The role of crisis PR in your small business and how social media can help 

We never know when a crisis will strike, so it's better to be safe than sorry. A crisis management plan can ease the pain of dealing with a crisis, and possibly prevent the situation from crippling an organization. In a crisis situation, social media connects audiences, stakeholders, and employees. Twitter, along with other social media platforms, allow organizations to communicate quickly and effectively with large audiences, which is vital in a crisis when time is of the essence. Be proactive, not reactive.

Our presenter is Stephanie Eichmeyer, a writer and public relations specialist with Marketing Rival, helping small businesses create great content and strategic social media plans to build relationships and remain current in a fast-paced marketplace. 

A former journalist turned public relations professional, Stephanie is passionate about using storytelling to produce creative content. She has experience in marketing, fundraising, event planning, internal and external communications and community relations, but her real passion lies in crisis communications.

Whether it’s assisting in proactive creation of crisis communication plans, crafting crisis communication messaging, or using social media to communicate with the community before, during and after a crisis, Stephanie has done it all. Stephanie has a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia and a master's degree in corporate and public communications from Monmouth University. She serves as the co-director of communication for TEDxNavesink.

Robert Weiner, Monmouth SCORE mentor, will be present to answer questions about Hurricane Sandy relief funding for small businesses. Weiner worked diligently in the aftermath of the storm to help a dozen small business owners in Asbury Park get financing to repair and reopen their businesses. "I got people a lot of money by way of loans," said Robert. "There's still money available. The only criteria is that during Sandy, your business was in operation."