One of the areas of interest in research that I am interested in is in crisis communications. I think that it is interesting how corporations and individuals react differently when a sudden event happens, and how to deal with the various aspects in a timely and proactive manner. There seems to be a lot of crises that have been in the news recently. From the Domino’s YouTube case to the Swine Flu Epidemic that the world is facing, and it is only increasing as each day goes by.
Facebook mentions regarding Swine Flu (courtesy of Mashable.com, April 30, 2009)
I have numerous friends that are interested in health communication and public health here at the University of Tennessee – and what I find fascinating about this case is the impact that social media has on communicating with others regarding this issue. Wherever you go – there is something on the swine flu online. People are using these social media outlets to get information on the flu, determine what are the main symptions of the flu, and where to get more information. Facebook is not the only one that has been used in terms of social media to communicate and share stories and information around the world. Twitter has been used a lot in the last couple of days, even getting to have as many as 10,000 tweets in an hour – that is a lot! There are also many ways to track these other social media trends in regards to the swine flu coverage.
However, there are those that caution to the power that Twitter and other social media outlets have to influence the public on what information that they hear and communicate with others. Like all crises, there is a lot at risk for the public, and it is important to make sure that those parties that have the authority when it comes to health crises (ex. CDC) are active in engaging all of their publics across traditional and nontraditional mediums.
This situation can help public relations professionals in many ways in terms of crisis communication practices and strategies. People have to look at the person or organization communicating the message, and determine if they are a credible source regarding this health issue. This is where reputation managment comes into play – people want to get their information from a source that they deem to be trustworth and credible. Also, it is important to look at where you stand in terms of the issue – what industry you are in, who are your target publics, and where your publics are getting their information. Most of the cases that have been in the media have looked primarily on how the CDC, schools, and health care communication professionals have done this.
In summary, there is a lot that public relations professionals can learn from this crisis, and we will have to wait and see what else happens.
Hope you all are having a great day. 🙂
Best Wishes,
Karen
0 Comments