Executive reputation management: building an authentic digital character

It’s becoming more and more important that upper management presents a rich, dynamic digital presence. The stockholders and the public want to see the executives present online beyond just highly filtered marketing content. We repeatedly see the absence of their presence slow down the repair of a reputation crisis. This wisdom actually applies to everyone in business. It’s valuable for all of us to think from a more transparent perspective, engage online, build a reputation, and be aware of long term ramifications.

In times of crisis, customers are demanding a personalized voice from the management level of companies and are not willing to settle for a slow, controlled narrative from the marketing department. This post will target some of the new strategic actions executives need to embrace.

Show timely compassion and concern

For C-suite managers as well as upper-level managers, building and maintaining a reputation online is uniquely complicated because of the profound lasting ripple effect of all their actions. But over-controlled and highly measured interactions can leave a void in content that may also create a problem, as in the recent case of United Airlines.

In April 2017 United “accidentally” overbooked a flight, offered compensation to passengers (which no one accepted), and finally selected four people to be removed from the plane. One passenger, Dr. David Dau, refused to comply, saying he needed to treat patients in the morning. Armed security guards forced Dr. Dau from the aircraft, injuring him so severely he had to spend three days in the hospital. Dr. Dao suffered a broken nose, two broken teeth, and a concussion.

United’s initial statements were poorly worded, as this headline from the Washington Post described--‘Re-accommodate’? United ridiculed for corporate speak response to passenger dragging. This April 11, 2017 article called the statements a “combination of airline jargon and public relations spin.”

Here is the first corporate statement the Post was referencing:

“Flight 3411 from Chicago to Louisville was overbooked. After our team looked for volunteers, one customer refused to leave the aircraft voluntarily and law enforcement was asked to come to the gate. We apologize for the overbooking situation.”

And the headline-making April 10th quote from United CEO Oscar Munoz: “This is an upsetting event to all of us here at United....I apologize for having to re-accommodate these customers.”

Munoz issued the following more-appropriate statement a day later, but it was generally perceived as being too late to be meaningful: "The truly horrific event that occurred on this flight has elicited many responses from all of us: outrage, anger, disappointment. I share all of those sentiments, and one above all: my deepest apologies for what happened. Like you, I continue to be disturbed by what happened on this flight and I deeply apologize to the customer forcibly removed and to all the customers aboard. No one should ever be mistreated this way. I want you to know that we take full responsibility and we will work to make it right.”

Clearly, from the executives to the Armed security guards, they were not prepared for this new world of 24/7 reputation management drawing a lot more attention to any mistake they made after this event. 

The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 which went on sale in August 2016. experienced numerous battery fires and led to disaster for Samsung. After two recalls and a public relations nightmare, Samsung blamed this issue on battery manufacturers. Experts say that rushing this device to market and then creating a replacement battery in a similar “hurry-up” environment led to remarkable reputation-damaging design flaws and quality-control failures.

Tim Baxter, Samsung Electronics America COO, commented: "We appreciate the patience of our consumers, carrier and retail partners for carrying the burden during these challenging times...We are committed to doing everything we can to make this right.".

Samsung’s response was appropriate but late. It’s clear that executives need to be trained to come out and speak immediately, showing compassion and concern, modeling the behavior they expect of every employee. As I have said in my customer service class, “Act like every customer has 10,000 followers.”

The right way to deal with negativity

Often negative publicity arises in social media from employee error or customer activism. The following two instances are examples of handling a reputation crisis in the right way: In 2011, an American Red Cross employee sent out a tweet about heavy drinking that was meant for her personal account, not the organization’s page. The company noticed the mistake within an hour, removed it, and put up a humorous post taking responsibility. The manufacturer of the beverage in question even encouraged its customers to donate to the Red Cross.

That same year, Taco Bell showed remarkable resilience and social media savvy in its response to a lawsuit claiming the restaurant’s “beef” was only 35% genuine. The company immediately engaged customers, sharing its version of the facts (88% beef, 12% seasoning). Using all channels at its disposal—from newspaper ads to Facebook to YouTube—Taco Bell won the PR battle. The claimant in the lawsuit dropped the case a few months later and the company benefitted as customers rallied behind their favorite brand.

Reputation management starts long before “disaster day” strikes. C-suite executives need to create trust with their audience every day and build up a positive balance of goodwill. This new world of more public engagement also demands the legal team step up to the plate and give counsel that includes more interaction with the greater community. Instead of giving outdated and overly conservative counsel of hiding behind the curtain to “guarantee” no mistakes are made. Today the absence of a personal and compassionate presence in a reputation crisis is like pouring gasoline on a fire.

Take a cue from the leaders

No one else has the authority (and impact on consumers) of a C-suite executive. Remarkably, 60% of Fortune 500 companies have no presence on social media. C-Suite Execs of all stripes need to adopt the tactics of today’s top names:

• Elon Musk posts on Twitter almost daily; he posts on Instagram at least once a month.
• Mark Zuckerberg has a Facebook account (of course), but also maintains accounts on Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest.
• Marc Benioff, the most active Fortune 500 CEO on Twitter, uses this (and other) platforms to promote his company – but also to create goodwill by promoting his favorite social issues.

You don’t have to become the industry leader in C-Suite tweeting, but learning the ins and outs of social media can dramatically increase your company’s standing. Consider these 3 business-oriented platforms:

LINKEDIN -- Start with LinkedIn, including extended posts on LinkedIn itself. Make sure that all principals have a stakeholder-facing profile telling the narrative of them as a professional.

TWITTER--Understand the fundamentals of Twitter and how news ( both accurate and rumors) tends to break first on Twitter.

YOUTUBE--Develop interviews that show a caring but professional side.

The key is having a digital footprint and content beyond just over-controlled marketing material. Understanding how the world is getting news from the social space is very important.  If you are reaching a younger customer possibly post images and tell stories on Instagram. The key is understanding that this is where the customer, media, and web-savvy stockholders are going to go first. We are adding an authentic and human quality to the cold impersonal corporate logo and brand. These social platforms give an opportunity to humanize the company in a way that was not possible before and C-Suite executives need to know how to engage with them.

Create an ongoing positive voice

Take the plunge and learn as you go. If you’re not familiar with current social media platforms, have a social media savvy staff member help you get started. As with any new environment, you need to understand the unspoken rules of the social space. This is a process you are incorporating into your overall marketing and publicity plan, an ongoing system that the whole team needs to contribute to.

Beyond basic reputation management, focus on monitoring and enhancing your online presence. Build content online and bring the brand’s voice out, amplifying and personalizing the image, because the brand.has to be known first before reputation management can be effectively done.

The goal is to dig the well before the drought. Andy Beal, Author of Repped: 30 Days to a Better Online Reputation, has a great analogy from Tony Wright in his book: “Trying to improve your online reputation during a crisis is like trying to eat healthy food during a heart attack.”- Tony Wright

When your company’s reputation is tested by negative social media comments or ratings, or faces a deeper crisis, keep a personal aspect of your brand at the forefront of your responses. Humanizing the corporate face--softening the cold static corporate image--minimizes damage to a corporate reputation in a time of crisis.

Abraham Lincoln said: "Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing." (from Repped, by Andy Beal). Essentially, reputation is built online by creating a digital footprint showing the power of the executive’s character. The executive can use his position and title to enhance the company brand. Digital character is the foundation that has to be in place as a structure to stand on when a crisis occurs.