How to Manage your Content during a National Crisis

The events of Wednesday, January 6, 2021 left many of us hurt, confused, and angry. Some business owners had to determine how to continue their day and the day of their staff. Entrepreneurs and influencers had to make determinations on their content and brand as well, and some of them faced heavy criticism at how they handled the situation. 

Some entrepreneurs and influencers continued with their social media posts, online events, and other work without acknowledging a national crisis was occurring. National crises can include events like the attack on the capitol and 9/11, but they can also include events that are more long-lasting like the recession of 2008 and the incessisent racism going on in our country. 

Managing our content during a national crisis is simply not easy, and it’s not something we can usually prepare for, which is why we put together the following tips.

Know what’s going on

An essential step in managing your content during a national crisis is to actually know what is going on. Politics are an area that we at Avrah Virtual are aware of and constantly observing. We make ourselves aware, so we can know and understand if/when, where, and how to pivot.

We don’t know when these events will occur, so we have to be on constant alert. When entrepreneurs are locked in their office for hours on end, they might miss something major unless they have television or radio set to news or even local channels that will report any major events. Beyond knowing what is occurring as it is happening, we also have to research a bit. We live in an era of misinformation, so we have to know what is real and what is not. 

Find your voice

When a national crisis is going on, we have to figure out our stance on the situation. Whether you’re neutral or feel strongly in one way or another, it’s important to identify our stance for several reasons.

• We better understand the situation.
• We better understand our why.
• We better understand other people’s stance.
• We better understand how to react to others.
• We better identify gaps that we have (to research). 

Read the room

We absolutely need to know how our clients and audiences are handling the national crisis at hand. Ask yourself:

• Are they directly or indirectly impacted? 
• To what extent does this crisis impact them?
• How does this crisis connect us?
• Does this create a new pain point for them?
• How can I best address this impact?

Check out your clients’ social media. See what they are posting and sharing. What are they saying about the national crisis? What are their friends/family saying? 

If you have a virtual or face-to-face meeting, watch for the non-verbal (and sometimes verbal) communication of your client or audience. Are they visibly agitated? Are they checking their watch, phone, or other device? 

Determine how to shift

Once we better understand those parts, we can determine if and how to shift our content. Many influencers and entrepreneurs were heavily criticized because they continued rolling out their pre-planned content because it was already set. They may not have known how to manage the situation either. 

When a national crisis happens, we have to address the elephant in the room. Maybe social media posts need to be stopped (or shifted). Maybe live sessions shift focus to the event at hand. Maybe courses are postponed. However, how we shift should depend upon our level of comfort with an area and with our audience. 

For example, if you own a restaurant and a recipe blog, you may not need to shift your content much. Maybe instead of posting a picture of a great dinner item, you shift the content of your post to “Our thoughts are with those impacted by the riots at the Capitol.” That simple shift allows your audience to see that you’re aware and addressing the issue. 

However, if you’re an influencer, you definitely need to address a national crisis on a different level. Perhaps you pause until you can gather your thoughts. Make a note of that in your content. Then, research the situation, gather your thoughts, check out the impact for your audience, and then use that opportunity to shift your content. Maybe you have a Live Q&A. Maybe you interview someone who is connected more directly to the situation. Whatever your shift, address the situation directly. 

None of us are perfect. Business owners, entrepreneurs, and influencers are all with fault, but when a national crisis occurs, we need to ban together. Managing our content during a national crisis is just a small part of that process.