Can you imagine what navigating this crisis would be if the digital world wasn’t as it is?
We couldn’t disseminate information at the speed and breadth we can.
It would be impossible to work virtually and operate successfully with remote teams.
Kids wouldn’t be able to participate in online learning activities.
And no one could make “who wore it better memes” comparing the virus to current fashion trends.
Tragic. Especially the memes.
Hey You! You’re Doing the Best You Can
And way to go on that because this is hard. Really hard.
There is no sugar-coating the fact it’s really, really, really rough.
It’s scary, not to mention mentally and physically taxing.
And, just like the virus itself, there is a lot of unknown in this brave new world of work and life we are navigating.
Not to mention, being in communications isn’t exactly the easiest thing during a pandemic.
This is both where people need our help the most and also need to cut our budgets the most.
It’s a weird catch-22 of being overworked and losing work.
The good news is: you are not alone in navigating how to best survive and keep trucking.
Wednesday we were in our leadership meeting and Gini had a cute kid and a puppy popping into her screen.
I had a loud Boston accent (my husband) projecting from upstairs (where he was also in a meeting).
And we are used to working from home.
But as Toni-Anne Blake said on a Spin Sucks Instagram post earlier in the week “even those of us who aren’t new to working from home have to deal with these unique circumstances.”
Spin Sucks Community to the Rescue
Here’s the thing: I’ve worked for Spin Sucks for almost seven years (holy crap!).
And was a “Spin Sucks Crazy” long before that.
While things change, one thing that never has is how amazing the Spin Sucks Community is.
The coronavirus chaos has only made our rockstar community stronger.
As soon as things started to get real with COVID-19, our community started sharing resources for communications professionals, asking and answering each other’s questions, supporting, commiserating, and cheering.
Just doing what they always do to help us all mutually drink from the firehose of the communications industry without drowning.
These resources were so helpful, we created it as a working document to share both in the community—and more widely.
If there is any time to be inclusive, it’s probably now (albeit, at a safe distance).
Although I’d be remiss to not highly encourage anyone who isn’t part of the community to jump on board.
It’s free and it’s the best darn group of communicators on the internet.
Right now it’s more important than ever.
Not only are we sharing the resources you see here, but there is some amazing peer-to-peer sharing of insight, questions, and support around how to navigate obstacles specific to communicators during this unique time. #notbiased #sortofbiased
Resources for Communications Professionals
These have been divided out by general topic area.
They cover everything from life, to homeschool, to crisis comms, and work from home.
We’ve included all the useful free tools being offered we can find.
Though, I’m sure we’ve missed some soo please list them in the comments below or add to our discussion in the Spin Sucks Community.
Let’s go!
General Resources
These cover a wide ranger of areas and resources for communications professionals that might be useful for work and life.
- Nielsen COVID-19 Consumer Insights
- DIY Video Guide
- Self-Isolation Playlist: Music about being alone to listen to when you’re alone.
- Coronavirus Tech Handbook: A crowdsourced resource of all things coronavirus
- Snapshot of Current “State of Communications Industry”
- PRWeek’s Live Coronavirus Industry Updates
- Live list of who is hiring and who is on hiring freezes
- Forbes’s list of journalists who have been furloughed
Crisis Communications
Tools, tips, and resources for communications professionals around crisis communications.
- Melissa Agnes Webinar: Crisis Ready Your Organization for COVID-19
- Advice for Informing Stakeholders (Molly McPherson Podcast)
- Christopher Penn: You Ask, I Answer: Social Media Metrics in a Crisis?
- Edelman’s Special Report Coronavirus Trust Barometer
- Five Media Principles in the Wake of COVID-19 (includes great questions to ask yourself when considering if you should proceed with a campaign or not).
- Overcoming the Crisis, a webinar with Michael Smart
- Five Rules for Growing Customer Loyalty Even as Coronavirus Disrupts Supply Chains
Work from Home Resources
Oh, look at that. You suddenly work from home. Here’s how to deal and help your team succeed.
- Remote Work Survival Kit
- Free use of Pronto Communications Platform
- How to Use Zoom to Hide Your Mess When You Work From Home
- An Employer’s Guide to Virtual Work During Coronavirus
- How to Set Up Virtual Lessons With YouTube
- Krisp.ai Noise Cancelling app (free tier)
Home School Fun:
Spin Sucks Blog Posts:
We’ve been working from home for almost a decade and we have some advice.
(And some insight into navigating the work from home, school from home dynamic.)
- So You Suddenly Work from Home, Now What?
- So You Work from Home AND Homeschool. Now What?
- Build a Culture While Working Remotely
- Meetings, Collaboration, and Project Management
- The Guidelines and Rules That Make Us Efficient
- The Pros and Cons (and Pros) of Virtual Organizations
Online Events (Recommended Platforms):
- Zoom
- Hey Summit: Who also made this great guide specifically about transitioning your conference online.
Sanity and Coping
This is tough. Really tough.
Here are some resources for your most important resource: your mental health.
- Coping with COVID-19 Webinar Series (starts April 13)
- Ten Percent Happier Sanity Guide
- Stress Management Kit for grades 3-8
- Mental Wellness, Self-Care, and Marketing in a Pandemic
Free and Discounted Tools and Services
A lot of companies are offering free tools right now.
Here are some free resources for communication professionals that might be particularly useful.
- Sanebox Remote Work Bundle: this is a roundup of 18 premium productivity services that are deeply discounted. Participating services include Asana, Focus@Will, TextExpander, Twist, and more.
- Password1: First six months of password management free.
- Cloudflare for Teams: Secures company apps and employee web use, free for six months.
- LogMeIn Emergency Remote Work Kit: The kits include GoToMeeting, GoToWebinar, and LogMeIn (three months).
- Cisco: Free Webex services with no time restrictions (90 days).
- Google: Free G-Suite Enterprise until July.
- Wellspring Digital discounted website maintence and security fees plus free hosting through 2020.
Professional Development:
- Here is a great list of marketing courses and workshops.
- The PESO Model Certification (duh?)
- Moz Academy (through May 31)
- Global Alliance Training Programs (free during April)
- Coschedule Academy (some free and some paid resources)
- Udemy Free Courses
Assistance Programs
Resources for Communications Professionals
Your turn. What else should be included here?
(And make sure you bookmark this page. We will keep adding resources and tools as they become available and situations change.)
Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay