ACT QUICKLY SO YOU CAN SHAPE THE MESSAGE ABOUT KEY ISSUES

Planned Parenthood has honed a rapid-response strategy to shape the conversation and advise supporters when controversy strikes.

For example, when news broke in January that Susan G. Komen for the Cure had decided to end grants to Planned Parenthood for breast-cancer screenings, the group quickly sent supporters a link to an Associated Press article about the decision, using Twitter, Facebook, and e-mail.

Planned Parenthood also posted a statement on its Web site and created and promoted a Breast Health Emergency Fund to replace the money usually provided by Komen. The resulting uproar prompted Komen to reverse its decision.

Shortly after that controversy subsided, Rep. Darrell Issa, a California Republican, chaired a hearing on an Obama administration policy designed to ensure that women can get health-insurance coverage for contraception even if their employers object on religious grounds.

A Planned Parenthood staff member who attended the hearing took a photo on his smartphone showing five men at the witness table. He sent it to colleagues, who immediately posted it on Facebook and Twitter, asking “What’s wrong with this picture?” The Facebook photo was shared more than 20,000 times and attracted more than 10,000 comments, and the all-male panel was the subject of many news reports.