“This POS is a scam!”
“The CEO belongs in jail!”
“Dilution, AGAIN!?”
No matter how you spin it, negative PR is negative . It used to be said that there was no such thing as negative publicity, but in recent years, with the speed of the news cycle, negative publicity and comments can be individual nails in the coffin of a company.
So how do we, a marketing/branding agency, navigate the world of reputation management for our clients?
Well, to put it simply, we embrace everything! You might not think about it, but we read every tweet or post that’s sent to our clients.
Every. Single. One.
We see all the anger and frustration shareholders have when they feel like chumps holding the biggest bags imaginable. Meanwhile we also see shareholders during the good times; the comradery, the memes, etc. Shareholders are people with feelings and emotions, they’re customers and acolytes. They’re a virtual army ripe for recruitment. You just don’t know how to lead them. That’s on you, not them.
Shareholders are people with feelings and emotions, they’re customers and acolytes. They’re a virtual army ripe for recruitment. You just don’t know how to lead them. That’s on you, not them. – @kevinsoci
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Your shareholders are the lifeblood of business and you’re only hurting yourself by ignoring them or worse.. shutting your comments/replies off. So how do you embrace it and turn the negativity into something beautiful?
Quick note before we get started. If it’s specific to the stock or volatility, as you know you’re pretty limited in your ability to reply. Pick your battles compliantly. Don’t violate the SEC rules to engage with negativity. Be smart.
Practice Empathy for your commentors
Why do they hate you?
The answer is simple. You’ve given them a reason to hate you or not enough of a reason to devote themselves to you.
Take 5 minutes and put yourself in the shoes of a retail investor. Trading strategies aside, if someone loses you money there’s a bitterness that can be developed if not properly addressed by the Company. Seriously, step outside of your perspective for a minute. If you gave someone $10k (adjust this number to something you personally would feel the weight of) with the hopes it would generate ~5-10% ROI and they lost 90% of it… wouldn’t you be a little mad? Maybe enough to make a call or post to social media?
The first step in managing a reputation is to understand what’s at stake to these people. Once you do that, and have an empathetic point of view, reputation management not only becomes fun, it’s one of the quickest ways to establish brand equity with your followers.
Engage with the hate
The absolute worst approach to reputation management is to go into hiding and ignore the negativity you’re receiving. The longer you hide the bigger it grows until it consumes everything about the brand. Ignore them long enough and every post, every single thing you do publicly, they will find you and rip you apart. Want to know how to do it?
Here’s the Soci Method to engaging with negativity!
- Don’t take it personally.
- They’re mad at “The Company,” not you individually.
- Express Gratitude or Acknowledge the Commenter directly
- “We appreciate your comment”
- “Thank you for that!”
- “Wow! We admire your enthusiasm for us!”
- Address the concern as best you can then provide hope or a Call to Action.
- “Completely understand your frustration, but we’re confident…”
- “We hear you! Make sure to…”
- “That’s a great question, but we’re unable to answer that via social. Here’s our Investor Relations contact info”
- Make it personable!
- Above all, make it fun and personable. Have fun with your shareholders and followers. They liked you enough to invest in the past, be friendly!
That’s it. That’s the “magic formula” for reputation management correction. Timing will depend on how many people are upset and the overall sentiment of your company, but that’s all you have to do.. or have us do.
Note: You can’t shut it all off or prevent it entirely. You’re never going to appease everyone and the larger you grow the more you’ll get. It’s part of the game. What’s important is to recognize the opportunities to engage with people vs. people trying to spread FUD. Don’t fight every battle, just the one’s you know you’re going to win. Sometimes the haters are just going to hate.
Preventing the Hate
Can’t really talk about reputation management without discussing how to prevent issues to begin with, right?
Again, really simple answer.
TRANSPARENCY and HONESTY
That’s the secret to running a successful business. Be transparent in your actions and stay true to your word. You do that, you’ll maintain shareholder sentiments and continue to grow.
Transparency and Honesty.
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That’s the secret to running a successful #business. Be #transparent in your actions and stay true to your word. You do that, you’ll maintain #shareholder sentiments and continue to grow. – @kevinsoci
What did you expect? You want followers? Be nice and honest to them. That’s literally all you have to do. You don’t need to be a guru, a visionary, or anything bigger than that. Be nice and honest in a world where kindness and integrity are as rare as ever.
Remember the who
Remember that scene in The Office after Michael Scott does the talk at Ryan’s Business School. Ryan puts Michael in a tough spot by saying the company will go under in a few years and Michael gets flustered before storming out. On the ride back, Michael tells Ryan to pack his things.
Thinking he’s getting fired, Ryan begins to make his case to Michael when they return. Michael stops him and explains that he’s not being fired, but rather being moved to the Annex as a punishment for his behavior. What he says always stuck with me in my professional career. He says:
A good manager doesn’t fire people. He hires people and inspires people. People, Ryan. And people will never go out of business.
Michael Scott
“The Office”
Business School [S03E16]
People.
If you’re publicly traded, or really any type of business, it’ll always be about the people. Reputation Management is the old word. More accurately, the right one is, “Community Management.”
If you approach negativity with a “how do we stop the hate and protect our reputation,” mentality, you’re only going to be greeted with more. Meanwhile, if you remember WHO is fueling your company (shareholders, customers, partners, employees, etc. the people behind your brand) that question becomes, “how can we restore their faith in us.”
Want to rebuild a bad reputation on social media as a public company?
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Stop trying to repair things and instead focus on restoring the faith your #shareholders have in you through your transparency and integrity. – @kevinsoci
Reputation or Community Management is a tricky sea to navigate through and often you need a hand at the wheel guiding you through it. Contact Soci Marketing if you need help restoring your investors sentiment and cleaning up a negative reputation!
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