As social media crisis blogger Melissa Agnes points out – organizations going through what LinkedIn is facing have to communicate immediately and often. Even in a fluid situation where much of the facts are still unknown and your solution is developing – at least say ‘we are working to resolve the problem.’
We agree and emphasize you must communicate action! Tell us what you are doing about it. Bore us with the steps that are necessary to execute the solution and impress us with how prepared you were for this inevitability. It doesn’t hurt to remind us that the protection of our information is paramount to you. But, the more action you communicate, the better chance that you will be the source for customers seeking updates and will begin to repair lost trust.
And, by the way, ALL companies should take lessons about these hacking crises – not just the HMOs and insurance companies with personal patient medical histories. Not just banks with individuals’ financial data. Not just government agencies with information on covert operations and profiles on criminals and suspects. Virtually every company has data vital to their business and any breach will immediately erode trust.
As of this writing, the FBI says it will be investigating. How do you think LinkedIn is handling this crisis? What other companies who hold mega-tons of data should be checking their crisis response readiness right now?