Troubleshoot Your Company's Web Response

Today, you can't just rely on Google AdWord buys to direct Web searchers to your messages in crisis. You have to anticipate your likely reputational exposures, identify the keywords that Internet users will use to search for information on those exposures, and optimize your Web site so that your crisis messages will be found first.

You must also be prepared to join the conversation taking place online. That means engaging the high-authority bloggers that you've previously identified. It means active use of Facebook and Twitter to shape the viral commentary taking place. And it means being ready to produce and upload viral video at a moment's notice. Your messages need to be where your audience can see them, not just in the Web venues that you control.

• Question 3: What are we doing to proactively engage the social media space and build an online bank of trust before withdrawals during crisis leave it in the red?
• Wrong Answer: We're all set, boss. We've got a blog.
• Your Follow-Up: But are we using it to engage our most vital audiences?

A corporate blog is more than just another venue to reiterate the messages of the day. In fact, it's far more about your stakeholders than it is about your company. Effective corporate blogs are conversational. They are venues for listening as well as speaking. They solicit comments from employees, consumers and other stakeholders so that issues can raised and addressed transparently. That's how a blog moves from just being just another corporate mouthpiece to a tool that demonstrates concern for the issues your stakeholders care about most.

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