Sometimes, It's Best NOT to Respond

I often get asked PR-related questions during casual conversations and though I don't specialize in crisis management PR, I think some concepts are fairly easy to understand.

One of those concepts is: you don't have to respond to everything bad "they" say about you.

"They" could be critics or the competition or just John and Joan Q. Public. We've talked about how to avoid no comment if a reporter asks you, but if nobody comes a'calling to get your take on a negative situation, sometimes it's best to just be silent -- especially if the situation is just gossip.

You have decide when a response is worth the trouble. Here are three things to keep in mind:

• Responding to a controversy extends the life of the controversy. If you come out with a statement to an issue that nobody has asked you about, you've just given a fresh perspective to that controversy. Now the story is that you responded to something that may not have grabbed many people's attention the first go-round, but they're paying attention to it now. If you don't address it, it may fade away on its own.
• If it's not libel or slander, consider letting it go. If it's not serious enough to take the issue to a court of law, ignore your first instinct to post on your blog or Tweet or write a Facebook post to give 'em the whatfor. A lot of times, that's they what "they" want anyway -- to get a rise out of you.
• Keep your poker face on. Don't let them know that you have been affected by whatever they have to say, again, if it's not libelous, slanderous or will somehow affect the life of your business or organization.

The moral of the story? In this digital age, everyone has a platform to state their opinion. Decide whether a response to a negative opinion is worth the effort of your attention.

Bridgette Outten is a journalist and publicity strategist with The Write Vision Group, Inc. With a background in print media, she has written thousands of articles for newspapers and online publications. At The Write Vision Group, Bridgette consults with nonprofits and small businesses about how to get their programs and efforts in the news. Meanwhile, she blogs on all things journalism.

You Shouldn't Try to Get Your Story in the News If...

Sometimes, it just has to be said: everybody doesn't have a newsworthy story.

What's good news for you doesn't meant that it will draw the attention of the masses that reporters are tasked with educating, informing or entertaining every day.

Here are three simple reasons why you should NOT be pitching your story because chances are, you don't have a story that's ready for media attention.

• You just want to sell something. If the only thing you can come up with about your organization or company is what's on sale, you are not ready to start pitching. If you can only offer a reporter coupons for background information, don't bother pitching, just buy an ad.
• You can't explain exactly what you do. If you aren't able to give a clear, concise sentence about why the masses would care about your story, you need to head back to the drawing board until you can figure that out. If you can't explain it to a reporter, a reporter can't explain it to their audience...and nobody gets it.
• Your story has nothing unique about it. I run into organizations all the time that want coverage for a fundraiser. Well, thousands of organizations have fundraisers. What makes yours different and what do you have to offer people if they donate or attend?

The moral of the story? To appeal to a reporter, your story has to have elements that appeals to a mass audience.

Bridgette Outten is a journalist and publicity strategist with The Write Vision Group, Inc. With a background in print media, she has written thousands of articles for newspapers and online publications. At The Write Vision Group, Bridgette consults with nonprofits and small businesses about how to get their programs and efforts in the news. Meanwhile, she blogs on all things journalism.

Bad News Travels Faster

Someone once said that lies can travel the world while the truth is still getting its pants on.

I think this statement is mostly true and can certainly be applied to good news and bad news. The unfortunate fact is: bad news can also travel faster.

If you look at social media and what gets the most reposts and retweets, sure, there are some amazing quotes, pictures and videos that get great feedback. But cases like the latest social media nightmare for Progressive Insurance can easily get way more air time.

According to CNN Money: "The company's crisis began [in August] when a customer's sibling published a Tumblr post with the kind of headline public-relations people have nightmares about: "My Sister Paid Progressive Insurance to Defend Her Killer In Court.

...Fisher's blog post went viral overnight and was re-shared on Tumblr more than 10,000 times. The Internet hive turned savagely on Progressive and its iconic spokeswoman."

To compound the issue, Progressive apparently responded with a series of RoboTweets, when a genuine, heartfelt statement was probably more appropriate.

The moral of the story isn't not to use social media or to be fearful of what people may say about you. But if you're confronted with bad news, remain genuine and heartfelt. Make sure that your message remains consistent and that you report on your own good news, even if no one else does. 

Bridgette Outten is a journalist and media relations consultant with The Write Vision Group, Inc. With a background in print media, she has written thousands of articles for newspapers and online publications. At The Write Vision Group, Bridgette consults with nonprofits and small businesses about how to get their programs and efforts in the news. Meanwhile, she blogs on all things journalism.