4 tips to avoid bad publicity

You may have heard of the old saying 'there’s no such thing as bad publicity', but there are plenty of reasons why a careful approach to public relations (PR) will serve you better in the long term compared to notoriety.

I'd heard the saying long before I'd entered the PR world. The theory is that it's a good thing to have people talking about you or your company, even if they're saying awful things. The fact that your name is top of mind meant that you were relevant.

There are a few examples that seem to support this. Celebrities like cricketer Shane Warne and musician Kanye West have reputations that thrive on notoriety, arguably supporting their careers. Because they've positioned themselves as rebels, any negative attention feeds their controversial image. But it's wise to note that Kanye and ‘Warnie’ are the exceptions, not the rule. The idea that there’s no such thing as bad publicity is laughable.

The flipside is US President Donald Trump, a prolific Twitter user who has built the majority of his career out of outrageous, controversial declarations. He recently came under fire for a series of ambiguous statements in response to questions of Russian interference in US elections. The White House press secretary has since backpedalled on many of his answers. Uninformed, unthinking commentary plus media attention leads to bad publicity, full stop.

To avoid this situation, business leaders need to adhere to a few rules when it comes to media attention. Here are four key tips:

1. Making mistakes is okay

Making mistakes and being wrong is okay—mistakes are simply a part of being human. When you make a mistake, however, own it quickly, respond sincerely and provide an actionable outcome. When our client Jaimie Fuller, Executive Chairman of SKINS, ran foul of the ACCC, he rectified the situation by being transparent about the mistake: SKINS ran notices in the media and Jaimie has been frank about what happened and how it was rectified. ‘It was a good and expensive lesson. My arrogance led me to make a bad decision which I regret to this day. There was no intention to mislead but that’s not the point. We were wrong.’

2. Noise is not PR

Don’t create noise for the sake of it. Audiences are savvy and they recognise someone who is constantly going after media attention versus someone who truly believes in their cause. All publicity should be strategic and timely. Intention beats attention every time.

The best in the business like megastars Beyoncé and Hugh Jackman are not in the general news cycle 365 days of the year. They (and their media advisors) understand that publicity saturation quickly makes their image old and tired.

If you're someone looking to successfully build their profile, there is no better example than these two. I’ve worked with very accomplished business leaders in the past who could not understand the value of placement and timing and instead wanted to be front and centre of the media month-in and month-out.

Good PR uses key events as anchor points for a media campaign that aligns with their brand values and resonates best with their audience (old and new). Beyoncé and Hugh understand the value of strategic placement.

3.Have a purpose

Doing PR for PR’s sake, without being ready or having a clear understanding of why, will do more harm than good. Before you put yourself out there you need to clearly define who you are, your key messages and why people should care about your story right now.

Being ‘newsworthy’ means thinking about your business or brand in the eyes of the media and their audience and making an honest assessment of how interesting your news might be. Sometimes it is better to hold off until you have bigger news to announce. Alternatively, you may also consider starting smaller with a view to investing more into the brand building part of your strategy so that when you do have exciting news, you’re ready.

The PR Hub offers this exciting service, an alternative to traditional PR, where we work with early stage startups, elite athletes, business leaders and owners to help them clearly identify their brand and start to build a reputable and consistent public profile to support future PR endeavours.

4. PR is collateral

PR isn’t just about you, you’re accountable to stakeholders such as investors, colleagues, sponsors and even your family. You may have certain opinions or views that you want to share about a particular issue or situation, but going to the media before considering the implications could be disastrous. 

When engineer superstar Elon Musk implied that one of the members of the Thai cave rescue operation team was a paedophile in a tweet, his comments were considered not only socially unacceptable, they also had a flow on effect for his company Tesla, which suffered plummeting share prices following his insult. No one, not even a billionaire, is immune from the thoughts and direction of those around them. 

This should be a lesson for entrepreneurs and business leaders around the world that no matter how well you’re doing or what you have achieved, as a public figure you must always be mindful of your current actions on your future reputation.

And remember, not all PR is good PR.

ENDS

Samantha Dybac is the founder and Managing Director of The PR Hub.

Samantha has over eighteen years experience in the communications industry and has been a business owner and shareholder since her early 20's. Her vast experience across a variety of industries puts her in a unique position to provide both public relations expertise as well as personal brand, marketing and business strategy advice.

Samantha launched The PR Hub in 2013 after recognising an opportunity to work with inspiring business founders and leaders to help them tell their stories and share their expertise with the media, amongst their peers and at conferences and industry events. She has represented Australia on a global stage including the G20 Young entrepreneurs’ summit and UN International Women’s Day and was nimanted as a finalist in the 2018 B&T Women in Media award for Public Relations. She is an event host & panel moderator, and has previously been invited to speak at conferences across Australia and SE Asia on topics including, defining your personal brand and becoming an influencer, how to create effective PR for B2B service providers, the bridge between PR and business strategy and how entrepreneurs can leverage PR to build both personal and company brand.

For further information please contact [email protected]