When Crisis Hits: Reputation Management in Higher Education

WEBVTT 1 00:00:02.879 --> 00:00:07.190 You were listening to the Higher Ed Marketer, a podcast geared towards marketing professionals 2 00:00:07.230 --> 00:00:11.910 in higher education. This show will tackle all sorts of questions related to student 3 00:00:11.949 --> 00:00:16.070 recruitment, don't a relations, marketing, trends, new technologies and so much 4 00:00:16.070 --> 00:00:20.230 more. If you are looking for conversations centered around where the industry is going, 5 00:00:20.750 --> 00:00:29.579 this podcast is for you. Let's get into the show. Welcome to 6 00:00:29.620 --> 00:00:34.579 the Higher Ed Marketer podcast. I'm troy singer here with my cohost, Bart 7 00:00:34.659 --> 00:00:39.130 Kaylor. And Bart, I am excited and I want the world to know 8 00:00:39.409 --> 00:00:42.250 is I got to see you in person for the first time in a while, 9 00:00:42.450 --> 00:00:47.810 as we both attended our first higher read conference in over a year. 10 00:00:47.850 --> 00:00:50.520 Yeah, that was great, try, I really appreciated being able to hang 11 00:00:50.600 --> 00:00:55.320 out with you, and it wasn't on a screen recording to for a podcast 12 00:00:55.359 --> 00:01:00.240 with, but going to the Association of Biblical Higher Education, the Abh Conference 13 00:01:00.320 --> 00:01:03.159 in Florida was just wonderful. I know so many the other folks attending more 14 00:01:03.239 --> 00:01:07.390 grateful to be able to be out and certainly be masked and socially distanced, 15 00:01:07.510 --> 00:01:10.549 but it was. It was good to be able to be kind of back 16 00:01:10.549 --> 00:01:14.709 in that environment. That's right, Barton. Other than not knowing how to 17 00:01:14.829 --> 00:01:19.299 first approach someone, whether you wanted to shake hands, bump this or touch 18 00:01:19.459 --> 00:01:26.140 elbows, it was great getting out among other higher ed marketers and presidents and 19 00:01:26.420 --> 00:01:33.090 leadership and talking about things like it was almost normal and having a very positive 20 00:01:33.090 --> 00:01:36.930 outlook. So again, it was great seeing you. Was Great participating at 21 00:01:37.010 --> 00:01:41.250 that conference. At this time, if you would tell us about today's guest, 22 00:01:41.370 --> 00:01:46.489 Bart Yeah, I had a chance to meet meet Christy Jackson. She's 23 00:01:46.530 --> 00:01:49.359 the senior director of reputation management communication at you and see, Charlotte. She's 24 00:01:49.359 --> 00:01:53.799 actually was introduced to me. She's a friend of Jamie Hunt, our episode 25 00:01:53.920 --> 00:02:00.590 two interview, from Universe Miami, University of Ohio, and so A. 26 00:02:00.629 --> 00:02:05.829 Christie has a great deal of experience in her career and crisis communications, and 27 00:02:06.390 --> 00:02:09.909 I won't steal her thunder, but she's been in a lot of different crises 28 00:02:10.389 --> 00:02:15.710 and we'll have a chance to learn from her on how how that expertise has 29 00:02:15.780 --> 00:02:19.900 really been helpful and how it could be helpful for any school of any size. 30 00:02:20.379 --> 00:02:25.180 Great. Well, at this time, let's bring Christy in. I'm 31 00:02:25.259 --> 00:02:30.650 excited to welcome Christy Jackson, senior director of reputation management communication. At you 32 00:02:30.889 --> 00:02:35.810 and see Charlotte to the conversation. Christie, thank you so much for joining 33 00:02:35.849 --> 00:02:38.729 our podcast today. Thank you for having me try. It's great to be 34 00:02:38.810 --> 00:02:43.409 with you in Bart today. We are going to get into some wonderful, 35 00:02:43.530 --> 00:02:47.960 maybe a little heavy, conversation around reputation management. But before we do that, 36 00:02:49.159 --> 00:02:53.199 can you give our listeners a little bit about you and something personal that 37 00:02:53.319 --> 00:02:57.800 they might not be able to get from your linkedin profile? Well, there's 38 00:02:57.800 --> 00:03:00.349 a lot they probably won't be able to get from my linkedin profile because I'm 39 00:03:00.389 --> 00:03:01.669 not great at keeping that up, but I pledged to do better. Well, 40 00:03:01.750 --> 00:03:06.349 as you said, I am currently the senior director of reputation management and 41 00:03:06.389 --> 00:03:09.909 Communication at UNC CHARLOTTE. I have been in highered my whole career. I 42 00:03:10.030 --> 00:03:15.500 started my career at Virginia Tech and then I moved to Radford University and then 43 00:03:15.539 --> 00:03:19.539 I was at sweeper our college before I came to Charlotte five years ago, 44 00:03:20.180 --> 00:03:24.219 and throughout that time, unfortunately, crisis has sort of punctuated my whole career. 45 00:03:25.020 --> 00:03:29.689 It started on April Sixteen, two thousand and seven with the shooting at 46 00:03:29.689 --> 00:03:34.610 Virginia Tech, which is widely known and understood and then from there I have 47 00:03:34.689 --> 00:03:38.889 sort of had different kinds of incidents at all of my institutions that I have 48 00:03:38.490 --> 00:03:43.360 learned from and grown from and I hope that I can maybe help others learn 49 00:03:43.360 --> 00:03:46.400 and grow from those experiences to wow, Christie, thanks for sharing that. 50 00:03:46.800 --> 00:03:47.919 You know, when we first spoke about the show, we did a kind 51 00:03:47.919 --> 00:03:52.360 of a pre interview, you mentioned that crisis is relative. You know, 52 00:03:52.439 --> 00:03:54.439 every crisis is relative to the situation. So tell me more about that. 53 00:03:54.949 --> 00:04:00.750 Sure. So in my career I have unfortunately dealt with two school shootings, 54 00:04:00.389 --> 00:04:08.030 I have dealt with a college closure, I have dealt with a student enrolled 55 00:04:08.069 --> 00:04:13.580 at our campus murdering a police officer at another campus and then I have dealt 56 00:04:13.620 --> 00:04:18.339 with sort of everything in between and what I have learned in that process us 57 00:04:18.860 --> 00:04:23.819 and what I said, you know, crisis is relative, is what may 58 00:04:23.939 --> 00:04:27.850 seem like a big deal to someone on their campus are in their organization may 59 00:04:27.889 --> 00:04:30.930 seem like Tuesday to someone else. And I say that in Bart you and 60 00:04:30.970 --> 00:04:33.490 I talked about this. My hope is that I am in a very exclusive 61 00:04:33.490 --> 00:04:39.240 club right you don't want people to have that same friend of reference that you 62 00:04:39.360 --> 00:04:42.680 have, and you've been through things like that. But it doesn't have to 63 00:04:42.800 --> 00:04:46.240 be that for it to be a crisis. There are reputational crisis that can 64 00:04:46.279 --> 00:04:48.560 affect organizations at every level. We see them in the news all the time 65 00:04:49.279 --> 00:04:55.430 and they are brought on by decisions people make or don't make or, you 66 00:04:55.509 --> 00:04:59.829 know, mishandling of an operational crisis that turns into a reputational crisis, and 67 00:04:59.829 --> 00:05:06.939 I think as communicators sometimes it's challenging for us to sort of help our leadership 68 00:05:06.939 --> 00:05:12.620 understand what truly is a crisis, what truly rises that level of stop the 69 00:05:12.660 --> 00:05:15.259 presses, hold everything. You know, we all have to turn our attention 70 00:05:15.300 --> 00:05:19.420 to this and I'll give you an example. After the institution that I was 71 00:05:19.699 --> 00:05:25.850 working at announced closure, I was in conversation with the president of another institution 72 00:05:26.050 --> 00:05:28.970 and we were talking about what had happened and how it had happened and the 73 00:05:29.089 --> 00:05:32.810 response, and this person was trying to empathize with me and they said to 74 00:05:32.889 --> 00:05:36.680 me, you know, I get a crisis is so hard. I understand 75 00:05:36.680 --> 00:05:41.319 what you're going through. Last year the Health Department gave our dining hall a 76 00:05:41.519 --> 00:05:46.600 be rating and this person meante with every good intention and to them, to 77 00:05:46.720 --> 00:05:50.230 them that was a crisis because they had they had never really experienced that level 78 00:05:50.269 --> 00:05:55.550 of scrutiny before and their students were upset. The families were upset. They're 79 00:05:55.550 --> 00:05:59.589 paying for this money, but these dining plans and you're giving my child subpar 80 00:05:59.709 --> 00:06:01.350 food, and it was awful for them in the moment they were in it. 81 00:06:02.029 --> 00:06:06.779 Now, for me and others of my colleagues who have perhaps experienced something 82 00:06:06.779 --> 00:06:11.819 that's a little more intense, we would say that's probably a Tuesday right a 83 00:06:11.899 --> 00:06:14.699 be health writing on a college campus, probably a Tuesday. You need to 84 00:06:14.740 --> 00:06:16.779 address it. It's an issue, but you can manage it. It's not. 85 00:06:17.139 --> 00:06:21.209 It is not a seismic potential seismic shift for your organization if you don't 86 00:06:21.209 --> 00:06:26.250 handle it correctly. But for them it was very much a huge deal. 87 00:06:26.649 --> 00:06:30.329 And and so it's relative. It's relative to the people living it, it's 88 00:06:30.370 --> 00:06:32.360 relative to your audience. It's also relative to where you are in time. 89 00:06:32.399 --> 00:06:35.519 I think we've probably all had those things that we felt were going to explode 90 00:06:35.560 --> 00:06:39.120 and they didn't, and then the things that we never dreamed would be a 91 00:06:39.160 --> 00:06:42.839 big deal and they did. It's kind of an unpredictable environment when you're dealing 92 00:06:43.000 --> 00:06:46.040 and working in crisis. Yeah, that's a that's a really good point and 93 00:06:46.160 --> 00:06:48.069 I think that you know, even as you just demonstrated there within your own 94 00:06:48.069 --> 00:06:53.310 career. I mean you you mentioned crisis and as you've experienced, it comes 95 00:06:53.350 --> 00:06:56.910 in all shapes and sizes. I mean, certainly Virginia Tech versus the dining 96 00:06:56.949 --> 00:07:00.540 hall getting a bee rating is a much different size and shape and, like 97 00:07:00.620 --> 00:07:04.819 you said, it's relative and there's certainly a difference in I know you and 98 00:07:04.860 --> 00:07:09.339 I talked earlier about the idea of when a crisis is being done to you 99 00:07:09.699 --> 00:07:12.740 and your school and your organization, for is, when it's a result of 100 00:07:12.779 --> 00:07:16.050 a decision that's made by the school or the organization. I mean, tell 101 00:07:16.089 --> 00:07:19.129 me about that. I know there's there's a difference there. So there is. 102 00:07:19.290 --> 00:07:24.250 Both are both can be equally awful but in different ways. When you 103 00:07:24.410 --> 00:07:28.689 have, or what I have discovered, when you have sort of that crisis, 104 00:07:28.730 --> 00:07:31.199 it's brought on by a threat, whether it is an act of violence 105 00:07:31.240 --> 00:07:35.399 or a hurricane or or something like that, it's an operational crisis. What 106 00:07:35.480 --> 00:07:40.279 we really where I am now, we really deemed an operational crisis. In 107 00:07:40.399 --> 00:07:44.709 a lot of ways, it's almost easier to manage initially because the needs are 108 00:07:44.790 --> 00:07:48.149 so similar and they're very simple. It's life health safety. That's what your 109 00:07:48.269 --> 00:07:53.750 first action is to do that, to protect life health safety, to make 110 00:07:53.790 --> 00:07:57.110 sure people have what they need to do that. It's a simplistic message, 111 00:07:57.750 --> 00:08:01.779 at least initially. When you're dealing with more of you know coming out of 112 00:08:01.819 --> 00:08:05.579 the gate this is a reputational issue and it is complex and it is messy 113 00:08:05.180 --> 00:08:09.899 and perhaps you know the decision is what the decision is, but you know 114 00:08:09.980 --> 00:08:11.459 people are going to fall on all sides of that decision. I think that 115 00:08:11.660 --> 00:08:16.889 is a harder thing to manage because the communication needs and the expectations are so 116 00:08:16.970 --> 00:08:22.410 vast and varied and your audiences are coming at this from a completely different frame 117 00:08:22.449 --> 00:08:26.290 of mind. They are what they need in that moment. Is is very 118 00:08:26.329 --> 00:08:28.199 different than if you know there's a tornado coming, well, you need to 119 00:08:28.240 --> 00:08:33.799 get to the basement, versus your CEO has embezzled money and now you have 120 00:08:33.960 --> 00:08:37.919 to to announce that. It's just a different kind of message and it takes 121 00:08:37.960 --> 00:08:41.750 a different kind of management, which is not to say again, you miss 122 00:08:41.870 --> 00:08:46.269 manage a hurricane, you're on your way to a reputational crisis. And you're 123 00:08:46.350 --> 00:08:48.870 on your way to having to explain a whole lot more than you than you 124 00:08:48.990 --> 00:08:50.590 thought you were going to have to do. I will also say I think 125 00:08:50.950 --> 00:08:54.230 there's also more grace expended in one than the other. With your audiences, 126 00:08:54.820 --> 00:08:58.820 people can genuinely agree that a hurricane is bad and an act of violence is 127 00:08:58.899 --> 00:09:03.740 bad and that shouldn't have happened to you. And there is grace and there 128 00:09:03.820 --> 00:09:09.620 is compassion and there's kindness, usually from in the in those moments, where 129 00:09:09.700 --> 00:09:15.570 as announcing poor choices by leadership, controversial decisions by leadership, that grace and 130 00:09:15.690 --> 00:09:20.049 that kindness and that patience isn't always immediately extended. You don't have any sort 131 00:09:20.090 --> 00:09:24.169 of space to kind of get your footing beneath you. You have to just 132 00:09:24.399 --> 00:09:28.440 be out of the gate right away. I really appreciate that perspective. In 133 00:09:28.080 --> 00:09:33.480 along the lines of managing I often hear that a big part of communications is 134 00:09:33.600 --> 00:09:37.759 managing expectations. So can you do a little farther and tell us what your 135 00:09:37.879 --> 00:09:41.509 experience is with that? I think with as a communicator, you have to 136 00:09:41.590 --> 00:09:45.750 manage expectation sort of up, down and out. So you have to manage 137 00:09:45.990 --> 00:09:50.629 with your leadership what is possible in this situation. When can we when can 138 00:09:50.710 --> 00:09:52.740 we stop it? When can we make it better, and when can we 139 00:09:54.139 --> 00:09:58.139 apply pressure until the bleeding sort of eases? And when is our only hope 140 00:09:58.139 --> 00:10:01.820 just to come in and clean it up? Not Always, but sometimes that 141 00:10:01.940 --> 00:10:03.820 I think most communicators have had this experience at some point in their career. 142 00:10:03.940 --> 00:10:07.409 There's this expectation that no matter what, PR can fix it. Well, 143 00:10:07.409 --> 00:10:11.929 we'll just spin it, we'll just spin it, and that is a naughty 144 00:10:11.970 --> 00:10:13.610 word as far as I'm concerned. With, you know, spinning. We 145 00:10:13.850 --> 00:10:16.529 don't spend. We tell the truth. We tell the truth. But there 146 00:10:16.570 --> 00:10:20.210 are sometimes, and I'm sure you gentlemen have seen it, there is nothing 147 00:10:20.409 --> 00:10:24.960 you can do except wait for the storm to pass and start the clean up, 148 00:10:24.759 --> 00:10:28.360 and I think you have to be honest with your leadership when that happens. 149 00:10:28.799 --> 00:10:31.159 You all have to go in face in the situation, on the same 150 00:10:31.200 --> 00:10:35.190 page, and I would say there's a lot of that managing down to with 151 00:10:35.470 --> 00:10:39.509 with your team and with others in the organization on this is what this is 152 00:10:39.590 --> 00:10:43.590 what's possible for us to do and what's not. And when I when managing 153 00:10:43.669 --> 00:10:48.269 out, I mean with your audiences. I have discovered over the course of 154 00:10:48.350 --> 00:10:52.779 my career that even if you can't tell people what they want to know, 155 00:10:54.059 --> 00:10:56.179 if you can tell them why you can't tell them, it often goes over 156 00:10:56.259 --> 00:11:01.779 a little bit better and I think it is important to be up front with 157 00:11:01.740 --> 00:11:05.330 this is what I have, this is what I can tell you and this 158 00:11:05.450 --> 00:11:07.129 is why I can't, and if I can't, I'm going to tell you 159 00:11:07.129 --> 00:11:09.210 why I can't. You know, working in public education we faced that a 160 00:11:09.289 --> 00:11:13.009 lot. We are under a lot of federal guideline state guidelines for information we 161 00:11:13.049 --> 00:11:18.919 can release and, as you gentlemen have probably also discovered, the right to 162 00:11:18.039 --> 00:11:22.919 know versus be want to know is often very confused, especially in a crisis, 163 00:11:24.000 --> 00:11:26.559 and it and it's managing that. And the other thing I would also 164 00:11:26.600 --> 00:11:31.159 say is understanding the expectations of your audiences. And my most recent are my 165 00:11:31.240 --> 00:11:37.149 current job. We did a lot of research with our campus constituents, our 166 00:11:37.230 --> 00:11:41.669 faculties, at students and families and sort of what they wanted to hear in 167 00:11:41.710 --> 00:11:46.149 whine a crisis, in a non crisis situation. And you know, I 168 00:11:46.190 --> 00:11:48.700 think it's really easy when you're in the room where it's happening, to assume 169 00:11:48.740 --> 00:11:52.659 everyone has the same information that you have to work from and that their understanding 170 00:11:52.700 --> 00:11:58.620 in the same context that you have. And what we found out is just 171 00:11:58.740 --> 00:12:01.769 because we didn't think someone would want to know that, because it didn't seem 172 00:12:01.769 --> 00:12:03.850 like a big deal, didn't mean they didn't actually want to know it. 173 00:12:03.370 --> 00:12:09.009 Sometimes our audiences just wanted us to reassure them that we we saw the hurricane 174 00:12:09.090 --> 00:12:13.009 to even though it wasn't here, but we're watching it and if anything happens 175 00:12:13.049 --> 00:12:15.919 we're going to let you know, but if you don't hear from us, 176 00:12:16.360 --> 00:12:20.639 you're good. And we did that and we started operating in that way and 177 00:12:20.799 --> 00:12:24.720 it really, I think, helps build that goodwill and that social capital so 178 00:12:24.799 --> 00:12:28.720 when the big things happen you have more to draw from because you've shown up 179 00:12:28.720 --> 00:12:31.350 for your audiences in the small moments. That that makes sense. They'll give 180 00:12:31.389 --> 00:12:33.950 you more grace in the big moments if you showed up in the small moments. 181 00:12:33.470 --> 00:12:37.990 That's really, really good. I think that plays out so well and 182 00:12:37.350 --> 00:12:41.029 so much of these, whether it's crisis communications, are just communications in general. 183 00:12:41.070 --> 00:12:46.539 I think that's that's quite quite a good point. I know that, 184 00:12:46.740 --> 00:12:50.940 Christy, one of the things when we were talking earlier you'd mentioned how much 185 00:12:50.059 --> 00:12:54.340 crisis communications and reputation management has changed with, you know, social media. 186 00:12:54.460 --> 00:12:58.169 I mean obviously you know even this year, you know, two thousand and 187 00:12:58.169 --> 00:13:03.889 twenty one, we've seen the crisis and in the capital insurrection in the district 188 00:13:03.889 --> 00:13:07.090 of Columbia and things like that. How do you think social media plays a 189 00:13:07.129 --> 00:13:11.250 role in crisis communication and planning and reputation management? You know, with with 190 00:13:11.610 --> 00:13:15.919 that, I mean certainly over your career, it is changed vastly. You 191 00:13:16.000 --> 00:13:18.480 know, I think it's the wild card in everything we do in a lot 192 00:13:18.519 --> 00:13:22.279 of ways, and especially in crisis. I often tell my team assume in 193 00:13:22.440 --> 00:13:26.360 most crises you're going to be two steps behind out of the gate because of 194 00:13:26.480 --> 00:13:31.070 social especially when it comes to the more operational kind of situations. Assume your 195 00:13:31.309 --> 00:13:35.350 you are likely to find out something has happened on your campus because you just 196 00:13:35.470 --> 00:13:39.190 got tagged on social media and someone is, you know, taken a video 197 00:13:39.309 --> 00:13:41.340 of it and and is letting you know that way, and I think that 198 00:13:41.860 --> 00:13:48.700 makes it far more challenging to do what we do because you will never have 199 00:13:48.940 --> 00:13:52.860 complete control of the message. I mean you can't with social journalism and you 200 00:13:52.940 --> 00:13:58.929 know, keyboard warriors and keyboard courage, and so I think. But I 201 00:13:58.970 --> 00:14:01.889 would also say I think you have to give respect to that space and you 202 00:14:03.009 --> 00:14:05.649 have to treat that space like you do other mediums. In a crisis, 203 00:14:05.730 --> 00:14:09.559 you have to be delivering content for that space, you have to be monitoring 204 00:14:09.600 --> 00:14:13.480 that space and you have to take it seriously. I have worked in the 205 00:14:13.600 --> 00:14:18.840 past with folks, Oh, that's just social, which is social? Well, 206 00:14:18.919 --> 00:14:20.759 it's just what are no one's paying attention to it, except they are, 207 00:14:22.159 --> 00:14:26.029 except our students are. That's where they all are. So if there 208 00:14:26.230 --> 00:14:30.710 is a rumor running rampant that we can dispel, we should dispel it, 209 00:14:31.269 --> 00:14:35.070 in my opinion. Now that's not to say I believe engaging controls, because 210 00:14:35.070 --> 00:14:37.269 they don't, and I think that's going back to my managing expectations. I 211 00:14:37.309 --> 00:14:41.259 think with social you kind of have to have that. What's our baseline of 212 00:14:41.340 --> 00:14:46.179 tolerance here? What are we going to say? Is a normal level of 213 00:14:46.299 --> 00:14:48.820 negativity and nastiness that we're going to see in this moment? And when do 214 00:14:48.899 --> 00:14:54.370 we engage in when we don't? But I think it has shifted everything we 215 00:14:54.529 --> 00:15:01.250 do as communicators. You know, there is no it. It forces the 216 00:15:01.330 --> 00:15:03.210 rapid response in a crisis. There is. No, we got to gather 217 00:15:03.330 --> 00:15:07.519 all the facts and we got to make sure everything is perfect and then we'll 218 00:15:07.519 --> 00:15:11.399 send out a press release. No, no, no, no, you 219 00:15:11.600 --> 00:15:15.240 are out there and you were saying something fast, and you know. That's 220 00:15:15.240 --> 00:15:18.679 where the holding statement comes in, acknowledging here's what we know, here's what 221 00:15:18.679 --> 00:15:20.240 we don't here's what we're going to go back. But it has, it 222 00:15:20.360 --> 00:15:24.350 has forced the speed at which we work as professionals, especially in a crisis, 223 00:15:24.750 --> 00:15:28.710 because if you're not out there, they're going to be out there and 224 00:15:28.789 --> 00:15:31.750 I promise you, whatever they say is likely not going to be accurate. 225 00:15:31.870 --> 00:15:33.909 You know. Just with that in mind, I mean so much of social 226 00:15:33.990 --> 00:15:37.139 to whether it's crisis or just in communications with you know, you know you've 227 00:15:37.139 --> 00:15:41.460 got a troll out there. Many times you can rely on those allies that 228 00:15:41.500 --> 00:15:45.419 are there on social media to help along the way. I mean, like 229 00:15:45.539 --> 00:15:48.419 you said earlier, you invest in the small and you can you reap the 230 00:15:48.500 --> 00:15:50.730 trust in the bigger things. How much do you think that plays into? 231 00:15:50.730 --> 00:15:52.850 I mean, as I look at, you know, the schools that are 232 00:15:52.889 --> 00:15:56.529 listening to this, I mean they might not necessarily be in crisis mode all 233 00:15:56.570 --> 00:16:00.850 the time, but it seems to me that there's a little bit of investment 234 00:16:00.929 --> 00:16:03.639 that you can make on social to start gathering around those, you know, 235 00:16:03.759 --> 00:16:07.279 allies that are going to, you know, come to your support when the 236 00:16:07.320 --> 00:16:11.519 time comes. I absolutely agree with that and my team and I, all 237 00:16:11.559 --> 00:16:15.480 my teams and I, we talked a lot about rapport building versus reporting and 238 00:16:15.639 --> 00:16:21.389 using social to also to build that rapport to have those allies, to have 239 00:16:21.710 --> 00:16:26.429 those fault leaders that will come to your defense, and not even come to 240 00:16:26.470 --> 00:16:30.230 your defense, but just share the right information it. That's what it is. 241 00:16:30.309 --> 00:16:32.860 Half the time it's just correcting that and I will tell you, there's 242 00:16:32.980 --> 00:16:37.100 nothing I love more than that self regulation and correction on social where you don't 243 00:16:37.100 --> 00:16:41.299 even have the way in because fifty other of your biggest supporters have just done 244 00:16:41.299 --> 00:16:47.409 that for you. But I do think it is it is about and I 245 00:16:47.529 --> 00:16:49.450 am not a social expert. That's why we have people who are. But 246 00:16:49.649 --> 00:16:53.009 to me, when you're when you're building that content and you're putting on social, 247 00:16:53.049 --> 00:16:56.730 you really are strengthening and building your relationships with the people who are out 248 00:16:56.730 --> 00:17:00.730 there. That is how alumnice day connected it tell student. I mean it's 249 00:17:00.049 --> 00:17:03.279 it's relationship building, it's pride building. So again, if you invest there, 250 00:17:03.759 --> 00:17:07.319 then when something bad happens you are more likely to have the people coming 251 00:17:07.400 --> 00:17:11.920 and say it. Actually you can believe them because here, here are all 252 00:17:11.960 --> 00:17:15.359 the ways that they've they've told the truth before, they've shown up for us 253 00:17:15.400 --> 00:17:18.630 before, and I do think we're lying on that network to help you. 254 00:17:18.789 --> 00:17:22.750 Is Critical and I think that often is far more authentic to the people receiving 255 00:17:22.829 --> 00:17:26.509 that information when it comes from others than when it comes from you. I 256 00:17:26.630 --> 00:17:30.940 mean, I can set there and type on facebook responses all day that I'm 257 00:17:30.940 --> 00:17:34.420 telling you the truth as a university, but if you know you bart, 258 00:17:34.619 --> 00:17:38.619 the respected Alumna, alumnus, is saying it, then I think that often 259 00:17:38.660 --> 00:17:41.619 carries more way. Well, I don't know about you, Bart, but 260 00:17:42.059 --> 00:17:48.250 thank you, Christy. I just feel I've experienced or audited a three hundred 261 00:17:48.250 --> 00:17:52.890 and one level communications course. They're in the last twenty minutes and you gave 262 00:17:52.970 --> 00:17:56.529 it so passionately. It's very evident why you are good at what you do. 263 00:17:56.650 --> 00:17:59.960 At the end of each one of our episodes, we like to ask 264 00:18:00.039 --> 00:18:03.519 our guests to offer a quick tip or something that other marketers could either implement 265 00:18:03.599 --> 00:18:11.200 or take away as a nugget usable in the next thirty days. If we 266 00:18:11.279 --> 00:18:14.910 were asked that of you, what would that be? If you don't have 267 00:18:14.950 --> 00:18:17.710 a plan, get one. If you do have a plan, dust it 268 00:18:17.829 --> 00:18:22.670 off and Polish it up and test it. I think so many people oftentimes 269 00:18:22.750 --> 00:18:25.549 with there's so much going on right now, right there's always too much work 270 00:18:25.549 --> 00:18:29.420 to do and the crisis is the thing you hope never happens, so it's 271 00:18:29.420 --> 00:18:30.859 easy to sort of push it away, but I think you need to view 272 00:18:30.859 --> 00:18:34.259 it as an insurance policy. You invest in it and you hope you never 273 00:18:34.339 --> 00:18:37.940 need it. But in addition to writing the plane, you got to practice 274 00:18:37.940 --> 00:18:41.769 your plan, you've got to get it out and and build that muscle memory, 275 00:18:41.930 --> 00:18:45.369 because there is only so much that can be templated and flow charted. 276 00:18:45.730 --> 00:18:48.170 You as a person, you as a leader, need to know how you're 277 00:18:48.210 --> 00:18:51.730 going to respond and make sure you have built that depth of knowledge so that 278 00:18:51.809 --> 00:18:53.769 when it does happen, and I hope it never does, that you are 279 00:18:55.170 --> 00:18:56.720 your you know what to do, you know how to do it and you 280 00:18:56.799 --> 00:19:02.200 can do it successfully. While Christy, thank you for that and thank you 281 00:19:02.279 --> 00:19:06.359 for joining us and sharing your journey today. I thought that you provided not 282 00:19:06.559 --> 00:19:10.789 just that, but many other takeaways and insights that others will be able to 283 00:19:11.670 --> 00:19:15.509 implement as they think about how they'll handle crisis in the future. Again, 284 00:19:15.670 --> 00:19:22.150 thank you to everyone. The Higher Red Marker podcast is sponsored by Kaylor solutions 285 00:19:22.390 --> 00:19:26.299 and education, marketing and branding agency and by thinking, patented a marketing, 286 00:19:26.339 --> 00:19:30.980 execution, printing and mailing provider of higher red solutions. On behalf of my 287 00:19:32.099 --> 00:19:38.609 cohost Bart Taylor, I'm choice singer. Thanks for joining us. You've been 288 00:19:38.650 --> 00:19:42.769 listening to the Higher Ed Marketer. To ensure that you never miss an episode, 289 00:19:44.009 --> 00:19:48.250 subscribe to the show in your favorite podcast player. If you're listening with 290 00:19:48.289 --> 00:19:51.690 apple podcasts. We'd love for you to leave a quick rating of the show. 291 00:19:51.690 --> 00:19:56.559 Simply tap the number of stars you think the podcast deserves. Until next 292 00:19:56.559 --> time.