When news breaks, everyone rushes to say something.
Brands also feel the compulsion to have a say, to maintain visibility and relevance. It doesn’t matter what the news is about; it may be a viral controversy, a political issue or a cultural milestone. It doesn’t even matter if the news item is related to the brand or not. There’s always that invisible pressure to be part of the conversation, such that being silent can seem like apathy.
In an age where one misjudged tweet can trigger a full-blown PR crisis, deciding when and how to comment on trending news is one of the trickiest parts of brand communication.
Here’s a reality check: not every trending topic is your brand’s business.
So how do you speak up, and when do you stay quiet?
Should You Give in to the Trend?
Trending moments are gold mines for engagement. Social algorithms love them, media outlets amplify them, and audiences engage with them in real time. That’s why “trendjacking” or “newsjacking,” the practice of injecting your brand into current events, has become a common PR strategy. Newsjacking can humanize your brand and earn organic visibility.
When Grab Philippines posted humorous but sensitive reminders about safe commuting during the typhoon season, it struck the right balance of relevance and responsibility, while being brand-aligned.
People remember when brands show concern, especially when their action causes no direct benefit to their business. But when done wrong, newsjacking can feel exploitative or tone-deaf.
In 2020, several brands worldwide were criticized for using the #BlackLivesMatter hashtag for marketing without addressing real social impact. Closer to home, local companies have occasionally jumped into political issues or celebrity controversies without considering brand fit — and the internet never forgets.
Here are some pointers on deciding when to speak up.
Step 1: Ask, “Is This Ours to Comment On?”
This is the first and most crucial filter. Before drafting that post, ask:
- Is this issue connected to our brand values or industry?
- Will our audience expect a response from us?
- Do we have authority, expertise, or a genuine stake in the topic?
- Will commenting on this issue bring value to our brand?
If your answers lean toward “no,” pause. Even with a “yes” for questions 1 to 3, answering “no” for question 4 should convince you to pause as well.
Audiences today are hyper-aware of insincerity. They can sense when brands are using social moments as marketing bait.
Relevance is your first safeguard against backlash.
Step 2: Align Tone and Timing
If you’ve decided that your brand should respond, the next questions are how and when, or more specifically, the tone and timing of your response.
Tone shapes perception. Timing determines impact.
- Tone
Your message should be consistent with your brand personality and grounded in empathy. When emotions are high, sarcasm and witty responses can come off as insensitive. Even humor, powerful as it is, demands restraint.
- Timing:
There’s a fine line between being present and being impulsive. Quick reactions often age badly when facts are still unfolding. Verify the story, understand the context, and speak only when you can add clarity or compassion, especially for sensitive issues like disasters, deaths, or legal cases.
In PR, being right is more important than being first.
Step 3: Craft a Response Framework
Before any crisis or trend arises, your team should have a response framework ready — a guide that defines:
- Who decides if the brand should comment, usually your PR head or communications director. A legal/compliance adviser can also be helpful to flag risks before posting.
- What topics are within the brand’s advocacy scope, e.g., sustainability, education, entrepreneurship.
- Tone and format for official responses (formal statement vs. social post vs. media release). This encompasses the channel strategy, deciding on which platforms the message should be released.
- Approval process before publishing, especially for brands with multiple social admins.
Having this system in place prevents knee-jerk reactions that cause more harm than silence ever would.
PR agencies often help clients create these frameworks because they’re skilled at balancing reputation management and real-time engagement, honed from dealing with countless media cycles of brands in various industry sectors.
Step 4: Use the “Three Rs” of Responsible Commentary
A simple test that many communication experts recommend is the Three Rs:
- Relevance – Does the issue connect to your mission or audience?
- Respect – Are you acknowledging, not exploiting, the situation?
- Readiness – Can your team handle the potential backlash or media questions?
If your message fails one of these, it might be best to stay out of the conversation or take a subtler route— like internal communication, staff briefings, or small-scale community engagements.
Step 5: Know When to Stay Silent
Silence is not weakness. It can be strategic. In fact, restraint often signals maturity.
A brand doesn’t have to weigh in on every viral moment, especially if the issue is divisive, irrelevant, or morally ambiguous.
The goal of PR is not to make noise, but to make meaning.
If your brand consistently communicates on topics that align with its core and stays quiet on those that don’t, audiences will learn to trust your judgment.
Step 6: Monitor Sentiment After Speaking Up
After posting, it’s essential to monitor sentiment and measure impact. Track mentions, shares, and media pickup. More importantly, are audiences agreeing, debating, or pushing back?
If the response is mixed, clarify your message through follow-up posts or interviews.
If it’s negative, act fast — retract, apologize, or explain your position transparently. Agility is key. An unaddressed backlash can spiral within hours, especially in the Philippine social media landscape.
This is where working with a PR agency pays off — they have monitoring tools, media relationships, and crisis management playbooks that help you control the narrative rather than chase it.
Step 7: Learn and Document
Every trending moment is a learning opportunity. After each one, conduct a short post-mortem review:
- What went right or wrong in the approval process?
- Did we release our message at the right time, or were we too late to respond?
- How did our message land—did it spark emotion, indifference, or backlash, and what does that say about our connection with our audience?
- Were there any missed engagement opportunities?
- What adjustments should be made next time? If we ran this again tomorrow, what one change would make the biggest difference?
Document these learnings in your communication manual. Over time, your brand develops a “muscle memory” for handling trending topics with intelligence and care.
How Does PR Help Navigate the Noise?
A skilled PR team doesn’t wait for chaos to hit before moving. They read the landscape, spot what’s coming, and guide the brand to respond with intent instead of impulse. They separate what’s newsworthy from what’s merely noisy, helping you engage only in conversations that reflect your brand’s real values.
More than anything, they bring perspective. In a country where social media turns every opinion into a headline. That outside lens keeps emotions, biases, and politics from hijacking your message. The result? When your brand speaks, it does so with clarity, empathy, and purpose—not as another voice in the crowd, but as one that actually matters.
The Bottom Line
In a world where everyone has something to say, silence or carefully chosen speech can be your most powerful PR strategy.
The brands that last aren’t the loudest; they’re the ones people trust when it matters most. So when the next hashtag takes over your feed and the pressure builds to “say something,” pause.
Ask the hard questions. Revisit your framework. Remember: not every story needs your brand, but every word you release defines your reputation.
Our PR experts can help you build a response framework that balances relevance with restraint.
Connect with us to craft messages that resonate, not react. Because in today’s fast-moving media world, knowing when not to speak can be your brand’s smartest move.