrace – they have direct access to the audiences you need to reach during a crisis. In short, you need them to get your messages across to your customers.

2. “A crisis is always a threat.”

The key word here is “always.”

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