The goal for any crisis communications plan is to control your message while you control the crisis. If you don't, you suddenly have two crises, the original event and a secondary crisis of a poor response.

You need three key tools for effectively communicating during a crisis:

1. Planning

It's important to have a plan in place so that you're able to manage your message and respond to the media in a timely manner.  A plan involves selecting key personnel and what responsibilities they will have,  a point person for social media, a media distribution list and determining your media staging area if you believe one will be needed. That's just to get the ball rolling.

Twitter has become a new kind of wire service. Reporters today use Twitter to pick up tips and story ideas throughout the day. 

This presents a great opportunity for anyone wanting to interact with the media. If you're successful in getting certain reporters or editors to follow you on Twitter, you now have another way of reaching them with your news.

VIRTUAL MEGAPHONE

In addition, Twitter also works to amplify your message to others within your industry, the community and to potential clients. Twitter can serve as a virtual megaphone to announce when you've written a new blog post or when you've posted a new thought leadership video on your website. It also gives you a platform to comment on what others are saying, helping to establish yourself as a respected expert.

A press release is a great way to convey your announcement or news item, but it's often not enough to do the job. There are often other resources that reporters will need and want in order for them to effectively tell your story.

VISUALS

Let's start with visuals, which can be anything from head shots of your CEO to shots of the factory floor to graphs depicting your latest quarterly results. Images are more powerful today than ever because most everything gets posted to media websites or Facebook. Even radio reporters who never had to worry about visuals in the past are now asked to snap photos and shoot video of the events they cover.

Think ahead to what images will help make your story more compelling. What parts of your announcement can be told in pictures? Can you supply the images or allow photographers access to key places where they can get their own?

The late management guru Peter Drucker once said, "The best way to predict the future is to create it."

That's a tremendous challenge in a world of increasing uncertainty and relentless change. How many of us feel we can create our own future much less keep up with the present?

However, if you consider that news about your company or organization is part of your reality in the coming year, then why not create some news the way your would want it presented? 

Earned media usually lives up to its name. You have to earn - or work for - media coverage instead of paying for it. 

Paid media is just what it says: you pay for whatever media exposure you receive. This is typically paid advertising -- online or print ads, TV commercials, etc.

With earned media, you don't pay a dime. In a sense, it's free. But you pay for it in sweat equity.

Trying to earn media coverage is no easy task. After all, you have to persuade the media to see your story or event as newsworthy. You then have to trust that reporters will be fair in their treatment of your story or organization. Nothing is guaranteed.

But there are definitely advantages of earned media that are worth considering when you're looking to tell your story.

The popularity of the Ice Bucket Challenge to raise money for ALS research provides some helpful guidance when it comes to public relations and earned media.

As you probably know, the Challenge is for someone to be videotaped getting doused with a bucket of ice water to generate awareness of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and to raise funds to help find a cure. It's been a dominant theme on conventional and social media in recent weeks, helping to raise more than $40 million.

Why has it worked so well?

Guessing games are fine for parties. They're not so good when it comes to dealing with the media.

And yet, the media are often forced to guess when companies and organizations remain tight lipped during a crisis. We understand the need to be prudent with what can be said for legal reasons. 

But saying too little can be a real problem, as well. When reporters don't get answers from the main source, they'll go elsewhere for answers. 

The mystery surrounding the missing Malaysian jetliner has revealed several reminders when it comes to crisis communications. No two crises are ever quite the same, but the problems companies and organization face are often very predictable.

Media want answers
The first thing to keep in mind is the media's insatiable curiosity and competitive nature. If reporters sense a good mystery, they want answers, not stonewalling. No amount of wishing the crisis away will help the Malaysian government in this case. 

The Mack team is busy unpacking boxes and moving furniture as we settle in at our new office home in Naperville. We're not all that far from our previous office, so we remain ideally located for quick response to clients in the western suburbs as well as the city of Chicago.

Moving gives us with the opportunity to toss old files, notes and folders from successful projects of the past, so that we can focus on the new challenges of today. We continue to develop new and innovative ways to help our clients tell their story, whether through social media, video or more traditional public relations strategies. We're also doing more media training and coaching.

As difficult as any office move can be, we're glad it's almost over, and we look forward to meeting your needs from our new location in the months and years ahead. Let us know how we can help you! Contact us today.

Much of what passes as news these days is a recitation of events and what people say about them. 

In other words, a local fire causes heavy damage and a neighbor comments about the loss; the City Council passes an ordinance and a store owner comments on what it means to her; an elected official makes a speech and someone from the other party offers an opposing viewpoint.

What reporters need

While readers and listeners may benefit from comments like these, what's often missing in today's news cycle is good, effective and well reasoned interpretation of the news. Reporters are constantly on the lookout for effective thought leaders who can add a unique perspective on events or trends. The need is even more apparent when it comes to breaking news.