Insights for Leaders Navigating
Visibility, Credibility, and Growth.
From media strategy to reputation management, we explore the trends shaping public perception and share the approaches that drive measurable results for growing brands.
I can still hear my former professor repeating to the class, “Connections, connections, connections.” Though my classmates occasionally grew tired of this advice for starting a successful career, I certainly benefitted from the repetition. What I learned from my professor is that one of the most valuable tools when seeking and maintaining a career is, indeed, connections.
In the class, we discussed many social media sites, including LinkedIn due to its facilitation of professional connections. As an avid user of LinkedIn, I constantly receive email updates announcing various website enhancements. It has been particularly interesting and impressive to see the recent, increased attention LinkedIn directs toward enhancing features for companies using its networking capabilities. With a growing number of individuals and companies joining the website (there are currently more than 2 million listed companies and more than 100 million members), LinkedIn has improved its platform to focus on companies and boost their presence on its network.
In the past, LinkedIn had more focus on individuals and little reason for companies to pay much attention to their presence on the networking site. With new enhancements and features for companies, that has changed. It is therefore crucial for companies using LinkedIn to gain a good grasp on these enhancements so it is possible to optimize their profiles and improve visibility on LinkedIn. A few good tips on developing a stellar company profile can be found here.
LinkedIn is a unique service in the social media landscape and the recent enhancements herald user-friendly features seen on other websites such as Facebook and Twitter. In 2008 for example, LinkedIn introduced company profile pages to allow companies to provide relevant information about their organizations. In 2010, LinkedIn introduced a feature to “follow” these company pages. This is similar to how one could follow a company page on Facebook or a company’s Twitter account. To deepen the professional-to-company connections, LinkedIn recently introduced another feature that makes having a company profile even more valuable.
On Oct. 6, LinkedIn launched a feature called “Company Status Updates,” which provide a way for companies to become more engaged and connected with their communities of followers. LinkedIn outlines the benefits of the new feature this way:
“Company Status Updates are a powerful new way to engage directly with your followers. Influence consumer perceptions and purchase decisions by messaging followers across LinkedIn and the Internet. Post relevant updates, like company news, product promotions, videos, and industry articles. Amplify your brand message and benefit from follower engagement (likes, comments and shares), interactions that are virally distributed across a follower’s networks.”
For companies, this means they can tactfully share any important insights and news to their followers, who then may comment, like or share the status updates from their personal accounts. This new feature makes it easier for companies to communicate with their LinkedIn audiences about anything from job postings to new business achievements. Overall, these status updates allow companies to strengthen connections and gain visibility, as well as engage with customers, former employees, recruits, potential partners and others. Professionals already following companies on LinkedIn using the “follow” feature will begin receiving status and news updates from the company directly on their LinkedIn home pages. For more information on company profiles and status updates, go to LinkedIn’s learning center.
LinkedIn seems to be combining many of the best qualities of Facebook and Twitter to enhance its features for companies. It has employed these new social media features to help foster stronger connections, uphold transparency and gain visibility, while maintaining its own unique platform. The changes also showcase the benefits for companies that have a presence on LinkedIn.
LinkedIn would undoubtedly receive approval from my communications professor regarding these recent changes. They not only enhance the overall platform, but create an environment to foster connections for business professionals and now companies as well.
Katherine Turney
In the age-old tussle between public relations practitioners and the media, pitches take considerable heat. In fact, a blog is devoted to bad pitches.
Previously, I worked for a large organization in a small town. The local newspaper wanted story ideas – it just wouldn’t accept ideas that came directly from the organization’s communications office; the paper has an unofficial, though frequently cited, policy against publishing information that came from press releases. The organization, on the other hand, requires media to work with its communications office if it wants news.
Two conflicting needs arose: the newspaper wants “unique” news that no other outlet will receive; the organization wants to share its news with local audiences as well as in a larger geographical area. What was a PR practitioner to do? One strategy we incorporated was to “pitch” media through social media, a practice we found to be successful.
In general, PR practitioners may find media receptive to pitches through social media because inboxes may be flooded and social media is easier to wade through. In addition, reporters may be monitoring social media to stay on top of news.
“Though traditional media is sometimes still a more trusted source of information, I have found many journalists to be more accessible and attentive over social media than email or voicemail/phone,” says Corina Newby, a communications officer at Supernova in Toronto, Ont. “Social media is my go to for anything requiring me to quickly access key influencers, and initiate a viral spread of information.”
Here are a few tips.
- Establish relationships on Facebook and Twitter with the media. Follow them and engage with them, before you reach out to them with a pitch. Don’t let your social media relationships become a perpetual request to have the reporter do something for you. “I’ve used Twitter to introduce myself to editors that I didn’t know before Twitter, which then led to a soft email introduction, then to an actual face-to-face meeting,” says Mike Phillips of The Neo Com Group in Portland, Ore.
- Post thought-provoking, heart-tugging, sexy, timely or otherwise interesting content. (Here are a few tips on what makes a good story.) Not only does this capture the attention of media, but it also reaches your general social media audiences and takes your message further.
- Be succinct. The beauty in Twitter is that it requires people to keep messages brief. With Facebook, the tendency is to post longer messages simply because there is more space.
- Keep the content flowing continually. Have a plan for social media and stick to it, even during organizational transition.
- Don’t overtly call the media out when you post. If you’re creative enough or the news is captivating, they’ll notice. (Notice we started this list of tips out by listing “pitch” in parentheses – it’s because you need to engage in such a way that media don’t need to be flagged for the story because they’re already attuned to what you’re saying.)
- Avoid sending direct messages to media through any social media channel. Again, providing news and feature ideas through these channels is meant to intrigue them, not harass them in a way that makes them want to disengage.
- Be attentive. Follow your target media’s social media channels. Seek those opportunities to engage with them on their terms – be a resource for them when they ask a question or are looking for sources.
Not sure this strategy will work? Here are some successes:
- Jolene Miklas, director of communications at AnimalFriends in Pittsburgh, Pa., shared one of her successes. In June 2011, they conducted a large-scale cat rescue. “We knew the rescue would be expensive. We needed donations, and we needed to get the word out immediately,” she recalls. “Instead of sending a press release, I posted the story to our blog, Facebook, and Twitter. The story exploded and within hours we had TV, print and radio coverage.”
- Contstance Aguilar, a social media specialist and account manager for Abbi Public Relations in Reno, Nev., helps manage a tech client’s Twitter account. “It’s mostly for communication to fans and posting industry news and insights, but I did use it after the South By Southwest Conference to re-connect with a journalist at Entrepreneur Magazine,” she notes. “Through that initial connection, which was very in-depth and pertinent to the tech industry, which she covered and I was pitching, I was able to not only create a relationship that landed said client for an upcoming story in the magazine, but also set up two more clients for meeting with her, which resulted in a story that’s already been published.”
What are some of your successes or tips?
Related blogs:
- Check out Pop Culture PR Lessons for some tips on media strategies and relationship building.
- Are PR firms still great sources for media? Check out PR Firms and Media: A Symbiotic Relationship for some insight.
By now, we’re all aware of the benefits of social media. We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: Social media is a powerful tool to connect with your target audiences, increase brand recognition and convey key messages. If you’re strategic and willing to make the time and resource investment, you can build a social media following of loyal brand ambassadors. However, it’s important to remember that while social media gives us the power to share, for better or worse, it can also give us the inadvertent power to conjure a storm. This past month, I learned several lessons around just how powerful social media mobs can be.
You may have seen the various stories around a local Seattle bartender who received a most unwelcome tip after serving a patron. The customer left her with a big goose egg in gratuity and the message, “You could stand to lose a few pounds.” Naturally, the bartender was outraged and took to social media to air her grievances. Almost immediately, her social media following went on a manhunt to identify the customer and shame him into apologizing. The only problem was, her angry Facebook mob was unleashed on the wrong guy and the bartender immediately went from innocent victim to wrongful accuser. Clearly, this is yet another reminder to check your facts and check them again. But, it’s also a painful indication of what can happen when you underestimate the sheer power that social media can have.
In another event, one of my favorite bloggers, The Bloggess, had a rather unfortunate run in with a PR guy after she turned down an unsolicited and irrelevant pitch. The guy, who also turned out to be the vice president of the PR firm, inadvertently hit “reply all” when calling her names that I won’t dare repeat. In true Bloggess fashion, she turned to her large and loyal following and with one Tweet, the PR firm was publically shamed. In today’s social media-dominated world, private conversations can easily become public and one false move can be detrimental to your reputation.
Both of these scenarios clearly demonstrate how powerful social media mobs can be to support different causes, whether for good or bad. However, harnessing the power of social media comes with great responsibility. In these situations, the rise of both social media mobs were initiated by simple human error, a careless wrongful accusation and an unintentional “reply all.” While mistakes are bound to happen, it’s how we respond to them that matters. And at the end of the day, if someone really makes you mad, sleep on it before sharing it with the world. And while I think it’s best to refrain from sending scathing emails because you never know where they’ll get forwarded, if you have the unrelenting desire to send it anyway, triple check who you’re actually sending it to.
Monica Rodriguez
In the past we have written about the importance of body language, but the topic came to my attention again during the eighth Republican presidential debate, and the subsequent analysis of that debate, when Mitt Romney and Rick Perry got into a heated exchange.
Ann Gerhart with the Washington Post wrote a wonderful article about the situation and the implications of touching, asserting control and body language. Entitled, “Unwritten rules of debate: No hands,” it is an excellent reminder to those working to “win over” an audience.
After reading the article, I was again reminded how much body language conveys about emotion. Here are a few of the key reminders I took away from the article:
- Body language provides us with valuable insight into what a person is thinking or feeling. Consider Gerhart’s description of the situation in her article: “Peery had accused Romney of knowingly employing ‘illegals’ to trim his lawn, Romney was trying to respond, Perry kept talking, and Romney frustrated, reached over and laid his larger paw on the shoulder of the shorter man. Perry’s eyes blazed with anger; he jabbed his finger at Romney and continued talking.” If you have not seen this interaction, I’d encourage you to watch the clip and draw your own conclusions.
- Think carefully about your intentions – especially during emotionally-charged moments. What was Romney trying to do? In Gerhart’s article, Georgette Mosbacher asserts Romney was trying to calm Perry, while others interpret Romney’s move as one avowing dominance. We’ll never know for certain what Romney intended and I’d be willing to bet that the conflict escalated so fast that Romney himself wasn’t clear on this. Before taking action (verbal or physical), it’s probably best to pause and think about your intentions and whether your actions are going to help you achieve them.
- Listen to your coaches. In her article, Gerhart shares an example from a debate between Al Gore and George W. Bush. Against the advice of his coaches Gore invaded Bush’s personal space during one of their debates and it apparently backfired. Coaches are not always correct, but before one disregards their input, it probably makes sense to think long and hard about it and have a very good reason for taking the risk.
- Likeability is the name of the game. When you have two qualified candidates the one that typically gets the job is the one that is more likable. This is true in hiring, political arenas, and business development. And, even though journalists try to be impartial, likeability impacts how an individual is treated by the media.
The article contains many more interesting points, I highly recommend reading it, and the next time you’re working to win over an audience, please keep these tips in mind. In the dramatic moments of a personal attack, pause and take a deep breath, think about what you’re trying to achieve and respond carefully. Remember, if you escalate the situation (intentionally or not), it is likely to hurt your likability rating with your audience and likability is often the name of the game.
Amanda Knox was just a name I’d see periodically in the news. I knew this woman had been convicted of killing her British roommate while studying abroad in Italy. But then, an appeal of her conviction was raised and I started to pay attention. Something had changed – and whatever it was had grabbed my attention.
It turns out that this PR professional was won over by another PR team’s stellar campaign to showcase Amanda as an innocent, wrongly convicted woman. While one recent blog post noted that the media played a role in Knox’s conviction, it’s safe to say that due to this massive PR campaign, the media also contributed to the overturning of her conviction.
So what PR elements did the campaign implement so well?
Overcoming the She-Devil Reputation: Throughout the initial trial, Amanda was portrayed as the “angel-faced killer with ice cold eyes.” To combat this, a website was developed to show Amanda as a wholesome, kind-loving person, religious person. Without directly saying “she didn’t do it,” the site paints the picture that it would impossible for such a person to commit this heinous crime.
Character Testimonials: The website also contained character testimonials that challenge the perceptions painted by the Italian authorities. The PR team took it further and asked some of Amanda’s college friends to give interviews to testify about her character. This grass-roots approach was important because it reshaped the perception about Amanda and drew attention to the alleged framing that took place. This consistent messaging – in the forms of letters written on Amanda’s behalf, interviews with media and word-of-mouth in social circles – not only reinforce Amanda’s wholesome character, but also contributed toward raising of funds to cover the costly legal battle.
Myth Busting: The “evidence” on which the Italian prosecution based its claims contained serious flaws. The PR team painstakingly developed a thorough timeline and documented challenges to the claims, showcasing Amanda’s innocence. Media love drama and are attracted to in-depth analysis that builds the drama. They also love facts that help develop a full story. The campaign provided the tools to help media continue the drama of a “wrongly convicted American girl taking on the Italians.”
Reinforce Italy’s Reputation for Corrupt Government: According to the Heritage Foundation’s Index of Economic Freedom, corruption in Italy is a significant issue. This is a reputation that has been around for generations – long before “The Godfather” drew attention to an Italian crime family. The campaign addressed the prosecution’s intentional misleading of the press, the public and the court, which ultimately cast doubt on the prosecutor’s case.
Not all public perception battles turn out so well. (Read our previous blog on Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich and his failed approach to controlling the message.)
While the question of Amanda’s innocence may be discussed for years to come (as her conviction was overturned due to doubt about the DNA evidence), in the American court of public opinion she’s been exonerated.
What was your initial opinion about Amanda and this case, and did it change as this PR campaign moved forward?
Joni Kirk
I’ll admit it. When I drive the kids’ carpool or overhear interactions during “play dates,” there are times I feel conflicted. One child makes a subtle statement or comment that seems to take aim at another child’s perceived weakness. It is these subtle jabs that I struggle with – do I jump in or let the children figure it out on their own? If it were a blatant physical attack the course of action would be clear. However, sneaky mental shots can be extremely detrimental. I want my kids to be able to identify the behavior so they can avoid doing it themselves, avoid being hurt by it and learn how to respond without stooping to the same level.
As a business person I sometimes see these same behaviors when interacting with others. I recognize that learning to work effectively with a wide range of people is important for success. Likewise it is valuable to learn how to handle those mental jabs effectively without taking it personally or derailing you from your objectives. Given this, I am routinely looking for ways to improve how I respond to snarky comments and how to better counsel others when faced with challenging situations or individuals.
Recently a colleague referred me to a couple of books she read during a university course on conflict communications. One of those books was Nasty People: How to Stop Being Hurt by Them without Stooping to Their Level. While the title is definitely provocative, the reality is we have all run across someone at one time or another who was nasty or rude. Perhaps you walked away feeling badly about yourself or your management abilities. This book offers guidance for dealing with people that are “invalidators” – people “who feed on your self-esteem, mental anguish, and unhappiness.”
The book helped me put specific behaviors I observed in perspective and provided tips for how to deal with future situations more effectively. The examples in the book also helped me identify aspects of my own behavior that may be perceived as ineffective, or worse, nasty. One basic but helpful reminder from the book is, “when you criticize someone or point out a mistake or misdeed, are you doing it for that person’s own good or to hurt?” Ultimately we can only control our own behavior and how we choose to react. When faced with a conflict or someone that is rude or snarky, the author recommends that you try to understand the person’s intent as well as your own. This will help you determine how you choose to react, or not.
As for my kids and their interactions with their friends, I’m learning to let them manage those relationships, while also trying to help them identify how they feel during those situations, understand the other person’s underlying interests and intent so hopefully they too can avoid being hurt by invalidators they encounter and not become an invalidator themselves.