As a professional writer and communicator, if anything positive the coronavirus has gifted me, it would be a rare opportunity to study companies’ crisis messaging strategies in real time.

Businesses usually not prone to working in crisis mode are being told to “pivot,” to create complex communications plans for a momentous historical moment.

I should emphasize that a solid crisis communication plan in positive times is a months-long process that requires significant research and resources to effectively build and deploy. But there’s nothing normal about what we’re going through, though there are still a few attributes successful communicators have in common:

The promptness by which businesses are responding

Immediately? Soon? Too late? (Totally fine to have a Goldilocks Moment about this.)

How they’re responding

Are they helpful? Accommodating? Adaptable? (Totally not fine to go silent.)

Who is relaying the message for the company

CEO? HR? Culture leader? (Super cool to have an empathic leader for this role; bonus points if she’s super real, too.)

What kinds of ways they’re allowing customers to contact them

Email? Phone? Bot? Call center? (Tip: Give them all of the options for contacting you.)

Not Knowing Is Better Than Pretending You Know

The best approaches have been from companies that are simply saying, “You know, we don’t really know what’s going to happen, but we’re still here. We don’t plan on going anywhere, and we’re going to keep you well informed as we forge ahead.”

As Kaley Stremick, Office Sign Company Director of Customer Success puts it: “It's important that we be as agile as we can as times change. Our team is here to support clients near and far with innovative products and custom solutions. We try and spread some light across our platforms, too, by sharing fun projects and content that can make these times easier for everyone. Our recent install at West Acres shopping mall is a prime example of how we can light up our streets!”

On their blog, “Six Signs to Have While Working From Home,” highlights products businesses can order to help communicate limited hours, drive-up services, etc. This shows Office Sign Company has successfully “pivoted” by providing products relevant to a specific need in time (kind of like fashion designers turning their operations into mask-making factories).

Facebook Fun

On Facebook, they’re providing practical materials using their own “spin” on humor, clearly a hallmark of their brand archetype. See how easy they make it to place an order, too? The link is right there to click and tap.

Locked In on Linked IN

On LinkedIn, they continue to highlight their people with features on new hires, promotions, which shows the company is still focused on regular, consistent communication that doesn’t disrupt in a negative or tone deaf way. 

On Instagram, the brand is helping people find ways to celebrate milestones in unique ways that will be remembered for a long time, like Maddy’s 18th birthday! Happy Birthday, Maddy!

On Twitter (my favorite social network!), they’re getting lots of attention from other influencers and businesses around town for signage that goes out of the way to thank the heroes among us.

What else is great about Office Sign Company’s content? They vary their messaging by network. 

The long-form content on Office Sign Company’s blog influences what they post on their social networks, but they are purposeful about varying the content. Even though it’s incredibly tempting to copy and paste content into each network and call it good enough, it’s not good enough.

Repurposing content doesn’t mean copying and pasting will do you any good. (So, please, if you do one thing today, uncheck that little box in Instagram that asks if you want to repost to Facebook.)

Great job, Office Sign Company! Keep up the awesome work of providing timely, relevant, helpful content during the coronavirus disruptions and showing adaptability can be helpful and human.