Natural disasters, crimes, and mental health emergencies are just a few events that, while rare, require a specific communication strategy. And it’s best not to decide that strategy in the moment, when stress levels and emotions are running high.
So in the event of a crisis, what’s the best way to inform residents of what’s happening and keep them up to date as developments happen? Which staff members should be tasked with talking to emergency response teams and the media? What part does social media play in all of this?
These are some of the questions we sought to answer during this week’s #AptChat; these are the highlights. (Click on the links to jump straight to a specific question.)
- Q1: What are some of the craziest situations you’ve encountered onsite?
- Q2: How do you train staff for these situations? Who is typically responsible for talking to police, media when something happens?
- Q3: How is crisis communication impacted by social media? Have you seen crises pop up on social first? How do you handle those?
- Q3a: How can you effectively use your social media and other tech tools to most effectively communicate with residents?
What are some of the craziest situations you’ve encountered on site?
@AptChat A1: Really sad things, like suicides and domestic disputes/shootings. Disasters like hurricanes, fires. #AptChat
— Kristi Fickert (@Marketing_Mommy) March 14, 2017
@AptChat Attempted suicide where guy is holding a hostage; transformer blew; Hurricane; gang fight #AptChat
— Mindy Sharp (@MsMin) March 14, 2017
@AptChat I know, right? How about fires? Had a guy arrested by Homeland Security for impersonating an officer … crazy! #AptChat
— Mindy Sharp (@MsMin) March 14, 2017
@MsMin @AptChat Then there’s always the disgruntled employee who threatens to come back & whoop up on everyone. #hadtolockthedoors #AptChat
— Kristi Fickert (@Marketing_Mommy) March 14, 2017
@Marketing_Mommy @AptChat I’ve had resident attacked an employee in the Office and I had a Maint Tech suffer PTSD episode too #AptChat
— Mindy Sharp (@MsMin) March 14, 2017
@AptChat Depends on the situation. Remaining calm #1. #2 is having an emergency plan #AptChat #3 is Safety First for everyone
— Mindy Sharp (@MsMin) March 14, 2017
A1: heard about a few employees fired for doing illegal activities on premises and accidentally tagging the property on social #Aptchat
— Jake Barker (@Jake_for_real) March 14, 2017
How do you train staff for these situations? Who is typically responsible for talking to police, media when something happens?
@AptChat Usually Corporate spokesperson responds to media requests. Onsite team should restrict media from being on property #AptChat
— Mindy Sharp (@MsMin) March 14, 2017
@MsMin @AptChat The #1 rule of crisis management on-site. https://t.co/p1Qm9EkpER. 🙂 #aptchat
— Kristi Fickert (@Marketing_Mommy) March 14, 2017
How is crisis communication impacted by social media? Have you seen crises pop up on social first? How do you handle those?
A3: Never handled one myself, I would recommend addressing the situation quickly for the community & include next steps for safety #Aptchat
— Jake Barker (@Jake_for_real) March 14, 2017
A3: We usually hit many sites/media for emergency alerts. FB alert + email blast, typically. #Aptchat
— Khara (@leftnwrite08) March 14, 2017
How can you effectively use your social media and other tech tools to most effectively communicate with residents?
@AptChat Text messaging service would be effective if you have that as an option #AptChat
— Mindy Sharp (@MsMin) March 14, 2017
A3a: request that your residents follow your various channels so they could stay informed. #Aptchat #straightforward
— Jake Barker (@Jake_for_real) March 14, 2017
A3a: Agree with @Jake_for_real. You’ve got to get them paying attention to the resources you’re using to communicate. #aptchat
— Khara (@leftnwrite08) March 14, 2017
@leftnwrite08 @Jake_for_real That’s one thing we see too often. Props don’t do enough to market their key communication channels #AptChat
— Apartment Chat (@AptChat) March 14, 2017
@AptChat One property I used to manage had an active Twitter resident participation. I loved that! #AptChat
— Mindy Sharp (@MsMin) March 14, 2017
@AptChat Look at Cross Creek Village in Hattiesburg,MS & their response to tornado. See top of website: https://t.co/9awirRXAeK #AptChat
— Kristi Fickert (@Marketing_Mommy) March 14, 2017
@Marketing_Mommy @AptChat That’s fantastic! #aptchat
— Khara (@leftnwrite08) March 14, 2017
@leftnwrite08 @Marketing_Mommy Perfect example of turning a crisis into an opportunity to act and serve the community. #AptChat
— Apartment Chat (@AptChat) March 14, 2017
@AptChat @Marketing_Mommy I know many fear doing this sort of promo for fear of Fair Housing. Would love to hear counterargument. #aptchat
— Khara (@leftnwrite08) March 14, 2017
@AptChat @Marketing_Mommy (To clarify, *I* don’t see it that way, but I’m sure many fear “humanitarian housing” skirts the line.) #aptchat
— Khara (@leftnwrite08) March 14, 2017
@leftnwrite08 @AptChat Yeah, I’ve had the same struggles, but as an industry, we let it keep us from being innovative. #AptChat
— Kristi Fickert (@Marketing_Mommy) March 14, 2017
@leftnwrite08 @Marketing_Mommy Fear of FH paralyzes us. Helping your community ≠ discrimination. #AptChat
— Apartment Chat (@AptChat) March 14, 2017
@AptChat @leftnwrite08 So should property websites have a “space” or “page” dedicated to crisis or disaster communication/updates? #AptChat
— Kristi Fickert (@Marketing_Mommy) March 14, 2017
@Marketing_Mommy @AptChat I think as a co. backed initiative it would be great. But also depends on the area. #aptchat
— Khara (@leftnwrite08) March 14, 2017
@Marketing_Mommy @AptChat And perhaps not an active page until crisis happens. Imagine what a constant-crisis page could imply. #aptchat
— Khara (@leftnwrite08) March 14, 2017
@leftnwrite08 @AptChat So not with crisis copy, but what about an “in case of emergency” page? With resources? Just thinking…:) #AptChat
— Kristi Fickert (@Marketing_Mommy) March 14, 2017
@Marketing_Mommy @AptChat I like this. Could be updated as crisis happens, but for the most part dedicated to gen. resources. #aptchat
— Khara (@leftnwrite08) March 14, 2017
@leftnwrite08 @AptChat That’s where I was going w/it. Ex: If they live on 3rd floor, what is tornado protocol?Where do they shelter?#AptChat
— Kristi Fickert (@Marketing_Mommy) March 14, 2017
@Marketing_Mommy @leftnwrite08 Wouldn’t that be what social channels & email blasts should be for. Prob no need to dedicate page #Aptchat
— Resite Online (@resiteonline) March 14, 2017
@resiteonline @leftnwrite08 Yes! But not everyone is on those channels. Could also utilize for disasters in other areas (donations)#Aptchat
— Kristi Fickert (@Marketing_Mommy) March 14, 2017
@AptChat We see a ton of engagement with two-way text messaging, especially in emergency situations. It’s simple, and it works for everyone.
— Aptexx, Inc (@APTEXX) March 14, 2017
Our next #AptChat is slated for Tuesday, March 21, 2017 at 12 pm Eastern, and we’ll be discussing how to get renewals. In the meantime, be sure to sign up for #AptChat updates to get these recaps and more delivered straight to your inbox!