Shannon Wilkinson, Expert Witness

Shannon Wilkinson is an Expert Witness and consultant in defamation and related types of legal cases.

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Shannon Wilkinson
Founder & CEO, Reputation Communications
Expert Witness

REPUTATION MANAGEMENT

Reputation Communications – Founder & CEO

Shannon Wilkinson is a nationally recognized expert in online reputation management. Her New York City-based firm Reputation Communications advises clients on all aspects of reputation management. She serves as an Expert Witness in defamation and related types of lawsuits.

Founded in 2009, Reputation Communications was one of the first companies to specialize in online reputation management. It is the only online reputation management firm to specialize in the needs of influencers: individuals with newsworthy or industry-wide impact in business, politics, or social issues.

Clients include Forbes 400 philanthropists, Fortune 500 leaders, Investment, FinTech & financial services firms, Silicon Valley tech founders and others.

REPRESENTATIVE CASE STUDIES

• Business Icon: A business icon sought a plan for a range of potential crisis scenarios that could damage his reputation. We developed a comprehensive plan that could be enacted at any time and are on call to execute a crisis management plan if one is needed.
• Industry veteran: An industry veteran suffered reputation damage. We implemented an online reputation repair program over a period of three months and recommended communications strategies for his crisis advisors to take for SEO reasons.
• International Organization: This organization sought an analysis of online accusations against it. We delivered an analysis that included a comprehensive PR plan for strategically developing content that would replace the negative content.
• Luxury Brand: A luxury brand engaged us to create a crisis response plan and conduct online reputation repair. We ensured the crisis did not impact their Google search results or reputation.
• Company Founder: A company founder was the focus of “fake news.” We developed and implemented a content creation and SEO program to expand the founder’s online presence with appropriate material. It minimized the incorrect information and relegated it to a minimal position online.
• Professional: A professional faced inappropriate personal issues reported in the news that dominated his search results. We provided a strategic plan for his SEO consultant to implement that resolved the issue.

MEDIA COVERAGE

INTERVIEWS
Ms. Wilkinson’s thought-leadership has attracted interviews with many media outlets on issues relating to reputation management, celebrity and corporation scandals, and other crises.

The Guardian February 2020
Commentary about the Harvey Weinstein trial

Journal of Media Ethics July 2019
Evaluating the Reputation Management Industry through the Lens of Public Relations Ethics

CNBC October 2017
Fallout from Harvey Weinstein scandal

BravoTV/NBC Universal September 2017
How celebrities are successfully managing divorces

Huffington Post April 2017
The nuances and importance of modern reputation care; the lack of “right to be forgotten” laws in the U.S.; privacy issues that can result in personal security threats

Philadelphia Inquirer September 2015
Examining Volkswagen reputation troubles

The Wall Street Journal April 2015
The risks and rewards that social media poses to executives; best practices; making social media an important addition to brand and media management strategies

EXPERT COMMENTARY

The Wall Street Journal – “Crisis of the Week” Commentator
As a featured expert in the column “Crisis of the Week,” Ms. Wilkinson assessed how well leading corporations were managing their public relations and reputation crises. Corporations covered include:

• Equifax
• Ohio State University
• Purdue Pharma
• Sanofi
• Uber
• Whisper

• Korea Air
• Biogen Inc.
• AbbVie
• APA Group
• LendingClub
• NBC

• AOL
• Lululemon
• Mozilla
• Microsoft
• NFL

ARTICLES AND PUBLICATIONS

You(Online): The Magazine – Chief Blogger
You(Online): The Magazine is published by Reputation Communications to help educate CEOs, C-Suite executives, rising stars, and high net worth individuals about all aspects of digital reputation management with regular blogs, articles, and resources.

Reputation Reboot: What Every Business Leader, Rising Star & VIP Needs to Know
Ms. Wilkinson is the author of this 50-page guide that shares insights about the Internet and social media cultures and the distinct ways they impact high-profile individuals.

OTHER WRITINGS
Ms. Wilkinson has contributed her writing to many other journals, online magazines, and news outlets:

New York State Bar Association Journal August 2019
Online Reputation Management for Attorneys and Law Firms

Risk Assistance Network & Exchange (RANE) June 2018
Online Reputation Management: The Essential Internet “Digital Defense”
A comprehensive overview of what every risk professional needs to understand about what online reputation resolves and why it is in such demand

Security Management Magazine December 2017
A New Social World (co-author: Interfor International COO Don Aviv)
The importance of corporate social media policies

Police One Magazine September 2017
Coptics: The optics of policing in the digital age (co-authored with Hetty Group COPTICS Team)
How law enforcement professionals can be more effective in connecting with a digital media savvy public

Risk Management Magazine/Blog January 2015
The New Reputation Risks: What You Need to Know for 2015
Changes to the Online Reputation Management landscape in 2014; predictions for 2015’s biggest potential reputation-related crises

National Cybersecurity Institute Journal September 2014
The New Demands of Online Reputation Management
An overview of the current state of online reputation management; the leading online reputational threats faced by U.S. companies; explaining how reputation threats unfold, the motivations behind them, and how they can be protected against and resolved.

Forbes June 2014
Crisis Communication 2.0: Mary Barra Strong In Adversity
GM CEO’s Mary Barra’s strategies she has brought to crisis management, integrating multiple digital media platforms into her communications initiatives

Forbes April 2014
Image Rx: Online Reputation Management For Rising Executives
Strategies for making photographs an effective part of your online image

Forbes March 2014
From Mocking To Hacking: How To Protect Your Digital Reputation
The challenges celebrities, industry leaders and such public figures as politicians and philanthropists face in managing their digital footprints

PUBLIC SPEAKING

Risk Assistance Network & Exchange (RANE) Webinar May 2019
Reputational Diligence in the Digital Economy
Discussed the evolving landscape of reputational diligence; ways organizations can mitigate risks to their brand

Global Security Exchange Conference Las Vegas, NV September 2018
Presented on social media risk at annual conference attended by over 22,000 security professionals

Podcast: Komando on Demand August 2018
How to Restore a Ruined Online Reputation from the Ground Up
Finding solutions to the problem of destroying someone’s reputation

Online Panel: Business Insurance March 2013
Social Media Crucial to Corporate Risk Management

SPECIAL PROJECTS

Reputation Risks Facing High Net Worth Families August 2020
A three-part series of live, 30-minute briefings with reputation management, Internet law, investigations, due diligence and risk mitigation experts, hosted by Reputation Communications and moderated by Ms. Wilkinson.

Participants included: Don Aviv, President of Interfor International; Tim Murphy, President & CEO of Consortium Networks; David Niccolini, Co-Founder of TorchStone Global; Christine Rafin, Associate General Counsel – Media and Compliance at American Media in New York City; Dan Shefet, Individual Specialist to UNESCO, and Adviser to the Council of Europe on the Internet Ombudsman; and an expert in Internet law; and Arun Rao, President of IGI.

COPTICS: The Optics of Policing in the Digital Age – Hetty Group – Presenter 2016-2020
Using conferences, webinars and workshops, COPTICS helps police departments integrate digital marketing, online reputation management practices, positive PR and advanced social media engagement into their proactive communications and community relations strategies so they can be more effective in connecting with a digital media savvy public. Its work was covered in The Wall Street Journal.

Ms. Wilkinson is a presenter for the program.

PRIOR POSITIONS

Public Relations Consultant – President, Cultural Communications 1990-2009

Account Executive – Ruder Finn 1988-90

Public Affairs Coordinator – Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum 1985-88

EDUCATION

Streetwise MBA – NYU Business School 2014-2015
Business program offered to entrepreneurs through the New York City Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment

BFA, Communication Design – Parsons School of Design 1984