Is your ’digital go-bag‘ ready?

Marc Rona is SVP of affiliate and social media marketing at Hawke Media. Doyle Albee is CEO of Comprise.

“Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”

Even though Ferris Buehler shared that wisdom with theater audiences nearly 40 years ago, today’s digital marketing and communications professionals would be wise to pay attention to this prescient advice.

The explosion of communications data in the digital age is remarkable. In 2023 alone, the world created about 123 zettabytes of digital information. For perspective: If printed as books, every zettabyte of data would require 100 million Libraries of Congress to store.

Digital whiplash

The platforms that store our data and allow us to deliver our messaging and information also change at unprecedented speeds, sometimes implementing major changes literally overnight. We all survived the Great U.S. TikTok Darkness— for about 14 hours. Instagram’s 2023 hashtag update suddenly prioritized popular content over the most recent content, and Facebook recently overhauled its content moderation practices. Any one of these changes could dramatically impact a carefully planned social media and public relations strategy if you’re not prepared.

Such changes can come from anywhere at a moment’s notice. A powerful tech CEO might have a sudden change of heart and upend years of common practice. Legislation could tilt the field in a matter of hours, and given the global footprint of the web, a small state legislature can sometimes wreak as much havoc as the U.S. Senate. Even a single event, like X CEO Elon Musk’s recent controversial gesture, could ignite a sudden and significant migration to or from a platform you may have relied on for years.

Fans of spy movies have seen characters like Jason Bourne reach for their “go bags” — usually a stash of weapons, passports and cash. Given the increasingly swift and sudden changes to the digital communication world and our growing reliance on data stored on servers belonging to others, we recommend that every communicator have a well-planned “digital go bag” ready and consistently updated.

What is a digital go bag?

Here are our recommendations for building your “digital go bag” to ensure resilience in an unpredictable digital landscape.

1. Audit your digital dependencies

The first step in preparing for potential disruptions is understanding where your organization’s digital footprint lies. Conduct an audit of all the platforms and tools you rely on regularly, from social media channels and cloud-based services to internal communication tools and analytics software. Update your findings at least quarterly.

Next, identify the mission-critical platforms and assess the potential risks if they disappeared overnight. Would you still be able to reach your audience? Could you quickly shift your messaging elsewhere? By proactively identifying these weak points, you can develop a plan to pivot quickly should the need arise.

2. Diversify communication channels

Overreliance on a single platform is a recipe for disaster. If your communications strategy heavily depends on TikTok, X or even internal platforms like Slack, you could find yourself scrambling if those tools become unavailable.

A diversified approach ensures that your message continues to reach your audience, regardless of external disruptions. Maintain an active presence across multiple platforms, including email, owned content channels like blogs and alternative social networks. The goal is to build a communications infrastructure that doesn’t hinge on the survival or popularity of any single platform.

3. Data backup and portability

The ability to access your data, regardless of platform stability, is nonnegotiable. If a platform shuts down or experiences extended outages, will you lose crucial customer insights, media assets or communication records?

We recommend implementing regular backups for essential data, including audience lists, engagement analytics and creative assets. Ensure that you have a system to quickly migrate data across platforms. Data redundancies remain particularly important for communications professionals managing client accounts — having a backup of messaging strategies and past campaign performance can mean the difference between a seamless transition and a massive disruption.

4. Crisis response plan

When a disruption occurs — and it will — the ability to react swiftly is critical. Every communications team should have a documented crisis response plan outlining how to shift to alternative tools and maintain real-time engagement with audiences.

Key elements of this plan should include:

• Preapproved messaging for rapid response when a platform goes down.
• Alternative communication methods, such as an email newsletter or a secondary social media platform, ready to deploy immediately (think hours or a few days, not weeks).
• A chain of command detailing who executes different parts of the transition. Added pro tip: Make sure you can reach these team members 24/7. Sadly, crises don’t limit their work to regular business hours. Audit your team lists regularly to confirm accurate mobile numbers and other contact information. Finding someone’s phone number is not how you want to spend your time in a crisis.
• A well-prepared crisis response plan ensures that your team isn’t left scrambling to figure out the next steps when disruption strikes.

5. Monitoring and early warnings

Proactive monitoring is one of the best ways to stay ahead of potential disruptions. Communications professionals should closely watch regulatory developments (at all levels, not just federal), corporate shifts and industry trends that could impact the tools they rely on.

Set up alerts, follow industry news sources and stay engaged with professional networks that provide insight into potential disruptions before they happen.

Let’s get packing

Communications professionals must prepare for the unexpected. By auditing dependencies, diversifying communication channels, backing up critical data, developing a crisis response plan and staying informed about potential risks, PR and marketing teams can minimize the chance of being caught off guard. If you rely on an agency partner for this part of your communications, make sure they function as your “eyes and ears” in this rapidly changing landscape.

Think of your digital go bag as an insurance policy — something you hope you’ll never need, but if you do, you’ll be grateful it’s ready. The next disruption may be just around the corner.

Are you prepared?