All posts by Shannon M. Wilkinson

About Shannon M. Wilkinson

Shannon Wilkinson is the founder and CEO of Reputation Communications.

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Blake Lively smear campaign

If you’ve followed Hollywood news since the holidays, there’s one story that’s been pretty hard to escape — the bombshell report that actress Blake Lively (one-half of a power couple with movie star Ryan Reynolds) filed a lawsuit against co-star and director Justin Baldoni.

In the lawsuit, Lively accuses Baldoni and his PR team of orchestrating a smear campaign with the purpose of destroying her reputation. This all stems from Lively bringing up concerns of alleged harassment and misconduct on the set of their recent film, “It Ends With Us.”

It caused a media storm, complete with news articles and counter lawsuits from Baldoni. It paints a shocking picture of the tactics some PR and social media consultants will take to smear a person’s reputation. As one hired gun boasted in text messages revealed by Lively’s team, “You know we can bury anyone.”

This isn’t just news that applies to global celebrities. It should matter to you. At Reputation Communications, we have consulted on ways to repair the reputational damage that comes in the wake of aggressive smear campaigns:

•   A political smear campaign. Dozens of Twitter posts and social media videos from fake accounts were released online daily with the sole purpose of denigrating a powerful political donor’s reputation.

•   A defamation campaign. Fraudulent websites were created to mimic legitimate business sites, spreading harmful misinformation in the process. Fake social accounts published malicious and profane posts falsely attributed to the person who legitimately bore that name.

•   Doxxing a high-profile financial industry leader. This individual’s personal address was published online — including satellite photos of their home. Crowds were encouraged to go there and stage public protests. [These types of doxxing campaigns can happen after a company performs a mass layoff, putting the safety of executives, managers and their families at risk].

There are legal remedies here. But, keep in mind, it can take weeks or even months for them to be activated. In that time, malicious actors can continue these destructive smears.

We’ve seen it all.

We’ve consulted with people who have been the victims of baseless lawsuits that have been filed for no reason other than denigrating or punishing an employee. Even after it’s dropped, the filing can persist at the top of a person’s search results online. This poses grave reputational risk. This can prevent the individual from being hired anywhere else. We’ve also worked with someone who, after a promotion, became the subject of continual embarrassing social media posts by someone assuming her identity. There are many examples of this with details too unsavory to delve into here.

Expect more — AI is compounding this situation exponentially.

What you should know

The less online content that you take ownership of yourself, the more your reputation is at risk. No factual material attributed directly to your name that ranks high on Google? Then, there are more opportunities for bad actors to spread misinformation about you.

Content is king.

Articles, blogs, podcasts, websites, press materials, and strategic uses of social media like TikTok and Instagram are opportunities where content that shows the best of you to the world can preserve your reputation. It can also offer a marketing tool for your companies and brand. It’s a win-win.

Online reputational management will push that outdated or undesirable content lower in search results. If you fail to do this, that negative, disparaging information may resurface to the top of Google. This often happens within three to six months. Keep your content current!

Also, make sure your personal data — think home address, phone numbers, personal email addresses — are not readily available publicly. Personal info for you and your loved ones may be on up to 25 search databases like Spokeo and PeekYou. This sensitive information puts your privacy and personal security at risk.

We use privacy protection services like Abine’s DeleteMe as one vital tool. It removes this information for $129 annually. Several similar services are detailed here.

Blake Lively’s case is not over, with countersuits being filed and a range of commentary from crisis and legal experts flooding the airwaves and internet. Consider it a lesson in how smear campaigns can — and do — work…though this case is just one example.

 
 
Online reputation management, , , ,
Reputation Communications

One of the most frequently asked questions online reputation management (ORM) firms receive is, why is this outdated/irrelevant/negative content showing up in my Google search results?

Ultimately, Google’s goal is to provide visitors with the most relevant and reliable information about every topic that is searched for.  AI has not changed that.

That said, AI is rapidly changing the internet in ways that impact how you and your organization appear on Google. If the results that appear in a search of your name and your organization’s look different than they did months ago, AI is why. Earlier this year, Google rolled out AI summaries of its own search results to all users in the U.S. They appear before many websites – including, possibly, your personal branding and company websites. Christopher Mims, the technology columnist for The Wall Street Journal, wrote about that and other changes in his timely article, Googling Is for Old People. That’s a Problem for Google.

But some things have not changed. Sites that have the most comprehensive and well-written information, have the highest number of visitors, and are linked to the most legitimate and high-ranking websites, are still the ones that come up the highest and fastest in Google searches (aside from those Google-created AI summaries). That’s why platforms like Wikipedia, LinkedIn, and video-based ones like Instagram rank so highly…and also why media platforms do, too.  When you strategically create SEO-rich content for those types of outlets, anchored by personal branding websites and other intentional content, you can often outrank the unwanted material that is coming up on your Google searches.  (Our comprehensive guide, The Essentials: Online Reputation Management FAQs, explains why.)

Google has long maintained a market share of around 85 percent of the global search market. Bing accounts for under 4 percent of it. Google and Bing are spending billions of dollars to utilize AI in their search results, but those stats are not changing.

As the world’s dominant search engine, Google publishes considerable, free information about what makes its algorithm tick. It also keeps the world informed every time it makes a change to its algorithm via the X site, Google Search Central (@googlesearchc). Check them out when you have time.

 
 
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Reputation Communications

Reputation management is often called the New PR. Law firms and attorneys must be alert and protect their online reputations.

Not surprisingly, clients facing reputational harm online frequently turn to attorneys for guidance. They seek clarity on their legal options to eliminate negative content, identify the often-anonymous sources of such attacks, and expedite the process of removing damaging comments, if feasible.

Fortunately, the digital realm offers numerous avenues for attorneys to shape and enhance their reputations, plus advise their clients regarding similar measures. From establishing authority through thought leadership to strategically targeting audiences, the potential benefits are immense. A strong online presence can attract clients and bolster credibility, especially as most prospective clients now research attorneys online before deciding who to retain.

In today’s digital landscape, how legal professionals manage their reputations can significantly influence their success and the trust clients place in them.

Janet Falk, Ph.D., Falk Communications and Research, and I recently contributed an article on this topic to the PLI Chronicle: Insights and Perspectives for the Legal Community. In it, we highlight what can go wrong for attorneys and their clients online, but what can also go very well for their reputations and brand-building.

Read the article here: https://bit.ly/4fpLDPF.

 
 
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Reputation Communications

Reputation management goes far beyond rebooting a tarnished online image. In a media-saturated world, there are benefits to actively amplifying our reputations — and our voices. We can all create a strategically curated, impactful public image using one, two or more widely used channels. The most successful GenZ and other influencers use them. Everyone can learn from their approach.

Take Kyla Scanlon, a 27-year-old economic commentator known for coining the term “vibecession.” She’s captivated audiences through her analysis on platforms like TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and Substack. (She was just featured in The Wall Street Journal and has attracted an agent and book contract.)

By embracing these channels, she has carved out a unique niche in economic discourse, positioning herself as a trusted voice for her generation. Her strategy highlights the significance of engaging content, particularly through podcasts and videos, which resonate deeply with audiences.

Podcasts serve as a valuable medium for those looking to amplify their expertise. Through her podcast, Scanlon takes her audiences deeper into topics like monetary policy and consumer sentiment, fostering a community of listeners. Her reach has earned her attention from notable figures, including White House officials, underscoring the credibility she has built through providing consistent and informative content.

Substack newsletters have emerged as a powerful tool for writers and commentators to connect with their audience. By publishing free and paid content there, Scanlon not only shares her economic insights but also cultivates a loyal following that appreciates her unique perspective. Her ability to blend personal experiences with economic concepts makes her content relatable, establishing a strong bond with her readers.

Video has become the media form of choice in the age of social media. (On LinkedIn, one-minute videos are highly popular.) It’s not all would-be influencers following trends or videos of dogs and cats. Social video can also be an important and highly accessible way to amplify your presence. Scanlon’s TikTok videos, which include skits and educational segments, demonstrate how video can demystify complex economic concepts, not only enhancing visibility but also positioning you as a relatable figure.

If you think this approach only works for members of GenZ, think again. Even prominent members of the legacy media are using these platforms to expand their audiences and build their own brands. Former Vanity Fair editor Tina Brown, for example, has launched her own newsletter on Substack, “Fresh Hell,” which gives her the opportunity to write about her ideas and observations with the freedom to have fun and be herself, while also controlling the content that comes out under her name.  

If you need to boost or reboot your online presence, these modern communication channels are essential tools. It takes time, effort, and most importantly, strategy. But if you ever question whether the rewards can be worth it, just look at Kyla Scanlon.

 
 
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Right to be Forgotten on Google

Many people are concerned with the volume of slanderous content about people on the internet…including websites that publish such material and then extort victims to pay to have it removed.

In 2021, Google announced plans to change its search algorithm to prevent predatory websites, which operated under domains like BadGirlReport.date and PredatorsAlert.us, from appearing in the list of results when someone searches for a person’s name.

In Google Seeks to Break Vicious Cycle of Online Slander, the article that broke this news, Kashmir Hill and Daisuke Wakabayashi, tech reporters for The New York Times, reported:

Google also recently created a new concept it calls “known victims.” When people report to the company that they have been attacked on sites that charge to remove posts, Google will automatically suppress similar content when their names are searched for. “Known victims” also includes people whose nude photos have been published online without their consent, allowing them to request suppression of explicit results for their names.

These are examples of personal information that Google will remove if you are unable to have a website remove it on request:

Non-consensual explicit or intimate personal images from Google

Involuntary fake pornography from Google

Content about you on sites with exploitative removal practices from Google

Select financial, medical, and national ID information from Google

“Doxxing” content – content exposing contact information with an intent to harm

Google may also remove personal information that creates significant risks of identity theft, financial fraud, or other specific harms.

If you believe your request meets one of the guidelines mentioned above, you can make a removal request at Google’s form, found here.

 
 
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The Essentials: Online Reputation Management FAQ
On May 21, 2024, Reputation Communications Advisory Board member Don Aviv, President of Interfor International, and I discussed a variety of ways to manage your reputation, assess the reputation of those you might do business with, and some common mistakes we encounter in these areas.
This was part of a continuing series of webinars presented by Interfor Academy, a new speaker’s bureau that enables organizations to book elite presenters for conferences, corporate off-sites, or risk trainings & tabletop sessions. The conversation will be moderated by head of Interfor Academy, Jeremy Hurewitz, and should be a compelling look at this vital and constantly evolving subject.

You can view the webinar here.

 
Shannon Wilkinson, Interfor Academy
 
 
Branding, Online reputation management, , , , ,
Reputation Communications

Reflecting on the most common reasons why Reputation Communications was engaged by new clients in the last year, I realized those reasons have evolved since I launched this practice over a decade ago. 

At Reputation Communications, we work with a select type of clientele: leaders in their fields, VIPs, and rising stars. They require highly customized personal branding on the internet that supports their existing (or soon-to-be) high reputations.

Increasingly, we are being engaged to support the desire of successful clients to curate their achievements and skillsets in professional biographies, websites, portraits, social media and thought-leadership content as they establish new professional or personal goals. In most cases they have built major careers without ever creating anything other than a LinkedIn profile (which we often expand considerably on their behalf), and a company bio.

This represents a growing trend online of taking proactive, rather than reactive, control over how you are perceived on the Internet, where the world-at-large researches you. There are many advantages of taking ownership of your online persona…which may or may not be low-key at the moment but might change at any time.

Our digital magazine, You(Online), features countless strategies we use to mitigate the issues described here, as well as the many content-rich options you have to curate your personal brand on the Internet. The Essentials: Online Reputation Management FAQs, is the best. Good reading.

 
 
Online reputation management, , , , , ,
Reputation and the Modern Family Office

Over 3 billion people worldwide now use the Internet. The world is truly a stage and you’re on it. How big or small is your role online? And what information can the world find out about you?

In the digital age, search engines ensure that each of us have an online reputation whether we want one or not. Too often, that reputation is misleading or a scattered list of information, adding up to a less than satisfying projection of our real selves.

Here’s the good news: the Internet enables us to build our reputations without a middleman. That is nearly unprecedented in world history. It doesn’t matter who you are or where you live. Simply by going online, you can introduce or reintroduce yourself to the world. By communicating your abilities, world view, skills and talent online, you can attract unlimited connections and opportunities. Fail to establish yourself on the Internet in a way that is appropriate for you, and the world may do it for you. Or it may overlook you.

The Internet enables you to establish your own credible image. To curate your achievements, innovations and mindset in order to attract, develop and profit from relationships that once required an introduction or facilitator.

The Internet also provides you with the opportunity to rebuild your reputation if necessary. If you can’t change the facts, you can proactively present a well-balanced image that effectively counteracts damaging content about you.

Yes, the Internet floods us with daily headlines about the newest celebrity, corporate and every-person’s reputation crisis.  And according to many online reputation management firms, we are all one click away from reputational disaster that we may never recover from. (We aren’t…and we can.)

One thing is true: once you have a presence on the Internet, you lose control over how you are perceived.

Unless you have an online reputation management (ORM) strategy.

As a nationally recognized expert in online reputation management, I blog about reputation management to help leaders take a proactive approach to building, managing, amplifying and repairing their digital reputations. My mission is to show you how to make the Internet a valuable ally for achieving your goals. I also want to help you prevent reputational risks before they become problems.

If you are a CEO, executive or professional and would like insight and guidance into how to plan an effective reputation management program, please read Reputation Reboot, our free eBook. It is the ultimate insider’s guide and tells you what you need to know about this process before you begin.