In case you haven’t heard, Tiger is back.  He played in the Masters last week and didn’t do too shabby.  In addition, the six-time Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers traded star receiver and Super Bowl MVP Santonio Holmes to the Jets.  Why?  Because he’s been in the news too much – and not for good things.  Coupled with quarterback Ben Roethlisberger’s legal troubles, the Steelers’ front office have had their hands full.

Juicy, meaty stories.  News and headlines that make healthcare reform stories jealous.  All because of what?

Bad decisions.

Yes, everyone makes bad decisions every now and then.  Lately, it’s seemed like everyone is making them at the same time.  But, no one is human.  However, when the deed is done and the mess needs cleaned, what are we supposed to do?  When a hacker gets into your Twitter account and sends inappropriate messages to all of your followers, what do you do?  How do you act?  Where do you start the cleanup process?

When everything falls apart, you need to pick it up.  It’s just a matter of how you do it.

1. Take a step back.

In times of trouble, especially moments that cause embarrassment or humiliation, the first thing we want to do is jump in and clean up whatever we can.  This is not what you need to do – at least not yet.  There will be a time and place for cleaning up the mess but this isn’t it.

In the beginning, take a step back.  Don’t become overzealous and try to fix everything.  Although you might think you’re doing something good, you are probably hurting the situation even more.  When the heat is on, the first thing you need to do is step away from the burner.  This will allow you to think clearly as you assess the situation.

PR situations aren’t solved in one day.  Some take days or months to resolve.  Keep this in mind as you think about fixing the problem on day one.

2. Own it.

It might be easy to cast the blame on someone else when your world comes falling down but, in the end, you’re the person who needs to clean it up so you need to own the problem.  Don’t give excuses, give honest answers about what happened.  Take Tiger Woods for example, he didn’t simply say that all of women he cheated with came onto him.  He owned the situation because he knew if he didn’t, there would not be a turning point to make things right.

In situations where the malicious act was done by someone else, as in our hacking example earlier, as a business owner and leader, you still need to admit the problem.  Your customers and followers are looking to you to make things right; therefore, own the mistakes and acknowledge it happened.  Without doing so, you’re only stalling and making matters worse.

3. Exercise your mind.

In order to get the ball rolling in the right direction, you’re going to need to exercise your mind with some creative and deep thinking.  At times, the solution to the problem may be fairly obvious but it doesn’t hurt to outline other alternatives, reasons why plan A is so good, and negative characteristics of all your options.  How can you make each option better?  Which plan is the best?  Should you implement more than one strategy for improvement?  These are great questions you should be asking yourself as you prepare to fix the PR problem.

4. Consult with others.

After you’ve outlines and brainstormed on your own, take your ideas to someone you trust and talk about your plans.  Getting a second opinion is a great way to improve your strategies and to flush out your ideas.  An idea might sound good to you but someone else might not think it’s a great solution.

Meeting with another person provides accountability.  In the Steelers situation, I’m pretty sure that the owners, GM, and coach met with one another to figure out how they could improve the Steelers’ image.  Trading Holmes might have been their best option.  Will it work out?  Only time will tell.  But, the important thing is that it was a collective decision and not a shot in the dark by one person.

5. Implement and support your decision.

After you have expanded your ideas and selected the best ways to improve the situation, it’s time to put them in place.  It won’t be easy, you but need to protect your image and your customers, especially in an online world.  A PR fiasco, no matter if it takes place using social media or not, is a tough fight but it can be done.  Pull the trigger on your actions and stand by them.  Don’t quake or give in to negative outsiders.  You decided on what was best and its your job to stick by it.  If you need to reassess the situation later, that would be a time to make changes.  But, in the beginning, stay optimistic and know that you are attempting to fix the situation.

PR nightmares can take a long time to clean up, just ask Tiger Woods.  However, it can be done if the right steps are put in place.  Whether it’s your bad decision or the mistake of someone else, the mess needs to be clean and the wrong needs to be made right.  The steps outlined above should help you in your quest for a positive image and they will empower you in future situations.

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Eric Alpin is the Associate Editor of Folk Media and works for a telecommunications company in Baltimore, Md. He is a social media enthusiast, blogger, writer, and student with a passion for leadership and self-development strategies and techniques. Find out more about Eric on Twitter.

*Photo by Sharma

1. It’s free

Unlike other forms of media and advertising which cost money, social media is free. Social media does require creativity and effort, but no money. Of course if you are serious about using social media you’ll spend on human resources.

2. It builds legacy over time

As you begin posting articles and tips you are building a legacy for the future. Each piece of information you post builds on the last. Before you know it you’ve built an entire library of content that, if taken as a whole, is an an asset it itself.

3. Can help you brand your business as an authority

It doesn’t matter if you are using social media for yourself or your business, you can literally brand yourself online. The fastest way to do this is to solve people’s problems online. As you solve problems and help others you will become a trusted resource, which builds your brand.

4. Gives a personality and face to your business

Along with branding of your business, you have the opportunity to make your business human. Because of the social aspect of social media you can put a face to your business. You need to create a tone and style that people will begin to resonate with in spite of your content and products.

5. Your competitors are doing social media

Remember that every other business in your industry and market is facing the same opportunities and challenges with social media. Don’t be left behind.

6. You can empower your fans to help you spread the word

Because social media is easy to share, you are empowering those who know, like and trust you to be your biggest marketing force. Give them that power.

7. Be in control of the Google results

When you Google your business name what comes up? By having a strong social media presence you will control the search results much better than trying to pay a company to manage your SEO and search presence.

8. Great lead generation

Social media allows you to reach people where they are. You can reach out and connect with your target prospects through legitimate online social networks and groups. By jumping into the conversation you will eventually earn the right to invite folks back to your site. Over time you can create a lead generation machine and put people on your email list.

9. Access to leaders through social media

The barriers of phone, email and physical distance have been shattered with social media. Now you can talk directly to a big time celebrities like Ashton Kutcher or CEOs like Michael Hyatt simply by sending them a Twitter message. The world is flat because of social media.

10. Give customers a feedback loop

People want to feel understood. They want to know your business and the face of your business (see #4 above) cares. The conversation is happening with or without you. It is a good idea to give your customers a place to give feedback or they’ll create it themselves.

Download this article as a PDF

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Joel Mark Witt is the Publisher of Folk Media and author of 21 Days To Twitter Leadership and How To Use Social Media To Find A Better Job. He is a producer, author, and speaker who consults with businesses and nonprofits on how to use social media in marketing and communications. Get more from Joel on Twitter.

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* Photo by Matt Hamm

Do you often wonder what people are saying about you or your business online?  Have you ever performed a Google search for your name or business?  Sometimes the results can be humorous and at other times insightful.  Even still, this probably isn’t a task that you perform on a regular basis.  It isn’t something on your daily to-do list.  However, it could be beneficial to your exposure and profit margin.  So, what do you do?

The answer is Google Alerts, a free tool that alerts the user when a new Google search result is created based on a specific topic or term.  For example, if I set up an alert for Folk Media, Google will send me an email whenever a new search result for using the term “Folk Media” is created.  This result may come from a news page, such as CNN, or it could be directly from the Folk Media website.  Google Alerts removes the legwork from searching.

Google Alerts is a great tool for businesses because the gap between company and competition or customer can be shortened.  Above all else, Google Alerts can become the catalyst for company change and improvement.

Keep Your Friends Close…

Google Alerts allows for your company to have eyes everywhere on the web.  It is rare that a website would elect not to have their material indexed on Google because of the number of visitors what might visit the site.  Plain and simple, the laundry will be aired on Google – both clean and dirty.  Through Google Alerts, you could track the positive PR you’re getting on the web and also the concerns your customers have about your product or business.

…But Keep Your Enemies Closer

Not only can Google Alerts give you a heads up on what your customers are saying about your company or product, the system can tell you what your competitors are doing.  Who wouldn’t love to have insight into how the competition is interacting with customers and when they are expected to launch a new product?  Google Alerts can help you keep up the pace in your industry.

Odd and Ends

Google Alerts doesn’t help with only customer and competitor insight, it can also help with industry standards and other information.  Five categories that deserve a Google Alerts notification might be:

• Industry information
• News on a specific topic or brand
• New products or product rumors
• Employees and contractors
• Manufacturing data

Getting Started

You have some basic knowledge of Google Alerts and you’re probably ready to try it out.  Follow the simple steps below to set up your searches.

1.  Visit http://alerts.google.com and sign in with your Google account.  (Don’t have a Google account?  Sign up for one for free!)

2.  Create a new search by entering all of the pertinent information on the right side of the screen, including:

• Search terms – This is the term or phrase you want to find online. Boolean operators are accepted in this field, meaning that values such as parentheses, AND, OR, and NOT can be included.
• Type – The options are pretty self-explanatory.  “Comprehensive” includes all of the options.
• How Often – Decide how often you want to receive the alert in your inbox.
• Email Length – Select if you’d like to receive the top 20 or 50 results in each alert.
• Deliver To – You can choose if you’d like to have the results sent to your GMail account or your Google Reader feed.

3.  Select “Create Alert” to finalize your alert settings.

If you’d like to edit or delete previously created alerts, select the option at the bottom that states, “click here to manage your alerts.”

Sample Alerts

• (“businesses” OR “non-profits”) AND (“social media” OR “Facebook” or “Twitter”)
• (“Your Company Name” OR “Your Industry”) AND (“social media” OR “Facebook” or “Twitter”)
• (“Twitter” OR “Facebook” OR “LinkedIn” OR “YouTube”) site:cnn.com OR site:foxnews.com OR site:nytimes.com OR site:washingtonpost.com
• (“Your Company Name” OR “Your Competitor”) site:cnn.com OR site:foxnews.com OR site:nytimes.com OR site:washingtonpost.com
• link:yourwebsite.com
• “your company name”

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Eric Alpin is the Associate Editor of Folk Media and works for a telecommunications company in Baltimore, Md. He is a social media enthusiast, blogger, writer, and student with a passion for leadership and self-development strategies and techniques. Find out more about Eric on Twitter.

*Photo by Panoptica…