| A holding statement is one of those things that you don’t know you need until you do. If your company finds itself in the middle of a PR crisis – be it a critical manufacturing error or an allegation against someone on your team – doing a bit of prep beforehand to create a coherent message could be the thing that makes or breaks your reputation. It’ll also allow you to keep your stakeholders informed and keep your inbox from overloading with media inquiries. |
Fortunately for you, writing a holding statement is not rocket science, especially if you don’t overcomplicate the process by using a template that is proven to work. In fact, companies that recently went through a crisis mentioned that, in the future, they would improve their emergency response by preparing messaging templates for the most likely crisis scenarios.
In this article, we’ll teach you how to kickstart your crisis prep using our 7 practical writing tips and holding statement template. However, first, let’s cover the basics – what a holding statement is and why preparing one is beneficial during a crisis.
What is a holding statement?
A media holding statement is a short, pre-prepared statement that your company should provide in the event of a crisis. It shares the facts that you already know and reassures your audience that you’re taking all necessary steps to address the issue. If done effectively, it can help your company appear credible and stop any online rumors in their tracks before they can spiral out of control.
What are the benefits of a holding statement?
During a PR crisis, getting your holding statement out there should be treated like a race against the clock. The longer you wait, the more misinformation you risk having to correct.
Crisis affected companies usually take an average of 21 hours to respond. This leaves plenty of time for journalists to pick up the story, seeing as more than a quarter of crises are covered by international media within an hour, while two-thirds reach outlets worldwide within the first 24 hours. The last thing you want to be doing is scrambling to save your reputation while the rest of the world is two steps ahead and already discussing your company’s blunder on social media. Unsurprisingly, negative publicity and viral backlash on these platforms can cause significant reputation damage.
By issuing a crisis statement within the first hour of a crisis hitting, you’re not only buying yourself time to investigate the situation further, but also painting yourself as a transparent company, giving media outlets fewer reasons to go poking around for information by approaching third parties. This allows you to dictate the narrative of your messaging and retain control over the way that the incident is reported on.
Dos and don’ts for holding statements
Since the media will likely examine your holding statement under a magnifying glass, you’ll always want to make sure that you’re telling the facts – and only those that you can actually verify.
Here are the dos (everything that your statement should include) and don’ts (everything to leave out) when writing your crisis statement:
7 top tips to keep in mind when preparing a holding statement
Due to the critical nature of getting your crisis communication and PR strategy just right, expressing yourself effectively is key. Here are some tips to get keep in mind when preparing your holding statements:
1. Own your mistake
If you’re in PR crisis mode because someone at your company did something wrong, own up to it. Your audience will appreciate your integrity and willingness to take responsibility from the get-go. Data shows that companies that beat around the bush or point fingers at third parties are much more likely to be caught in a media shitstorm and suffer a serious blow to their reputation.
2. Lead with empathy
If people have been negatively impacted, put at risk or injured during the crisis you’re caught in, you should not just explain what happened but also express empathy toward how those parties must be feeling and what they are going through.
3. Distribute your media holding statement internally
Your external audience should, of course, find out about the contents of your crisis statement. However, don’t forget about aligning with your internal team as well. Journalists will ask your team members to comment on the incident, which means everyone should be on the same page to keep contradicting stories from gaining traction.
4. Don’t overcomplicate
Stick to the facts, keep it brief, avoid industry jargon and make sure that your statement covers the basics – the who, when, what, where, why and how – in a way that is easy to understand. Throwing in complicated words or details increases the chance for misunderstanding.
5. Stay close to your narrative
If you’ve already done some heavy lifting to come up with a coherent brand narrative, make sure that this is reflected in your holding statements. If your communication is usually confident and inclusive, make sure this also comes through in your crisis statement.
6. Two (or three or four) pairs of eyes are better than one
When the negative spotlight is already shining on your company, you can’t afford to make any more mistakes. Before sending out your holding statement, ask several people (ideally from various departments) to take a critical look from different perspectives. But, remember: Make sure that you already decide who you will consult in advance to help you save valuable time.
7. Time is of the essence
As we already made clear, time matters in PR crisis situations. Working with pre-prepared crisis holding statement examples that are already tailored to your company narrative and only require you to fill in the blanks is your best bet for getting the facts out there quickly.
Bonus tip: Prepare with our holding statement template
Natural disasters, cyber attacks and customer service issues are just three common crisis scenarios that most companies will face at one point or another. The holding statement that you would provide for each would differ significantly from one case to another.
To help you get started with the vital preparation process, we’ve created a worksheet that gives you 8 crisis statement examples and templates. These can be tailored to your unique company and PR crisis response narrative, leaving you with a base to work with when you find yourself in the midst of one of these crises in the near future.
Eager to get started? Download the worksheet below.
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