TOP 10 Myths in senior reputation management
Simplistic and incorrect decisions can often seem inspired by genius to those who do not seek to understand complex things and prefer to direct their vital energy towards less burdensome matters. Reputation management (PR in common terms) is one area where, as in politics and football, almost everyone considers themselves an expert. This is espe- cially true among the top managers and owners of companies who, due to their status, are sometimes involved in various social or political ac- tivities. This leads to a prevalence of myths and illusions that can cause a lot of pain to the PR teams of business entities and prevents them from building functional management mechanisms focused on long-term re- sults. The most common myths are as follows.
1. Systems and strategy are boring old-school
At times of rapid change in the social landscape it is tempting to act quickly and pull no punches in business management. This is a view held by Ukrainian companies of all sizes (from large corporations all the way down to small businesses). However, it leads to inconclusive brainstorming and PR strategies written only for show (which set teeth on edge), a belief that rapid digi- tization means everything should be done in real time and that planning is futile, and a widespread and cynical aversion to do- ing something difficult for the ‘primitive and stupid’ public.
In contrast, with their long and illustrious history, experienced and truly international corporations (not those pretending to be internation- al), continue to compare and scale global strategies and deploy various communication channels and tools – they deploy creative moves along- side their daily activities, not instead of them. The effectiveness of this differs between organisations, but all of them do it. Old-school must not be neglected. After all, some consider that a classical British education is old-school, but this is an opinion of little interest to leading British universities.
2. Everything in PR is digital
No sane person would think to downplay the importance of digital technologies and their usefulness in reputation management. The mass media have long been using the posts of opinion leaders from social net- works and, more recently, Telegram channels, as sources of information. It is very convenient to receive feedback and conduct promotions in a digital format, but this in no way negates real-world engagement – event communication, ambient media etc. Also noteworthy is the questionable ethics of many digital tools utilised for the purposes of reputation man- agement.
3. Hype is the king
Hype in reputation management is considered by many to be synon- ymous with a godsend or an extremely cunning fraud due to the belief that hype equates to free visibility. However, experience shows that you also need to know how to hype or the effect will be akin to a vagabond who has won the lottery. You still need the same boring and procedural reputation management system to take advantage of the opportunity that a well-timed decision to surf a trend or a viral meme provide. A calculating mind and flawless execution of business processes remain essential. If ignored, then a promising flash of opportunity will only be a flash in the pan.
4. Opinion leaders will support us as their consciences dictate
Brands’ courting of experts and influencers is gaining momentum. Most objects of media courting are always in demand, and experts reach micro-influencers. But both opinion leaders with millions of audiences and niche bloggers already know their worth and have their own ‘edito- rial policy’. You can count on their altruism only if you are fighting for a really important idea or have a pre-existing relationship.
5. UGC (User Generated Content) replaces signal acceleration and eliminates expenditure on creativity
While companies might seek to crowdsource UGC through the use of competitions etc., the content makers with the very best ideas might not be willing to share them. Instead, the most talented creators of qual- ity content prefer to sell it rather than donate it to companies. Conse- quently, the ideas obtained via crowdsourcing might be unfeasible or require exquisite workmanship to make suitable. A spontaneous and free mass demonstration of love for a brand might be desirable, but is impossible, not least because it draws not only fans, but haters and bots from competitors’ bot farms.
6. Telegram channel is our main corporate mass media
Show politics and audience democracy are realities of the modern world which is why the upper echelons of Ukrainian society are enter- tained by insights from anonymous Telegram channels. The success of these, as well as the fact that effective tourist and educational Telegram projects are ongoing, makes many think they must do the same, whether for personal PR or business promotion. However, not everyone consid- ers the audience of this communication channel and which industries and business models it is useful for. In fact, a physical information stand would be more useful than Telegram in many companies.
7. Internal communications are needed to continuously encourage employees
Nowadays, almost all company decision-makers understand that internal communications should be practised. However, few of them understand how and what for. Many just blindly copy the engagement activities implemented for staff in rich multinational companies while failing to recognise that the primary themes of internal communications pertain to material remuneration and working conditions. Of course, you can try to appease the anger of those who are starving with cakes, but it may lead to a revolutionary situation.
8. One full-time PR professional can do everything
Lean management (economizing) is experiencing a renaissance in these straitened times. The most progressive companies dealt with this concept 15-20 years ago by separating the wheat from the chaff, and moved on. Others are discovering it for themselves now and see it as a method not just of optimization but of achieving total savings. With regard to the PR department, this results in the transfer of all responsi- bility to one worthy in-house specialist (who can only outsource individ- ual projects at minimal cost) or several low-skilled specialists at an even cheaper price. So, as Zhvanetskyi wrote, “You might as well not pay if you are not interested in the result.”
9. Tender – the best way to choose an outsourcing agency
Putting anti-crisis PR out to tender is the apotheosis of stupidity. Even the phrase ‘anti-crisis PR’ is an oxymoron. Revealing to the whole market that you are in crisis is foolish to say the least. Other character- istics of a poor tendering strategy include:
- a tender committee consisting of 90% non-PR people;
- a tender offer evaluation system where the price offered by the sup- plier determines 80 points out of 100 possible;
- a mechanism that allows participants to tender down to near-zero cost with impunity while knowing that they cannot provide the ser- vice at such a price
And, of course, the very purpose of the tender must also be thought through. Very often, the most complex and important in-scope aspects of the task being put out to tender are actually executed by the com- pany itself, and the service provider becomes a middleman dealing with other aspects such as promotional activities that are unrelated to PR. Thus, the client company ends up hammering nails with a microscope. To avoid this, senior management is highly recommended not to utilise a tender process unless doing so will definitely bring tangible benefits to the business.
10. An SRC (spiritually rich company) always wins
Some time ago, the glamorous media suggested that eligible bach- elors were more likely to be interested in an SRG (a spiritually rich girl with education and interests) than in an otherwise ordinary young lady who looks like a model. The current situation in the business community is similar to this. For some reason, many corporations believe that their stakeholders are genuinely concerned with the problems of ecology, mi- norities, spatial organisation and other progressive trends of the day and that they are ready to give up their material interests and convenience in the name of these principles. Most of the time, life proves the opposite. If the huge pillows bought in an eco-conscious store can only be put in an expensive eco-bag, the potential buyer might leave without buying a pillow, and the company will not make any profit.
Instead of a summary…
Of course, outside of fairy tales, there is no such thing as a free lunch. Any result in reputation management is achieved using company resources in one form or another. Even if money is not spent, the time and energy of both senior and rank-and-file employees is still expended. Therefore, the actual cost of “no-budget” PR projects can often be ex- tremely high regardless of what anyone says.
Reputation ACTIVists, 2020