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Top Online Reputation Trends for 2019

Posted on: 01.05.19 By: admin Posted in: DavidPRBlog

After a year that saw a slew of epic social media fails, like an Elon Musk tweet leading to a set of $20 million fines and numerous folks losing jobs over offensive posts, I can say with certainty that 2019 will offer a new batch of colorful online problems. Some of the old pitfalls remain, but there’s also hope as we learn to better manage our online lives – and hopefully be less judgmental of others. Here are five key online reputation trends for 2019.

Your job is watching you, but mainly if you screw up

While most employers truly don’t care what you do in your off hours, what you say on personal social media accounts can still get you in hot water and even fired. For example, last month Green Bay Packers Associate Head Coach Winston Moss posted on Twitter that the team needs to hold star quarterback Aaron Rodgers accountable for the team’s poor play. Moss was quickly fired. Lesson: Don’t publicly bash your organization’s most high-profile employee. Sure, we have freedom of speech in America, but you don’t get to say whatever you want with impunity. I’m not an employment lawyer so I can’t get into the finer points of what constitutes a legally fire-able offense, but I know that in some states an employer doesn’t need a reason to terminate you. My advice is that it’s best to keep controversial opinions to yourself, and don’t say anything on social media that you wouldn’t be comfortable saying in your company break room among all of your co-workers.Read More

Holiday Tips to Protect Your Online Reputation

Posted on: 12.09.18 By: admin Posted in: DavidPRBlog

As we close out the year, many of us will attend office-sponsored holiday parties and fun gatherings with friends and neighbors. Risks for online problems have never been greater as 2018 was marked by a rise in people losing their jobs due to negative social media posts and all manners of online reputation problems.

A few key tips for holiday party season:

More cameras than ever

Each year, it becomes easier for holiday party misdeeds to be captured digitally. The global digital surveillance market is projected to grow by more than 9% per year, and this year Amazon bought video doorbell company Ring for a purported $1 billion. More cameras are coming. According to Pew Research Center, more than three quarters (77%) of U.S. adults own a smartphone. That means that three out of four folks at your party have a camera – and many are not afraid to use it. So when you are thinking about having that extra glass of wine,imagine that nearly every adult can take your photo in an instant. Be on your best behavior. And when you are at a gathering with coworkers, don’t complain – about anything. If you are not having fun, power through it and leave early. Don’t over-imbibe,over-stay or over-talk because bad behavior can be memorialized online. Have a good time but as I tell my college-aged daughter: “Don’t do shots.”Read More

Can You Really Submit an Op-Ed Anonymously?

Posted on: 09.10.18 By: admin Posted in: DavidPRBlog

Events of last week struck me regarding the concept of anonymity these days. Like everyone else, I’m curious to learn the author of the now infamous New York Times anonymous op-ed. (Analysis from Slate and the BBC is fun to read.) I will let others jump into the mud pit to wrestle over whether the author is a patriot or a coward. I’m interested in how one actually remains anonymous in the digital age.

Word is that the op-ed author approached the Times through an intermediary, and his/her identity was confirmed by the paper. If you or I wanted to get sensitive or confidential information to an outlet like the Times, could we do it and remain anonymous?

You can go right to the media outlets for answers. The Times, Associated Press, Bloomberg, Forbes, NPR, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post and USA Today, among others, offer ways to send a confidential news tip. SecureDrop and old-fashioned postal mail are the most common, but here are a few options:Read More

No Reputation is a Bad Reputation

Posted on: 02.08.18 By: admin Posted in: DavidPRBlog

Some businesses do well operating “under the radar.” During my career I have met many executives who have purposely kept a low profile, avoiding publicity as they focus intently on their business and their market. The strategy sometimes makes sense when companies face large logistical and operational challenges that supersede public relations and marketing. Some executives also shy away from PR because they don’t want to draw the attention of potential competitors.

My experience is that this only works up to a point.

In recent weeks, I have encountered several companies that are facing significant online issues. One is a a great company that took flying beneath the radar to new extremes. The company has thousands of employees and multiple offices, appears to be very successful and yet has almost no online presence.Read More

PR Lessons from 2017

Posted on: 12.22.17 By: admin Posted in: DavidPRBlog

The past 12 months have been fascinating in the world of public relations. We have a president who communicates off-the-cuff each morning to his more than 45 million Twitter followers, and for the first time in at least eight years, most of us can name the White House Press Secretary. Communications from the White House has never been more high profile. We also learned this year that no amount of PR wizardry or spin control can save executives, even at the highest levels, who are guilty of sexual misconduct. Here are a few main PR lessons from 2017, when perception and reputation ruled the day.

Words Matter

Each day, major news networks focus part of their daily coverage on what President Trump tweeted that morning. Whether you agree or disagree with him, he is showing that he can control part of the news cycle and that words still matter. Trump’s tweets have a huge impact on how he is perceived. His word choices and tone are interpreted by both his supporters and detractors, and he often makes mistakes that cost him on the perception front. He recently “called-back” a tweet, claiming it was instead written by his lawyer. Again, it doesn’t matter what side you are on, but even in this age where visuals and short videos dominate, words still matter.Read More

Trump Administration Sets PR Back Years

Posted on: 05.18.17 By: admin Posted in: DavidPRBlog

Since the election, I have discussed President Donald Trump’s communications style and practices with dozens of people, from fellow public relations and communications pros to friends and family members. While I don’t want to get into specifics about his foreign and domestic policies, I am comfortable discussing how Trump’s communications practices have the potential to set back the PR profession years.

Sure, my profession doesn’t itself have the greatest reputation. I have been called a flack, a spin doctor and probably worse (actually, I know there’s worse), but I believe the example being set in Washington for the future of public relations is more damaging than mere name calling.Read More

Do you Resolve to Write a Business Book?

Posted on: 01.12.17 By: admin Posted in: DavidPRBlog

It might surprise you to learn that when I tell people I published a business book, the first question I’m most frequently asked is not “What is the book about?” or “Why did you write it?” Instead, it’s “Did you self-publish?” When I tell them that my book was published by a traditional publisher that paid me to write it, I generally get an “Oh, really?” with an eyebrow raise—and then we almost immediately jump to a “How did you do that?” conversation.

It’s interesting to me that the assumption is that I self-published, and I think this has as much to do with an overriding belief that self-publishing is the path of least resistance and also that securing a publishing contract is impossible.

I’m here to tell you that getting a traditional publishing deal to write a business book is absolutely possible, and I’m not diminishing self-publishing in the least.Read More

Time for PR to Take Back Reputation Management

Posted on: 12.02.16 By: admin Posted in: DavidPRBlog

As an old-school public relations consultant, I remember the days when “reputation management” was strictly a PR term. We learned about it in our college courses and included it on our websites as a practice area. But then sometime in the past few years, reputation management was stolen from us by the search engine optimization world. Today, when you mention reputation management, most people equate it with “online” reputation management and the act of trying to manipulate search results by pushing down, burying or suppressing negative content and links.

If you don’t believe me, ask Wikipedia (cue groans.) I know that our profession has an “it’s complicated” relationship with Wikipedia, but millions of people use it each day, and here’s what it says about reputation management:

Reputation management refers to influencing and controlling an individual’s or business’s reputation. Originally a public relations term, the expansion of the internet and social media, along with reputation management companies, have made it primarily an issue of search results.

Ouch, right?Read More

Visibility Marketing Book Helps Fix Messaging that “Probably Sucks”

Posted on: 07.20.16 By: admin Posted in: DavidPRBlog

Here’s a news flash from well-known speaker and author David Avrin: Your marketing probably sucks. Ouch, right? In his latest book, Visibility Marketing, Avrin pulls no punches after years of consulting with companies about messaging and marketing. He concludes that most companies are using the same, competency-based messages – which may have worked in the past but don’t work now.

What led him to this? I sat down with Avrin to find out, and in between grins and laughter, I learned a ton. According to Avrin, whose book launches this week, the marketplace is populated with great companies that are smart, strong, lean and good at what they do. It’s no longer effective to suggest that your company is simply better than your competitors because 1) it’s probably not true and 2) the marketplace is fed-up with hearing the same trite messages over and over again.Read More

How to Measure Reputation

Posted on: 07.13.16 By: admin Posted in: DavidPRBlog

Harris Reputation Quotient attributes

Measurement in the world of public relations has always been an ethereal concept. Putting a value on media coverage or social media awareness remains a bit of a Holy Grail. How we measure reputation appears just as daunting to me, but it turns out that analysts at the Harris Poll have been studying this since 1999, gauging the reputations of the most visible companies in the U.S. through the eyes of the general public.

I spoke with Sarah Simmons who gave me a great rundown as the firm tracks many companies and compiles data each year for its poll. (Simmons works for Nielsen Holdings which purchased Harris Interactive in 2013.) While the companies at the top of the poll aren’t really a surprise – Amazon, Apple, Google, USAA, The Walt Disney Company (pre-alligator attack), Publix Super Markets, Samsung, Berkshire Hathaway, Johnson & Johnson and Kellogg Company – it’s interesting how the results are determined.Read More