When it comes to promoting yourself online, whether as a crypto business or any other, there are a few cardinal sins you want to avoid. One of these is a lack of ‘reading the room’ i.e. trying to promote a project when the online atmosphere is fixated on something deemed more important. Anyone looking to avoid bad crypto PR needs to work on this as it can lead to a loss of public goodwill
But how do you go around reading the room? We break it down in this article:
Make Your Crypto PR Plans Adaptable
Planning is the key to any successful PR effort and for the best results possible, you want your PR to be adaptable. Let’s say you plan to launch a new product on the first of the month and put out your crypto press releases in the weeks following this. While you’ll be working with a calendar, give room for changes. If something happens that makes it inappropriate or ineffective to begin publicising a new product, your team needs to be ready to adapt and move things around as needed.
Create a contingency template to delay PR campaigns by a week or so in case of any unplanned events.
Plan Ahead If You Can
While some of the events that would create bad timing happen suddenly, some come with a warning. For example, the just-concluded US elections meant that some businesses held off promotions for a few days as things settled down. However, we’ve known about the date of the US elections for months. As such, crypto businesses looking to avoid bad PR could plan to stay quiet on the PR front for election week and then resume operations afterwards.
If any event is coming up that would make it insensitive or odd to put out PRs, consider blocking off that period.
Determine Relevance to Your Audience
At the end of the day, poor timing causes bad crypto PR because it can offend your target audience. But what if your target audience doesn’t care about the issue in question? Case in point, the US elections left some in a touchy mood where they didn’t want to see advertising for goods and services. But what if your primary audience is in Asia and they are not as bothered? Trying to ‘read the room’ doesn’t do anything and might even seem odd to your audience.
So, before you take any action, try to investigate how your customers feel about current developments and how much they care.
Put Out a Statement (If Need Be)
Let’s say you drop the ball and put out a PR that is badly received due to the timing. Your next step should be to remove the insensitive PR and perhaps put out a statement. In that statement, you need to acknowledge that it was bad timing on your part and that you are committed to doing better. This admission could buy you sympathy from your audience and mitigate bad crypto PR.
Even if you haven’t put out any statement, you could always let your customers know that you are aware of the situation. A statement saying, “In light of the recent events, we are postponing all PR events for the time being” shows emotional intelligence and good PR practice on your part.
Be Wary of Politics/Disasters to Avoid Bad Crypto PR
When it comes to bad timing, two of the biggest situations to look out for are politics and disasters. If a sensitive political event takes place that affects a lot of people, your best bet is to avoid doing anything that will draw attention to yourself. The same applies to disasters like hurricanes, aircraft disasters, and anything else that leads to mass suffering. Consumers’ memories can be very long regarding such things and any misstep can see your business affected for years.
Err on the Side of Caution
As has been said in the past, it is hard to get into trouble when you say little to nothing. While it might be tempting to try and capitalize on the current situation by making timely references or releasing PR statements anyway, your best bet is always to do nothing. This is especially true if your competitors are taking the same approach.
So, look around you and see if other companies in your space are continuing as normal or staying silent. If most or all of them are taking a single course of action, that would imply that it is the same for you.
Watch Your Content
Sometimes, the fact that a business puts out PR or promotional material is not the only thing that gets them in trouble. The actual content of the press release or campaign can come off as insensitive even if they don’t mean for it to be. Say there was a terrorist bombing in your country, the nation is in mourning and a business put out a campaign promising ‘Deals That Will Blow You Away’.
The campaign could have been in the works for months before the attack took place but they would still be called out for such a choice. As the incident settles, try to avoid any imagery and language that could be seen as disrespectful or insensitive to your customers. Review such content extensively and rework it as needed.
Conclusion
Bad Crypto PR can be gotten in several different ways, one of which is putting out PRs at the wrong time. This is especially true when the ‘wrong time’ is one deemed insensitive or badly-timed given recent events. Getting around this will require you to both plan and be adaptable.
Planning, in this sense, refers to developing your PR strategy will enough flexibility to change or pause as the need arises. Adaptability means taking against in light of events you didn’t plan for, such as apologizing to your audience for bad timing and analysing the situation as it happens. With these in your arsenal, your chances of success are higher.