When Crisis Comes Calling: Crisis Management for Business

The Social Network Show welcomes Co-host Deirdre Breakenridge and her guest, Melissa Agnes to the November 24, 2014 episode.

If you own or manage a company, this is a very important show to listen to. Melissa Agnes, President and co-founder of Agnes + Day Inc. shares information on crisis realities and how to manage them. In the age of social communications and the public being more vocal than ever, companies need to know how to handle issues and crises that can have short term and long term effects on their brand and their bottom line. In this episode of The Social Network Show you will hear the following points:

The difference between an issue and a crisis for a company Examples of how well known companies have handled issues and crises How companies can learn to make the age of social communication work for them How companies can use every platform in media to communicate with their customers, clients, fans... How companies can respond to a crisis and where to respond The importance of "fact checking" in an age of misinformation The importance of planning a response to issues and crises and how to plan for them

Melissa Agnes, President and co-founder of Agnes + Day Inc., has developed an international reputation for crisis management, planning and training by helping large global brands prevent and manage a wide range of corporate issues and crises. Her client list includes government agencies, cities and municipalities, healthcare organizations, energy companies, global non-profits, financial organizations, the public and private sectors and many others.

Fluent in English and French, Melissa is an international and sought-after crisis management speaker and guest-lecturer. She has spoken to organizations and audiences including NATO, Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Ministries of Foreign Defence, Ministries of Health, Oil and Gas Associations, CPRS and other non-profit associations, as well as a wide range of private and public companies, universities and non-profit organizations. She has been honored to share the stage with members of the Ukraine government and the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Melissa is a regular guest on Montreal’s leading morning radio talk show, CJAD, where she is referred to as “the official crisis manager of the Tommy Schnurmacher show”. She has been interviewed and published about in publications including VIBE Magazine, USA Today, Tech News World and more.

Melissa is the editor of the highly acclaimed Crisis Intelligence Blog, and the host of the internationally recognized Crisis Intelligence Podcast. Published regularly and followed by different government agencies and Fortune companies alike, the blog and podcast provide insights to help organizations manage issues and crises in today’s connected and real-time world.

Melissa was named by CyberAlert as one of “the 30 top most influential bloggers in public relations”; and her blog was ranked sixth of the “60 of the best Public Relations blogs in the world” by Inkybee.

Melissa has published numerous articles and white papers in trade journals including The Non-Profit Digest and Communications World, and is the author of two self-published ebooks:

“The Corporate Guide to Leveraging and Managing Twitter in a Crisis” “The Social Media Crisis Management Toolkit”

You can find out more about Melissa on her website 

Today's co-host Deirdre Breakenridge is Chief Executive Officer at Pure Performance Communications. A veteran in PR and marketing, Breakenridge has counseled senior level executives at organizations including the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Empire Today, JVC, Marketwired, and Sysomos.Breakenridge is the author of five Financial Times books. Her most recent book, “Social Media and Public Relations: Eight New Practices for the PR Professional,” was published in May 2012 and is available in print and all digital formats. Her other books include, “Putting the Public Back in Public Relations,” “PR 2.0, New Media, New Tools, New Audiences,” “The New PR Toolkit” and “Cyberbranding: Brand Building in the Digital Economy.”

Breakenridge is an adjunct professor at New York University (NYU) and an online instructor at Rutgers University and UMASS at Amherst. She speaks nationally and internationally on the topics of PR, marketing and social media communications. She was the keynote speaker at Promise Foundation PRAXIS Summit in Pondicherry, India, The Social Conference in Amsterdam, the PRSA Southwest District Conference in Tulsa Oklahoma, and the Canadian Public Relations Society Annual Conference in Victoria, BC. Breakenridge has also presented at the City of Los Angeles Annual Workshop and Mid Year Crisis Management Workshop, the National Homeland Security Conference in Los Angeles, NMX BlogWorld, and the Public Relations Institute of Australia (PRIA).Breakenridge is a member of PRSA and has served on the Board of NJ/PRSA and the New Jersey Advertising Club.

Top Rank named Breakenridge among the 25 Women that Rock Social Media and Traackr recognized Breakenridge as one of the top Engagers in 2013.Breakenridge blogs at PR Expanded and is the co-founder of #PRStudChat, a dynamic Twitter discussion scheduled monthly for PR students, educators and PR pros. Take a look at her books on Amazon and soon you can hear Deirdre's new show, Women Worldwide on The Social Network Station.