Topic outline

  • Collapse all Expand all

    • Time: 20 hours
    • Free Certificate
    One morning, you awake to news agencies reporting a major fire threatening your office building. You recall your organization recently practiced its quarterly disaster preparedness exercise, and you are fully aware of what to do in this situation. You know what to do, who to contact, and the location of the alternate office to use in case of an emergency. You are concerned but confident you have a plan in place. You know your role as a key member of the organization's crisis communication team (CMT). You help management by preparing a news release and updating the company's website with factual information on the who, what, when, and where details of the event. You use social media, such as Twitter and Facebook, and traditional media, such as radio and TV, to inform internal stakeholder groups (such as senior leadership, employees, and investors) and external stakeholder groups (such as customers, clients, local officials, and the general public) with an appropriate key message. During times of crisis, the public relations specialist helps management communicate sound, safe, and responsible actions to protect and defend the organization from harm or damage.

    Crisis communication is one of the many specialized areas or functions of public relations. This course will specifically focus on using crisis communication to protect and defend a company or organization facing a problem or challenge threatening to harm its brand or reputation. As a sudden and unexpected serious event, a crisis can fall into four categories: acts of God, mechanical problems, human error, and management decision or indecision. On any given day, there can be any number of crises – pandemics, natural disasters, grounded airplanes, stranded cruise ship passengers, or senior government officials or CEOs who are fired or asked to resign following inappropriate behavior, to name a few examples. If you want to learn to become a professional public relations specialist, it is important to have a basic understanding of the important role public relations has in helping guide a company or organization through a crisis or serious event.

    This course is designed for practical applications of crisis communication principles. It explains what communication problems look like, how to deal with them, and how to anticipate crises as part of conducting an effective public relations program. It will also explain the role of a crisis communication team and teach you how to write a crisis communication plan. Most importantly, it will emphasize the value and importance of using social media in a crisis communication plan and in marketing. Through cases covered in the course and perhaps your own research or experience, you will gain an appreciation and understanding of the necessity of a well-thought-out crisis communication management system. The overall goal of this course is to help develop your skills and abilities as part of a crisis management team to help develop a credible and tested communication plan to respond effectively to a crisis.