If you do not have a 24/7 contact center for concerned customers (for calls and chat) and a frequently updated presence on social media, you cannot respond the way concerned customers and stakeholders expect you to, this is equally true for having public relations and corporate communications people available to the media at all times.

We live in a globally connected 24/7/365 world, and any external audience seeking information should not hear, ‘Our business hours are XXX. Please contact us at that time if you wish to speak with somebody.

Traditional PR centered on what content mainstream media wanted to share. Today, the audience is in control. Media is decentralized and the stories that users engage with the most rise to the top.

The key to stories reaching greater heights is directly tied to participation, once the narrative has amassed enough engagement from the echo chamber, it easily influences traditional media outlets because it has already become a trending topic in its own right.