Imagine this: you run a boutique law firm with an engaged client base and public visibility. It is hit with an employee discrimination lawsuit, landing your firm’s name in the news and across social media outlets with hundreds of mentions in a matter of weeks. Some of what is published truthfully reports on the situation, but much of the attention is malicious in nature, in some cases promoting false information. These materials dominate the first page of your practice’s Google results for weeks, then months. Your prospects and revenues drop.
This type of reputation crisis happens every day. Depending on the size of your firm and its area of specialization, the reasons differ. If yours is a white shoe firm that has managed to stay out of the news except as an expert commentator, that situation can quickly change if your files are hacked. If yours is a criminal defense firm and represents controversial clients, you may be as newsworthy as they are . . . and attract as much reputational damage.
If you are like many attorneys, your closest association with reputation management may be referring your clients to firms that specialize in it. (Like ours: many of our referrals come from law firms.) Increasingly, though, you may find you need such a provider yourself.
If you are an attorney and recognize yourself or your firm in this narrative, I invite you to read my new article in the New York State Bar Association Journal.
In our current digital age, reputation is everything. From social media to personal blogs, how we present ourselves publicly constructs an indelible perception of our brands.
This is especially true for public figures. You could be a movie star, a healthcare leader, a social media influencer — you name it — your reputation is the key currency for how you’re viewed by the world. It means that any missteps you make can leave a potent mark on your brand. It can also impact the bottom line of companies you work with.
The reputations accrued by public figures, celebrities, thought leaders and influencers can make a serious mark on a company or campaign they partner with. How does a brand mitigate risk?
Enter the rise of reputation insurance. Boston-based startup SpottedRisk has launched a “reputational insurance” product that offers companies protection for celebrity scandals that might be spreading like wildfire online or gracing the covers of your supermarket tabloid.
Vulture recently profiled the company, showing how an era where #MeToo scandals and the viral release of celebrity mugshots can power days, even weeks, of bad publicity for a brand.
The publication interviewed SpottedRisks’ 33-year-old CEO Janet Comenos who outlined how her idea has flourished, recently earning the startup Series B funding for its next phase. For those unclear of what this is, it’s “like disgrace insurance, but for companies instead of people,” Vulture’s Boris Kachka writes.
There’s a reason why this has grabbed business leaders’ attention.
“One recent report found that reputational damage is the No. 1 risk that companies fear,” Vulture reports.
This also hammers home just why you might want to be mindful of how you conduct yourself in the public sphere. What you say and post reflects not just on you, but companies you work for.
‘In the age of doxxing, revenge porn, and misogynist trolls, this book is required reading. . .” Esquire, Best Books of Summer 2019
Carrie Goldberg is a victims’ rights attorney specializing in Internet-related harassment (and much worse). Since she launched her practice in 2013, she has become a major force in the legal industry. She is also an outspoken critic of the tech companies that enable such behavior.
In August, her first book, Nobody’s Victim, will be published by Little, Brown. In it, she examines a hidden world many people don’t know exists — one of online stalking, blackmail, and other disturbing issues. It tells the story of how she became determined to fight back and is now leading a revolution.
Nobody’s Victim invites readers to join Carrie Goldberg on the front lines of that war. Her battleground is the courtroom; her crusade is to transform clients from victims into warriors.
Riveting and essential, Nobody’s Victim is a bold and timely analysis of victim protection in the era of the Internet. This book is an urgent warning of a coming crisis, a predictor of imminent danger, and a weapon to take back control and protect ourselves — both online and off.
This month I sat down with RANE Network for a webinar discussing the evolving landscape of reputational diligence. It highlighted the ways organizations can mitigate the risk to their brand.
We all agreed that the landscape of reputation management has changed considerably in recent years. For one, reputational threats—both real and fake—can develop and spread faster than ever before through social media. There is also a marked “dispersion of gatekeepers.” Where years ago there were only a few sources “gatekeeping” information and determining what was worthy of publication, now anybody can publish information that can go viral. I restated a point I have made often on this blog and elsewhere: anyone can contribute to a business leader or an organization’s reputation on the internet.
Anyone can contribute to your reputation
“Anyone” can also mean employees within the company itself, as seen in countless #MeToo cases. I emphasized the importance of gathering employee feedback through regular town hall meetings and employee surveys where employees can safely and anonymously speak about the firm’s culture. When an organization doesn’t take the time to hear from its employees, I warned: “…They will become frustrated. They will then go to employee or consumer review sites or publish their frustration on social media.”
We also discussed the balancing act that leaders, CEOs and C-suite managers face between when and how to address crises and the burden of legal liability that falls on their shoulders.
Strategic crisis management options
Facing crises without a plan is not an option. I highlighted several actions companies or individuals can take in scenario planning, the first of which is acknowledging the incident. Having a statement that acknowledges the incident is very important, even if the crisis is ongoing. Deciding how to disseminate the statement is important, too. Facebook posts form a direct, easy connection to the public, with no third parties necessary. Companies can also put the statement on the front page of their website, or designate a special page on the website just for that statement and any further updates. Larger or enterprise organizations can acknowledge and possibly address the issue by creating a video using an empathetic spokesperson.
My talk with RANE demonstrates that the discussion on reputation diligence will continue indefinitely. In a world where personal reputations and company revenue can be seriously harmed with just a few clicks, keeping up with the ever-changing landscape of reputation management is essential.
In today’s highly connected world, reputations can be attacked with just a few keystrokes. Misinformation can quickly spread, doing real damage to even the most respected businesses.
When an unfavorable incident goes viral, revenue and brand value can take a hit. Studies have suggested that on average more than 25% of a company’s market value is directly attributable to its reputation.
In response to these pressures, companies are striving to improve their capabilities for managing reputation risk by investing in brand monitoring tools and crisis management and scenario planning, among others.
Join Us: Free Thursday, April 25, 2019 RANE Webinar
In a free, Thursday, April 25 webinar, from 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm ET, experts from the RANE (Risk Assistance Network + Exchange) Network will explore the evolving landscape around reputation diligence. We also will spotlight ways companies can mitigate the risks to their brand. You can learn more details about the webinar and register here.
I am pleased to be participating in this webinar with other specialists in the crisis, PR and reputation management fields, and look forward to sharing insider intel with you and your colleagues.
The article describes a federal investigation into U.S. college admissions fraud—an investigation of “prominent parents who stand accused of paying bribes to give their children an edge.”
“While two Hollywood actresses were the most recognizable figures to face charges, they were outnumbered by business titans who are not household names.”
Among those charged are high net worth business leaders, including one of Silicon Valley’s most powerful investors, and a mergers and acquisitions attorney who was co-chairman of a major law firm. Those leaders have been publicly “outed,” in lists often featuring their photographs. They are losing jobs and board positions, are being pilloried on social media and could be the subjects of lawsuits. Their children are also named, and they may be permanently expelled from the colleges their parents arranged their acceptance to (the degree of the children’s involvement is under active debate).
Managing this crisis
What happens in such a spiraling situation is that attorneys and crisis experts are consulted and a reputation management firm like ours is likely engaged. As they discuss options with firms, the parents should first understand that they can’t bury this type of crisis with an online reputation or SEO (search engine optimization) strategy. The scandal is too big. It has become a focus of coverage across the most highly ranked and powerful media platforms. Simply put, SEO will not be able to displace those stories in Google searches.
What you can do, if you are a target of the investigation, is to follow the classic crisis response playbook:
• Acknowledge your role.
• Apologize.
• Make restitution and be transparent about how you are going about that. (Done well, that becomes the story.)
Reputation resets of this nature take about a year, from your initial public statement to completing restitution. There are no shortcuts, but the way you face this crisis may provide an unexpected silver lining. Publicly facing a crisis with sincerity and authenticity can yield surprising results—and finding a means of restitution that aligns with your values will be satisfying. Every crisis, even this, can be an opportunity.
We’ve recently seen a growing number of prominent citizens arrested in human trafficking-related sting operations, resulting in dozens or hundreds of news articles. That follows the rising number of #MeToo-related sexual harassment reports in the news. Once such arrests and accusations are made, they dominate search results.
From a reputation management standpoint, two facts stand out. The first is that when news occurs, it instantly appears online. Also, anyone can say anything about anyone on the Internet, with few repercussions. There is no “Right to be Forgotten” law here as there is in Europe and Argentina —so such claims, whether credible, false or subjective, can usually not be removed from the Internet on legal grounds.
The second is that, despite the claims of many online reputation agencies, it is extremely difficult for such information to be “buried” online (as in, displaced so it does not appear on the first or second page of Google). The truth is that there is no magic wand that can quickly cover up unwanted results. Promises and guarantees of this nature are simply false.
In our Reputation Reboot column, we address the reasons why changing search engine results is difficult, and offer suggestions for alternative ways to approach and respond to such claims made about you online.
As some world leaders’ tweeting habits indicate, there is definitely such a thing as too much exposure online. That includes social media. But it goes way beyond.
You may not realize it, but computer “bots” continually scan the Internet and collect your personal information…including information you don’t even realize is online. Like your address and phone number. It is scoured from such public records as online telephone directories, driver license bureaus and the local courthouses that maintain legal records of property ownership. That has an impact on your physical security as well as your privacy…especially if you are a high-profile CEO.
Losing Control Over your Public Image
Maintaining a low profile in business or in their personal lives is a longstanding tactic used by individuals with high professional positions. Minimizing the visibility that results from too many media interviews or too frequent a presence on social media prevents overexposure and can add longevity to careers. Many celebrities and industry professionals in all sectors have maintained their standing for decades because they — and their managers — have carefully ensured they never become overexposed.
Unfortunately, in the Internet culture, such tactics also means that there can be little online about them that they or their representatives have placed online and have control over. This means that whatever else is said about them online rises to the top of searches and stays there. When you are responsible for the majority of the factual information about you or your organization that appears on the first two pages of a Google search, you ensure that no matter what else is said, it is counterbalanced. When you don’t do that, you have lost control over your public image. It is far harder and more time-consuming to regain it than to establish it in the first place. As a specialist in online reputation management for “influencers,” including advising Fortune 500 and other clients, many of the issues we have resolved for our clients result from exactly that situation.
If You Don’t Tell Your Story, Someone Else Will
Bottom line: telling your story is a vital aspect of managing the reputation of an individual or an organization online and off.
If you don’t tell your story, someone else will. Effective online reputation management entails “telling your story” online in an authentic way, then making sure that story appears in appropriate online platforms. Your story may be as short as you want it to be. If and when someone attempts to establish a different story, yours will provide a more factual and credible reference. If you are a high-visibility individual and your story has already been told, there are many ways to add a fresh page to it – or a new chapter.
Celebrities have a range of options to do so. With TMZ paying a reported $5,000 for tips and paparazzi following many 24/7, they face continuous privacy challenges online and off. That is a great motivator.
