When the average person thinks about public relations, it’s more than likely that they’re thinking of the reactionary aspect. Someone has done something bad, that hits the newsstands, and before they know it, they’re in front of a dozen microphones telling everyone that they did not do the thing they’re said to have done. Or nowadays, they’re making a Notes app apology that likely doesn’t actually have the word “Sorry” in it. That’s what the public sees: reactionary reputation management. But there is a whole other side to reputation management: the proactive element.
But what does the proactive side of reputation management entail? And why should your business get involved with proactive reputation management? Take a look at our guide to understand why proactive reputation management is the protection that every business needs.
Why be proactive?
Proactive reputation management is like insurance: wouldn’t you rather have it and not need it, rather than needing it and finding out you need it. It means taking steps early in your business venture to cultivate a brand reputation that puts your best foot forward and will therefore allow you a little benefit of the doubt when problems arise. But these steps have to be taken long before any reputational risks start to present themselves.
Other than the invaluable benefit of the doubt that will be afforded to you if a problem were to come out, there are a lot of benefits to being proactive about your reputation management. It’ll be significantly cheaper down the line, easier, and it’ll save you a lot of grief as it will be far simpler to build a good brand reputation more than repairing a broken reputation. Plus, early in your business venture, you’re likely to have no reputation, and in a world where people fear the worst, that can be as bad as a bad reputation. People assume you’re underdeveloped, untrustworthy, or simply unprofessional. Proactive reputation management can help with that.
In turn, a brand with an overwhelmingly positive reputation will see higher trust, increased profits, better talent asking to work with you, less risk of future reputational damage, and a gentler touch from the wider world if a scandal were to occur.
So, what does proactive reputation management entail?
A review of the business
Like an artist at the easel, it’s hard to see the flaws of all your work from so close. But you can’t exactly walk away from your business and come back, so it’s important to get a professional in to take a look at your business. They can spot the areas in your business that might look bad to an outsider, like the public or press, and advise you on steps to avoid risk in the future.
A crisis management plan
The other half of the review of your business is to then take steps to avoid risk. A professional team should be hired to put together a reputation management strategy for various scenarios, should the worst happen. It’s not something business owners want to think about, which is just the first reason that it should be outsourced to professionals.
Crisis management plans will give a blueprint for how to react in a variety of circumstances depending on the situation and should be followed to the letter to ensure a positive outcome.
Creating positive content
Creating positive content is less about risk aversion than it is cultivating a reputation. As mentioned, a lack of content could come off as suspicious to users, and they will fill in the blanks with a negative reputation, which is why creating content isn’t just about what you put on social media. It’s about creating a full and informed Wikipedia page, rising in SEO so that your name is one of the first in a Google search, and monitoring your social media to ensure that your content is going down the way it is designed to.
On the other hand, what you post on social media is definitely a factor of this. Social media is a great tool to cultivate a reputation. It can allow you to show a side of your business people don’t see without it. The team you have, the environment you share, the business operations, the priorities of the business, and the culture of your workplace.
Ensure compliance across the company
One of the areas that a reputational management firm might look at when reviewing your business is compliance. As the public is permitted a more intimate look at the team and business operations, and are dually becoming more informed about the issues that bother them, businesses are under the spotlight to ensure ethical work environments, products and services.
Your review will include compliance in the company, whether that’s worker’s rights, diversification, and inclusion in the workplace, or sustainable or green product development in the age of global warming.
