5 Tips on Public Relations During a Crisis From an Expert

“to frame this messaging,” said Krupp. “We’re a sounding board because everyone is in a bubble right now.”

3. Keep the Content Coming

No matter the capabilities of your business, the worst thing a brand can do is stop communication.

“I keep telling my clients, don’t go dark. I know a lot of people are feeling fear and when you feel fear you want to contract and go dark but I’m not allowing my clients do that.”

Even if messaging is less frequent than when a business had full staffing or regular content creation capabilities, regular social media posts and e-mails are essential to weathering a storm.

“The brands that continued conversations with customers, influencers and media are the ones who are going to be able to pick back up quickly and take steps forward [when this is over]. Going dark is the worst thing you could do right now.”

Now is the time to be real and connect with your customers, said Cindy Krupp. She cited Marla Aaron, which recently shared a screenshot from a staff Zoom meeting on its Instagram account, as a brand that does a good job of communicating authentically.

Plus, your audience hasn’t gone anywhere.

“People are more digitally tuned in right now than they’ve ever been,” Krupp noted.  

4. Think Short-Term

With COVID-19’s impact constantly changing and evolving, Krupp and her team are checking in with clients regularly to reassess their status in real time.

With any type of unfamiliar crisis, Krupp advises brands to stay flexible by not thinking too far ahead.

Instead, focus on short-term strategy, assessing, “this week, next week, that’s it,” Krupp said.

Coming up, Krupp anticipates, “there’s going to be a ton of spring merchandise and we’re going to need to push people to brands’ ecommerce really fast.”

Brands should continuously adapt their marketing focus on what they need to sell and what they can deliver to customers as quarantines continue and, eventually, end.

“The brands that continued conversations with customers, influencers and media are the ones who are going to be able to pick back up quickly and take steps forward [when this is over]. Going dark is the worst thing you could do right now.” – Cindy Krupp, Krupp Group

Krupp’s clients are showing that people are still buying jewelry, so brands need to be strategic about what they promote to offset damage.

“Our jewelry brands are still seeing sales. No one has said they’re having a banner month but it’s still trickling in a little bit. Retail therapy is a real thing. The value of gold is great and strong and if [customers] took some cash out of the market and want to make a purchase that will maintain or increase value and want to enjoy it in the meantime, then gold is a great thing to purchase.

“We’re not cancelling birthdays and graduation gifts.”

5. Keep Pitching

While media is not immune to a poor economy, journalists and editors still need content.

Krupp said her firm has been getting consistent press for its clients during quarantine.

While magazine photo shoots might be currently out of the question, jewelry hi-res product imagery is all that’s required for plenty of digital and print features.

And don’t forget the power of influencers—they need content too.

“Social media influencers feel like a lifeline because they can push out really good content on their own quickly, so we’re able to ship them product directly from brands, and they’re able to shoot it and post.”