The Public Relations Blog

Are they worth their weight?

Earned media coverage is one of the best ways to share your company’s story. Marketers and business leaders talk about wanting earned media coverage in "top-tier" news media outlets. But how do they define top-tier media versus not-top-tier media? Is there a public relations or journalism industry standard for top-tier?

Companies have news that consumers aren’t going to like

Not all news a company shares will be perceived as positive or beneficial to the target audiences. Consumers will consider some news, such as closing a location, laying off employees, discontinuing a product, a supply chain or shipping delay, or increased prices, to be bad news. This type of news happens at times. So, when’s the best time to announce “bad” news? 

Responding to a negative news story and its consequences

Gaining news coverage for your company, yourself, or a member of your executive team is a key aspect of public relations. However, what happens when a news article is published and your company or an executive is presented in a less-than-favorable light? What is your company’s best response to the situation? Do you respond or let it be? And why? 

A news article was published about your company, which included misleading information, factual errors, innuendos, and even half-truths. This leads to a crisis for your company, especially in the court of public opinion. 

Your company has several options to handle this crisis: ignore it, create some FAQs to correct the errors, hold a news conference, or issue a video statement during a crisis. 

Handling that first negative online article 

As much as you believe your company won’t be affected by negative articles and reviews ranking in an online search, at some point, it will happen – and it can have a serious impact on your company. 

There are many places where consumers can leave negative reviews that can rank on page one when a prospective consumer uses Google to search for your company. That first negative review or even a new negative review can leave you and your company reeling and unsure of your next steps. It is important to understand how your company’s online reputation can change with a negative review. 

Wikipedia articles are edited by volunteer contributors and are meant to have a neutral point of view. There are companies that hire public relations (PR) professionals to edit Wikipedia pages and ethical ways to make changes to a Wikipedia article. 

According to Wikipedia, conflict-of-interest (which they refer to as COI) editing on Wikipedia occurs when editors use Wikipedia to boost or strengthen their specific interests, roles, or relationships. The type of COI editing that causes most problems or raises the red flag on Wikipedia is paid editing for PR purposes.

Reporters write and report on stories about people and companies every day. While most articles are neutral, some articles portray an individual or company positively, and some cast the company and/or its executives in a negative light. When a negative article surfaces, at what point might you decide to file a lawsuit against a news outlet or reporter?

Libel and slander are two terms often used interchangeably to express journalism that is harmful to an individual or organization. However, they are not the same. In some instances, statements made against you or your company could be considered libel or slander. What’s the difference? 

Wikipedia can be a blessing for many people as they seek information and conduct research. It can also be a frustration for organizations and companies who need to ensure their content is accurate. 

Many companies ask their PR firm to write Wikipedia articles on their behalf. We have even heard (and seen) that some companies hire PR professionals to edit Wikipedia pages to delete negative information and make the company look better than it is. This is not an ethical practice.

Here are several steps PR and HR professionals can take to ethically ensure your company is updating your company’s Wikipedia page. 

Keep your brand strong by avoiding these mistakes

Building a strong, positive reputation for your company is important and takes time. Creating a well-known, recognizable brand doesn’t happen overnight. Surprisingly, most companies don’t know how to manage their PR, so they make mistakes, which leads to a weak or negative reputation. That’s what you and your company want to avoid.

It’s time to put the public back into public relations. Public relations is much more than media relations. It’s also social and web media. One of the more notable ways – especially in the eyes of the executive team, founders, and even employees – to share your company is celebrating your company’s anniversary milestone.

We aren’t talking about your third anniversary or 27th anniversary. Many companies make it to an initial milestone anniversary, and if you celebrate it, then you must find different ways to highlight you, your executive team, and your company and its accomplishments. Take it one step further and find ways to uniquely include the media, community, etc. When celebrating your company’s anniversary, don’t forget about employees, the community, vendors, suppliers, strategic partners, deserving nonprofit organizations that are strategically aligned with your industry, or products and services.