Let’s start with an important assumption: making mistakes is part of the game. Whether you’re an entrepreneur or a marketing manager, sooner or later you’re going to screw up. The problem isn’t the mistake itself, but the pretence of being untouchable.
These days, Vincenzo Schettini (whether you like him or not, an important channel of social communication and the world of Italian content creators) has found himself in the middle of a storm. We won’t be summarising previous episodes here; we’re not a gossip site. We’re here because we want to take inspiration from something that happened, so we can learn something useful!
If you have no idea what I’m talking about, here are a couple of sources, or simply search for something on Google and you’ll get loads of results:
- Breaking Italy video “Un insegnante di liceo può fare il divulgatore online?” ➚
- Article in Il Messaggero “Scandalo Schettini, ex studenti: «Costretti a seguire le live per avere voti più alti». Rimossi oltre 100 video da Youtube” ➚
Having made this necessary introduction, what we need to understand is why his reaction was a textbook example of how not to manage communication in crisis situations.
Point 1. If the damage has already been done, deleting it will only make the situation worse.
If the content that has generated controversy has already started circulating, there’s no point in deleting it! You’ll only make the situation worse!
It’s a truly counterproductive move. The internet has infinite memory. Deleting a post or video after the damage has been done doesn’t make you look innocent, it makes you look panicked. And worse, it suggests you have something to hide.
If the evidence is already in the hands of those investigating and journalists — or simply users who took the screenshot — deleting it will only make you look like you are trying to run away. The internet thrives on this kind of thing!
Point 2. The user is never stupid.
Another serious mistake in a crisis is to flaunt superiority and infallibility. That attitude of saying, ‘It is you who have misunderstood’ or ‘My words have been misinterpreted’.
You’re the one who communicated poorly!
If your audience perceives a problem, the problem exists. Implies that those who criticise you are too limited to understand your ‘context’ is the quickest way to make yourself hated. In business, if a customer complains, you don’t tell them they’re stupid because they don’t understand your product; you try to understand where you failed.
In crises, this is what you do: admit fault (if there is any), apologise without beating about the bush, and come up with a clear plan on how to remedy the situation. The rest is just noise that makes the situation smell even worse.
Point 3. When there is a strong odour, you need someone who does not have a blocked nose.
Why do even people who are usually communication wizards make these mistakes? Simple: because when you’re the one under attack, you lose your bearings, panic, and make the situation worse. Or it may be that your ego takes over, you feel offended, you switch off your brain and start reacting emotionally (reporting, deleting, shouting).
That’s why every entrepreneur or manager should have someone by their side who can say: “Stop, take a breath, you’re about to do something stupid”. An outside eye, cold and unemotional, is the only thing that allows you to salvage what you can. If you think you can handle a media firestorm on your own while your reputation burns, then good luck.
Point 4. Rushing kills you, but taking things too slowly is just as bad.
The internet waits for no one. If you don’t respond, others will do it for you, and they won’t be kind. But there’s a huge difference between responding immediately and responding haphazardly.
You have to be quick, but you need to have a strategy. Taking hours or days to ‘let the dust settle’ is an illusion: the dust doesn’t settle, it turns into a putrid swamp. You have to come out, face the music and tell the truth, before other people’s versions become the only possible truth.
So what should I do?
First of all, you need to understand that ‘managing a crisis’ does not mean coming out of it unscathed. If there is a crisis, it means that the damage has already been done; at best, you can limit the damage.
If you try to deceive your audience by sweeping things under the carpet or denouncing those who point out your mistakes, people will notice. And they won’t forgive you.
Haste, arrogance and conceit are your enemies. Switch off your gut and switch on your brain. And if you can’t do that, then turn to someone who is capable of thinking clearly and is less involved in the situation.
Reputation is one of those things that takes years to build up, but just a hint of arrogance is enough to destroy it. If you’ve made a mistake, admit it. If you need to make amends, do so.
