GLOBAL PANDEMIC – How to Stay Sane

We are all sick of hearing about coronavirus – but here I am with another piece of content for you. Someone said to me the other day – imagine what would happen if social media didn’t exist during this epidemic? Or if the media reported on ANYTHING OTHER THAN coronavirus for a week? Two things: either we’d all get sick e.g. plague, or we’d all just go on with our normal sane lives before we stockpiled TOILET PAPER of all things (maybe we’d get sick, but we’d go about our usual doctor’s check-up as symptoms arise).

From a PR perspective though – what can brands do to stay sane? Stay profitable? Stay relevant?

Tip number 1 for crisis management is always alert your stakeholders – i.e. one of those hundreds of emails you’ve seen flooding your inbox this week from any brand you’ve ever given your email to, lol. Regardless of looking like you’re “following a trend”, it’s important to address the issue and reassure your valued customers that it is safe to continue shopping with you.

It’s also good to pre-empt any potential situation outcomes – e.g. staff member tested positive, customer tested positive, supplier tested positive. You want to address this on ALL platforms – EDM, website, socials, POS and media. Having a prepared response saves stress and time if the situation arises, and it means you’ve carefully thought out your response without the influence of pandemonium.

At the end of the day, profit is still a concern. If consumers aren’t spending, you’re not earning. Try to steer clear of seeming like you’re benefiting from or utilising the crisis to sell something…enter trolls. Instead, why not remind people the value you can add to their life at this time – fashion = comfort, food = fuel, Netflix = time passer. Be creative, use it as an opportunity to step out of the box and think BIG!

Good luck and stay healthy!

By Rachel Demarco – PR/Marketing Manager at InsideOut PR and #AsSeenOn