Bridgett Gutierrez presented on becoming "beyond reproach" and managing reputation. She discussed what it means to have a flawless image and reputation through consistency, transparency and building community trust. Examples were given of Dwayne Johnson and Hope West's positive and negative publicity. Types of crises were outlined along with tips for responding to bad reviews, controlling the narrative, and conducting media interviews. A 10-step crisis communications checklist was provided covering areas like holding statements, monitoring media, and reputation repair strategies.

1. Becoming
Beyond
Reproach
Presented by: Bridgett Gutierrez

2. Welcome Initiate
Conference
Attendees!

3. Today’s Topics
What does it mean to become “Beyond
Reproach”?
Types of negative publicity
Managing and repairing your reputation
Monitoring your online reputation
Tools, Systems & Processes

4. What does it
mean to
become
“Beyond
Reproach”?
Make your image a strategic priority ahead of time
• Blameless, flawless, above rebuke or shame
• Honest, reputable, ethical, pure, virtuous
• Demonstrate admirable qualities
Tell your brand story and build your community
Consistency across all platforms
Be the first to communicate
Ensure proper systems are in place for training and crisis
communications

5. Examples
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson
Positive Articles and News
• Family Man
• Hard Working
• Charitable
• One of the highest paid actors in Hollywood
• Down to Earth
• Buys family vehicles
• Make a wish foundation
• Takes kids for rides on set
• Gives extra time to his fans
Negative Articles and News
• Admitted Steroid Use in Wrestling
• Animal Rights Activist/Aquarium/crocodile wrestling
• Liposuction and plastic surgery

6. Examples
Hope West
Positive Articles and News
• Above & Beyond – The Club – Senior
Loneliness
• Well connected to the community – CMU,
Mind Springs, Crossroads Fitness, VA
• Helps youth as well as seniors
• CEO – Christy Whitney communicates the
company vision directly to the public
• 87 FB reviews score a 4.8 out of 5
• Renovation – Center for Living your Best
Negative Articles and News
• Couple upset reviews regarding employee
comments or doctor care

7. Tell Your
Brand Story –
Build your
Community
What are your corporate values?
What are admirable qualities you want your company to be known for?
Is there a personal story of triumph over conflict that should be shared?
Does you brand/company solve a conflict or improve the status quo?
What is the key benefit of your brand/company/service?
Who is the hero in your story?
Relate on a personal level that is authentic. Make people interested in
your story.
Be consistent . . . releasing content that reinforces your brand story and
values and engages your community.

8. Types of
Negative
Publicity
Online Bloggers, YouTube and Review Sites
• Facebook, Google my Business, Reddit, Yelp (Google
Maps), Yahoo Local, Angie’s List, Trip Advisor, etc.
Stats about online reviews for 2020
• 92% of people are more likely to buy after reading a
positive review
• 85% of consumers read local reviews
• 91% of consumers ages 18-34 trust online reviews
• Speigel Research Center reported the likelihood of a
product being purchased increased 270% after receiving
five reviews
• 38% of people never leave reviews
• 44.7% of women say customer reviews are the biggest
influence when making a brand decision
(Search Engine Journal, Jan. 2020, Bright Local
Survey Aug, 2019)

9. Bad Reviews
• Show empathy
• Apologize, don’t make excuses
• Offer a solution
• Give them an opportunity to
contact you directly
• Take the conversation offline
• Keep it brief
• Flag fake reviews with Google
• Implement a program to
request positive reviews

10. Review
Response
Blunders.

13. Amy’s Baking Company Has a
Meltdown on Gordon Ramsey Show
Viewed by 3.34 million people in April,
2014
Poorly responded via social media
Went out of business in September,
2015

14. Types of
Negative
Publicity
Mistakes or customer service issues
Poor Decisions, Bad Campaigns
Security Breaches
Organizational Criminal Behavior
Unavoidable Political Issues Due to the Nature of the Organization
Negative Associations
Employee Behavior
Unavoidable Emergency Situations

15. Something Big
Happened.
Now What?

16. Managing and Repairing
Your Reputation
Wait - Don’t Panic
• Is this something that warrants a
response?
• Are we guilty?
• Will this blow over easily?
• Remember who you are. Make a
plan based on your core values and
brand story.

17. Managing and Repairing
Your Reputation
How big of a crisis is this?
• Will this issue critically affect my
company’s workflow or upset the
board?
• Will our bottom line be disrupted?
• Will brand reputation be damaged -
stakeholders, customers, prospects,
industry?

18. Managing and Repairing
Your Reputation
If you can, be the first to communicate
• Expose internal mistakes and take
ownership
• Prevent rumors with immediate
facts
• Control the conversation
• Address all aspects of the situation

19. Rules of
Engagement
• Never engage in an online argument.
• Do not pretend people aren’t talking.
• Apologize if appropriate and be transparent.
• Take the conversation offline, provide an
easy contact number and reach out directly.
• Be brave and confront issues directly at the
source when possible.
• Own any and all mistakes, learn from them
and take immediate action.
• Show the public that you have taken action
and put processes in place to avoid future
discrepancies
• Be patient.
• Be consistent with your core values and
brand story.

20. Starbucks Coffee
2018 - Viral Video Showing Arrest of
Two Customers
https://youtu.be/-YPZ2FhVFGA
Starbucks was accused of racial profiling
causing online backlash. Over 9 million
views, public outcry and in-store
protests.
#boycottstarbucks

21. Starbucks Coffee
• Initially avoided conversations to get the plan together
• CEO met with the mayor quickly
• The video does not represent our mission and values
• You should expect more from us
• Scheduled a meeting with the two men who were arrested
• Removed the manager and announced that he was no longer associated with the company
• Admitted their mistakes as a company publicly
• Conducted diversity training
• Closed stores nationwide to ensure all employees attended diversity sensitivity training
• Changed their policy on public bathroom use and released additional press
• Used the training as a way to share positive media about the company’s proactive policies.

22. How to control the
conversation.
• Be brave. If possible, reach out to have
inaccurate/slanderous info removed
• Offer to repair the situation
• Never threaten to sue
• If necessary, take legal action
• Is it slanderous or false?
• Was there criminal activity involved?
• Prepare talking points that reinforce the
brand’s core values.

23. How to control the
conversation.
• Release press releases quickly both to
media contacts and through an online
PR distribution service.
• Increase Google Links to Your
Accurate News Story
• Control what people find in search
• Create an easy to share link for local
media use
• Share on social media
• Create a blog/news section on your
website in advance, host your own news
and updates

24. How to ensure a successful
interview with the media.
• Provide them with a copy of your talking
points and highlight key messages.
• Steer the interview to include your key
message.
• Repeat the question with your answer.
• Define, do not defend, what you do.
• Correct false information and
assumptions.
• Ask if you can do a retake of a statement.

25. How to ensure a successful
interview with the media.
• Do not speculate, guess or
speak for someone else.
• Do not repeat negatives.
• Do not speak “off the record.”
• Do not be afraid to say, “let me
get back to you.”
• Do not say something you are
not willing to be quoted about.
• Never say “No Comment.”

26. How to ensure a successful
interview with the media.
•As appropriate, smile (slightly
more than feels comfortable)
•Pause before answering
•Look at the reporter, not the
camera.
•Speak slowly and enunciate.
•Demonstrate something.
•Keep hand gestures to a
minimum.
•Wear dark clothes.

27. But we have A LOT of news…

28. 10 step Crisis
Communications
Checklist

29. Crisis Checklist for Emergency Situations
Create Contact
List
Create and keep an updated contact list so all employees know how to easily notify the crisis
team.
Employ and train Employ and train a crisis management team who is responsible for all public media contact.
Instruct other employees to refer questions to the crisis team.
Internal
Communications
Have multiple communication systems in place to notify internal stakeholders and employees. Do
not let the media be the one to tell them. Email, Text, Phone, Private Social Groups, Website Login
Areas, Message Boards, Meetings.

30. Crisis Checklist for Emergency Situations
Holding
statements must
include
Prepare Holding
Statement
These are typically generic, preapproved statements with fill-in-the blank areas to
input basic facts of the incident. Released within 60 minutes of an incident,
these statements hold off further media conversations until more information is
available.
Empathy, action, reassurance, available details, when and where to get
additional information.

31. Example of a holding statement
“We are deeply saddened to confirm that two of our colleagues were injured in a
fire at our office in Reading earlier this morning. They are both currently
receiving medical treatment. We are in contact with their families and are doing
everything we can to support them at this difficult time.
“As this has just happened, the cause of the incident is not yet known. However,
an investigation has been launched and we are cooperating with the relevant
authorities.
“This is the first time anything like this has happened in our 30-year history, and
we have always prided ourselves on our excellent safety record. We will be
reviewing our procedures and will put in place any recommendations from the
authorities to ensure this does not happen again
“We aim to provide a further update about this incident on our website and
social media channels at 2 p.m.”

32. Crisis Checklist for Emergency Situations
Monitor Media Pay attention to the conversation and log important details. Utilize online monitoring tools if
necessary. Respond to online media conversations with empathy and facts.
Gather your
community
Create a contact list in advance of trusted media partners, community allies, and organizational
connections that will support and help distribute your story.
Prepare a Q&A
list
Ensure the crisis communications team prepares a potential question and answer list to be
prepared for public conversations. This should be prepared quickly along with the list of talking
points.

33. Crisis Checklist for Emergency Situations
Review Evaluate your effectiveness and fix communication gaps.
Fix What You Can Take all necessary, reasonable action to repair your reputation and continually update the public about
your actions.
Employ your
digital team
Make sure someone on your team is qualified to post updates on your website, distribute preapproved
press releases online, send emails updates, manage social media accounts, and respond using provided
Q&A documents and brand value statements.

34. Communications
Chart
Types of communications – Establish a list
of common communication types,
distinguish between emergencies vs.
standard updates and demonstrate a clear
process for each category of “NEWS.”
Stake Holders – Clarify who should be
notified with each category of news., i.e.
employees, clients, Board of Directors,
regulators, investors, suppliers, parents,
nearby neighbors

35. Communications
Chart
Communication tools appropriate for each stakeholder
group – List which tools are appropriate for each
stakeholder group. i.e. employee hotline, website,
notification systems, company emails, Facebook/Twitter,
client emails, phone calls, SMS system, other
communications apps. Make sure each group has
multiple, tested ways to receive information.
List of responsible communicators – List of contacts and
specific people in charge of different communications
outlets and/or levels of communication types.

36. Examples for Reference

37. Examples for Reference

39. Then What?

40. Reputation Repair
• Positive Stories
• Social Media Strategy
• Aggressive Content Marketing
• Reinforce core values and brand
story
• Engage your community
• SEO Strategy
• Keep Listening

41. Is it a Good
Story?
Is it timely?
Is it interesting to any of your community
stakeholders or intended groups?
Does it involve people?
Does it showcase your brand and values?
Does it include a good visual?

42. Content
Marketing
Tips -
”Snack Size” your content
Utilize various media tools, i.e. photos, video, blog, multiple social media
platforms, PR wires, earned media and paid search, if necessary, to bury
negative content.
Create a calendar in advance.
Connect content to your audience through storytelling.
Become a thought leader in your industry.
Engaging with audience consistently.

43. Complete
important
SEO steps -
Claim public profiles and directories
Comment publicly in news, forums
and social media
Create links between your profiles
and websites
Combat negative keywords with
counter stories

44. Online
Monitoring
Tools -
MOZ Local
Reputology
YEXT
Ziggy
Rannko
Review Trackers

45. Online
Monitoring
Tools -
Google Alerts – keyword notifications, company notifications via
email
Hootsuite – Social content management, scheduling and listening
Buzzumo – Influencer watch, social listening, backlinks tracking,
video/YouTube monitoring
Tweet Deck – Twitter listening
Mention – Team management, reporting, scheduling, listening
Birdeye – Listening and review watch
Meltwater – Programmed reports and analyzing all web content

46. What apps are you using
today and why?

47. Team Communications
Apps/Tools
• Slack
• Hangouts Chat
• Rocket
• Chanty
• ProofHub
• Chanty
• Fleep

48. Questions?

49. Thank You!!