Sunday, August 14, 2011

PRSA Philly hosts Twitter Chat on Crisis Communication

Have you ever browsed through your Twitter feed noticing a surge of tweets focused on one specific topic, sporting a shared hash tag? You were most likely reading the tweets of someone participating in a Twitter chat- a great tool for PR students to engage in a specific conversation with peers and professionals in their field.

The Philadelphia chapter of the Public Relations Society of America hosted its first Twitter chat last Wednesday, August 3rd, with the conversation centered on crisis communication. The chat featured insight and real-life examples from Anne Buchanan, president of Buchanan PR, as well as a number of PR practitioners from around the country. By using the hash tag #PRSAPHL, the 32 participants of the chat were able to follow and engage with each other throughout the hour-long conversation. The #PRSAPHL hash tag peaked at 250 mentions during the height of the chat, and was also a trending topic in Philadelphia.

Some ideas discussed during the chat included the development of a crisis communication plan, the importance of including the legal team in crisis management, and the roles that the press and social media play in a crisis situation. Make sure to check out the chat transcript here to see what all was discussed.

The PRSA Philly chat was my first Twitter chat, and I highly recommend that other PR students get involved! There are plenty of other PR-focused chats out there for students to get involved with, and lots of helpful tools to make these chats more manageable.

Be sure to follow the @PRSAPhilly handle on Twitter for updates about future chats!

This guest blog was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member Mackenzie Krott.

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