Silence in the Storm

We've touched upon this in earlier posts when a hurricane or tropical storm rumbles through the Southeast, which let's face it seems to be all too often every summer these days. But it's worth revisiting again.

Many businesses large and small feel compelled to say something when a once-in-a-lifetime storm like Dorian approaches (of course it seems counterintuitive that we could have once-in-lifetime storms every year but that's another matter entirely). From a messaging point of view, you'll usually find yourself between a storm surge and a hard place.

If you don't offer products or services that can directly help people in the path of the storm, then you're reduced to messaging that includes some variation of thoughts and prayers, which can come across as vacuous. If you do have a product or service that can help and you heavily promote it, it can come off as mercenary. You just can' t win.

The best bet, if you do contribute to an organization that helps in the relief effort such as the Red Cross, is to highlight that support while encouraging others to do the same. Other than that, it may be best to hunker down, as we say down here in the Southeast every summer.

Stay safe (although that's another phrase that comes perilously close to thoughts and prayers).