Supplementary Reading
Crisis Management in the Microblog Era:Ogilvy PR and CIC's White Paper[6]
Ogilvy PR and CIC's research identified and analyzed the major online crises of 2011 based on trending topics on Sina Weibo and Tencent Weibo microblogs，Baidu's top searches report and various media review reports.The 30 most significant cases were then classified into three categories:public credibility crises，personal crises，and brand crises which were then ranked according to the number of microblog posts and reports they generated in traditional media sources.The research team then analyzed the biggest crises to determine noteworthy trends and their implications for crisis management，and suggest ways that brands can mitigate their risk.Key findings:
Microblogs increase the speed，frequency，reach and impact of crises.Netizens now play as important a role as the traditional media，able to generate，disseminate and consume messages all at the same time.With microblogs，information can be posted online at anytime，from anywhere and by anyone—from CEOs and senior politicians to interns and housewives;there is no longer a hierarchy when it comes to sources of news or crises.While the tone of traditional media is largely unbiased and objective，the tone of microblogs is often extremely emotional and personal.This creates a situation where ordinary netizens who sympathize with the victims help to spread the message further and faster，multiplying the impact.Individual incidents become coordinated efforts on microblogs.
Before the microblog era，coverage of a crisis would often be through newspapers or TV coverage.Today crisis messages take multiple and dramatic forms such as spoofs，videos，cartoons and reenactments which create entertainment value and increase the chances that the message will be forwarded to more people.If very influential Key Opinion Leaders(KOLs)or media organizations use their microblogs to comment on crises，the news spreads far and wide，and fast.
Personal and professional lives overlap online as senior executives and corporate heads，and sometimes even junior staff，can trigger crises for their companies if they post inappropriate content or comments on their personal microblogs.Microblogs offer crisis instigators and defendants the opportunity to respond much more quickly than was possible before.However，if defendants fail to react fast enough，and in a manner that satisfies netizens，this can easily trigger a subsequent crisis，or aftershock.The report advises companies to do their homework and prepare for the possibility of a crisis long before one hits.
CIC CEO Daisy Zhang said，“Real-time monitoring and analysis of microblogs is especially critical at the initial outbreak of a crisis when the news being spread occurs not in hours，but in minutes and seconds.Failure to swiftly and effectively respond can easily lead to a second crisis or even multiple crises online.What we're seeing is that oftentimes a company's unsatisfactory response to an initial crisis triggers a subsequent crisis，or aftershock.So it's crucial that companies implement regular，ongoing monitoring of their reputation online so that they can respond quickly to negative sentiment before it's too late.”
Ogilvy's Cheung adds，“In addition to establishing a system of online buzz monitoring，brands should also create and integrate their online assets including their website，microblog and other social media channels.Brands should also maintain open and regular communication with the public and key stakeholders，including media，so that potential issues can be addressed early and so that important relationships are in place long before potential problems arise.Other ways to reduce risk including establishing codes of conduct for employees to follow online and keeping up to speed with net culture and social tensions.And if negative issues do come up，always respond as quickly and as thoughtfully as possible so that the response does not become a new crisis in itself.”
Notes:
Ogilvy Public Relations(Ogilvy PR)is a global，multi-disciplinary communications agency operating in more than 80 offices across six continents.The agency provides strategic public relations counsel to a variety of clients across its six core practices:social marketing，public affairs，healthcare，consumer marketing，corporate，and technology.Ogilvy PR has been at the forefront of pioneering ways to tap and realize the power of social media and word of mouth marketing.More information can be found at its website(http://www.ogilvypr.com).(https://www.daowen.com)
CIC is China's leading social business intelligence provider，enabling enterprise to fully leverage the power of social media and Internet Word of Mouth(IWOM)intelligence across the organization.CIC is China's largest integrated 3rd party provider of technical IWOM solutions，social media studies and social business intelligence.More information can be found at its website(http://www.cicdata.com).
【注释】
[1]Crandall，William Parnell，John A.and Spillan，John E.，Crisis Management in the New Strategy Landscape，Los Angeles:SAGE Publications，Inc.，2010，pp.150-161.
[2]Crandall，William Parnell，John A.and Spillan，John E．，Crisis Management in the New Strategy Landscape，Los Angeles:SAGE Publications，Inc.，2010，pp.150-161.
[3]Drennan，L.T.and McConnell，A.，Risk and Crisis Management in the Public Sector，London:Routledge，2007，p.159.
[4]Source:http://avianflu.aed.org/docs/crisiscomm.html.
[5]Source:http://avianflu.aed.org/docs/crisiscomm.html.
[6]Source:http://www.cicdata.com/index.php?option=com_content＆view=article＆id=810%3Agilvypr-cic＆catid=71%3Aarchives-2012＆Itemid=172＆lang=en.