It seems you can’t turn on the news without hearing about some scandal or the other. Business people being investigated for fraud. Celebrities facing misconduct allegations. Random influencer drama causing discourse online. It is worth noting, however, that blockchain PRs are impacted by these developments as well.
Public scandal means more than just a chance to gossip with friends. If the subject of this scandal is closely tied to your business, you could suffer a reputation crisis. Sometimes, you’re put in the situation of having to distance yourself from someone and there are a few things that make this easier and more effective:
Speak to Your Legal Team
As we’ve said, scandals often cross the line from fun gossip to serious allegations and even criminal matters. Before you put out any sort of blockchain PR, speak to your legal team. If, for example, someone is being investigated for assault, commenting on the situation before the courts have made a decision could be tricky. In fact, certain statements might cross the line into libel and that opens a whole new can of worms.
So, before making any move, speak to your legal team in-depth about the issue. Ask if it is wise to make any public statement about the scandal. If they feel that it is, have them thoroughly review every blockchain PR you put out about it to avoid legal hot water. On the flip side, they might advise to avoid speaking about the situation at all. The last thing you want is to end up in legal trouble of your own while trying to navigate the situation.
Put Out Blockchain PRs in a Timely Manner
We’ve spoken in the past about timing the release of your blockchain PRs. This is especially important when you’re trying to distance yourself from scandal. You do not want to publish the PR too early when all the facts of the story have not come out. Say your celebrity brand ambassador had been exposed for inappropriate behavior and you put out a statement disavowing them. New facts could come out the day after that forces you to retract your first PR or put out a new one. This keeps you in the loop of the scandal and does your business no favours.
At the same time, you don’t want to wait so long to distance yourself from the scandal that you look complicit in the eyes of the public. The best thing to do would be to speak with the scandalous person (if they are very directly connected to your business), speak with your legal team to review your options, and speak with your PR agents to decide what the best course of action is. Ideally, you should know all the facts in a few days tops, which will help you put out a statement in good time.
Address or Don’t Address the Scandal
When you decide to put out a blockchain PR and choose a time to do so, you’ll have to decide whether or not to address the scandal directly. There are a few ways you can approach this. You can choose to vaguely acknowledge the events but not delve much into them. An example of this would be, “In light of recent allegations against John Doe, we have decided to end our partnership with him”. This shows that your company knows of the allegations and is taking action without going too much into it.
However, if the scandal is something that directly impacts your business philosophy or model, a bit more text might help. For example, someone associated with your crypto safety company being accused of crypto theft needs more than a throwaway announcement. In such a case, you’ll need to say clearly that your company was not involved in the theft, condemn such actions, will cooperate with the investigation, and remain committed to serving your customers. This is on a case-by-case basis and depends on how much the scandal intersects with your business and what your legal team advises.
Don’t Use Malicious Language
Always remember that you are trying to distance yourself from the scandal not add to it. This means that your blockchain PR needs to be professional and avoid inflammatory/malicious language. Even if you are commenting on someone’s actions or cutting ties with them, don’t use any language that can be seen as overly hostile or rude. When scandals happen, gossip sites are always looking for signs of feuds or conflict. Unless you are trying to end up in gossip columns, be as inoffensive as possible.
Once again, have your legal team look through any document you plan to publish to make sure it is not slanderous and does not come off as combative in any way.
State Your Company’s Stance/Actions
As much as you don’t want to be combative or inflammatory, you also want your company’s stance to be clear on the scandal at hand. No one should read your blockchain PR and be confused about your position. To do this, however, you need to know what stance you’re going to take and stick to it. It might be condemning someone’s actions and distancing yourself from them. It might be distancing yourself but not speaking directly against their actions. It could be waiting out the scandal and giving minimal information to the public. Once you know what your stance is, make sure it is stated plainly in the PR and have beta readers give feedback on it before it goes out.
Conclusion
Blockchain PRs can be not only a way to drum up publicity for your business but also a way to dodge the impacts of scandals. This can be very tricky as you have to not only speak out in due time but avoid getting into legal or reputational hot water as you do so. Make your stance on the issue at hand clear, use appropriate language, decide whether or not to address the scandal at all, and do all this with the guidance of your legal team.