In both personal and professional crises, the hardest part is learning to say you’re sorry. This is especially true for brands, as many communicators will dance around an issue to avoid responsibility rather than express remorse. In this breakout discussion, we’ll explore why a well-timed, well-delivered apology can go a long way toward mitigating blowback—and how an apology doesn’t necessarily need to be positioned as an admission of guilt or wrongdoing.

Lawyers and communications pros often seem to have opposite goals in times of crisis. Both waste precious time and energy pushing back against each other’s strategies for managing the situation and protecting their client from legal and reputational harm. In this frank discussion, our PR pros and legal experts will discuss:

• The typical tensions between lawyers and communicators, where they come from and how to overcome them
• How to win the trust of in-house and outside counsel and establish a more collaborative and mutually supportive working relationship
• The critical relationship between an organization’s legal and reputational risks, and how to keep them in proper balance

Using Sentiment Monitoring to Mitigate a Crisis—Or Prevent One

Building a solid social plan is all well and good, but do you know what to listen for? In this session, our crisis experts will teach you how to closely manage your brand’s online reputation using the latest tools, and not treat a tiny gust like a full-blown tropical storm.

• Employ social media listening tactics that flag any potential crises
• Measure social and traditional media channels to track the effectiveness of your work
• Understand the difference between a quickly extinguished crisis on social and one that simmers longer
• Use data to visually understand how your crisis was discussed on social media
• Build a foundation for measuring brand sentiment, in good times and in times of crisis
• Activate the latest tools, apps and services that have become essential to measuring a crisis

In this panel-based session, our panel will pick apart some notable crisis response statements through the ages. Some have stood the test of time for their brazen transparency or artfulness, while others are so notorious that they have ruined careers and entire businesses.

Social media conversations around a specific brand crisis almost always subside...eventually. In this closing crisis session, our crisis experts will share their recommendations for when and how to return to normal messaging after a crisis. Though no two crises are exactly alike, we’ll explain how to train yourself, and your team, for the shift from crisis management to reputational repair.

The media landscape is a vastly fragmented pastiche. Similar to the increasing power of micro influencers, small, niche media outlets outpace the growth of traditional press. Elsewhere, traditional media outlets both vie and align with popular social media platforms. An influencer’s tweet can raise brand awareness, but an in-depth article can be the bottom-of-the-funnel push your product needs. Communicators understand that a mix of media efforts is critical to success. The question is how much Paid, Earned, Shared and Owned (PESO) media is best for your company? To begin the day, we’ll supply measurement tools and tactics to help you decide. In addition, we’ll offer brief case studies from each of the four categories.

You’ll learn to:

• Decide the best mix of PESO to spread your brand’s narrative
• Establish measurement strategies for each aspect of your campaign—and for each media type
• Use storytelling tactics to amplify earned media placements and social media reach
• Measure the effectiveness of your brand newsroom and other owned assets

Following the PESO session, we’ll probe deeper into setting up a measurement effort in the era of integrated communications. We’ll start with a case study illustrating the importance of aligning measurement with business goals and objectives.  We’ll then move on to tips for effective reporting of measurement data and creating useful dashboards. We’ll also include a short case study and interactive segment on how measurement and crisis management.

You will learn:

• How to align measurement KPIs with business goals
• How to measure integrated communications strategies
• What measurement tools are right for your organization
• Dashboards and other effective strategies for reporting measurement results to employees and the C-suite
• How measurement can help you monitor, manage and potentially prevent crises
• The differences between multichannel and omnichannel messaging and how measurement can help determine which is best for your organization

The definition of influencer has evolved beyond celebrities with huge social followings, a small percentage of which is interested in your product. There are local micro-influencers with modest yet loyal followers. In addition, there is a segment of influencers who cheat the system. Identifying and measuring the effectiveness of influencers requires a keen understanding of the interplay between your brand’s message and evolving media consumption habits. In this panel, we’ll look at how to use data to locate the most effective influencer voices.

You’ll learn to:

• Measure influencer reach and determine how effective and relevant influencer are in speaking to your key audiences
• Identify and activate the most influential voices within a niche demographic and determine the most effective influencers for your brand
• Use measurement to uncover questionable actors masking as legit influencers
• Determine the ROI of your influencer marketing effort

As the day draws to a close, we’ll examine how to measure your social media efforts. To do so, you need to understand the similarities and differences in how platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat and LinkedIn tally reach and engagement. Social media pros and measurement mavens will show you how they approach quantifying and qualifying cross-platform measures of engagement, sentiment and share of voice.

You’ll learn how to:

• Measure the cross-platform success of your social efforts and the types of messaging that work best for each platform
• Move beyond vanity metrics when measuring social media
• Employ each platform’s unique measurement strengths to boost reach and engagement
• Test social media posts before boosting them
• Use native tools on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to reach key demographics
• Discuss the most useful pay tools for each platform