COMING OUT FROM THE SHADOWS MANAGING REPUTATION ONLINE & CIPR NORTHERN CONFERENCE, 2008

WHO ARE YOU & WHAT DO YOU WANT TO GET FROM THIS SESSION?

W HY?

1. PEOPLE ARE TALKING

2. TIGHT COMMUNITIES

3. INFLUENCE & REACH

4. DISCOVER WHAT PEOPLE REALLY THINK ABOUT YOU

“ Google is not a search engine, Google is a reputation management system” 5. YOUR NEW CORPORATE HOMEPAGE

CASE STUDY 1. The Good

+ =

“ I’m just a citizen, a consumer, a guy who has my own printing press – my weblog, Buzzmachine.com – and I get to use it however I want. In June, I used it to whine about the lemon of a computer Dell sold me and the customer service I didn’t get.” Jeff Jarvis, Guardian

“ The social media stuff is probably the most important we do today, from a marketing stand point. The other elements of marketing mix has sort of become more and more transactional and more and more tactical in nature. Social media stuff is much more strategic… “ Use social media to power the fundamental of the business. That’s what we’re focused on.” Andy Lark, Dell VP of Global Marketing & Communications

CASE STUDY 2. The Not So Good

STUDENT PROTESTS BACK IN VOGUE

We wanted to make the transition to paying interest smoother. This gets the message across that there is a cost to borrowing, and prepares graduates for the transition from student life to that of a young worker. “ ” HSBC

Like any service-orientated business we are not too big to listen to the needs of our customers. Following the feedback from our graduate account holders we have taken the decision to freeze interest charging on 2007 graduates' overdrafts. “ ” HSBC

CASE STUDY 3. The Plain Ugly

By mid-day, my website stats showed tens of thousands of hits on the videos and I was moving gigabytes of data every hour. I received calls from an Associated Press reporter and a day later, the NY Times, Daily News, a variety of bicycle and security trade magazines, a number of local New York talk radio stations, and smaller publications from across the country were all asking me for interviews. “ ” “

X 2

SOMETIMES IT’S THE LITTLE THINGS THAT COUNT

THOUGH SHALT: 1. Know Thy Space 2. Know Thy Stakeholders 3. Be Proactive 4. Be Authentic 5. Earn They Trust 6. Continually Listen (Monitor)

1. KNOW THY SPACE Understand your positioning in the online landscape Identify news media and conversational platforms that matter to you Determine the themes of discussion around your brand, product industry etc

Understand your positioning in the online landscape

Identify news media and conversational platforms that matter to you

Determine the themes of discussion around your brand, product industry etc

2. KNOW THY STAKEHOLDERS Identify the audiences that matter to you most Who they are Where they frequent What they like to discuss What makes them happy What makes them unhappy?

Identify the audiences that matter to you most

Who they are

Where they frequent

What they like to discuss

What makes them happy

What makes them unhappy?

3. BE PROACTIVE Start building your online reputation BEFORE a crisis (organisations with strong relations will suffer less in a crisis) Find your best conversationalists (not always senior management) PR needs to come out from the shadows. Daunting? Engage online Build online platforms Where would you rather the conversation happened?

Start building your online reputation BEFORE a crisis (organisations with strong relations will suffer less in a crisis)

Find your best conversationalists (not always senior management)

PR needs to come out from the shadows. Daunting?

Engage online

Build online platforms

Where would you rather the conversation happened?

4. BE AUTHENTIC Be yourself (marketing speak doesn’t work) “ It’s the old bar analogy innit?” Tell the truth (don’t lie ever!) Be altruistic (how can you add value?)

Be yourself (marketing speak doesn’t work)

“ It’s the old bar analogy innit?”

Tell the truth (don’t lie ever!)

Be altruistic (how can you add value?)

5. EARN THY TRUST Be patient (Years to build, seconds to destroy etc) Don’t be stupid. No, seriously, don’t be! Apply simple common sense

Be patient (Years to build, seconds to destroy etc)

Don’t be stupid. No, seriously, don’t be!

Apply simple common sense

6. CONTINUALLY LISTEN Set up a monitoring process Discover mentions about you in real-time Quash potential crises before they happen Gain continuous feedback and insights

Set up a monitoring process

Discover mentions about you in real-time

Quash potential crises before they happen

Gain continuous feedback and insights

100 million active Facebook members 100 million videos watched on YouTube ever day Too many blogs to mention Two thirds of UK households online Etc Etc Etc! Even though the stats are scary!

100 million active Facebook members

100 million videos watched on YouTube ever day

Too many blogs to mention

Two thirds of UK households online

Etc Etc Etc!

LUCKILY THERE ARE TOOLS

F REE

P AID FOR

F INALLY

S TRATEGY Research Define your current online situation State your Objectives Identify your publics and how you can HELP them Identify the tools you will use? Timescale (but you can’t put a timescale on relationships) Implementation Create a Crisis Communications Plan Evaluation (ongoing and at the end) Refine and repeat

Research

Define your current online situation

State your Objectives

Identify your publics and how you can HELP them

Identify the tools you will use?

Timescale (but you can’t put a timescale on relationships)

Implementation

Create a Crisis Communications Plan

Evaluation (ongoing and at the end)

Refine and repeat