Proactive reputation management matters now more than ever

Public opinion forms faster today than ever before, thanks to the unprecedented speed that information now travels. 

Take the uptake of ChatGPT – in just two months, 100 million people across the globe were active users. It took Facebook two years to reach half that number. 

With instantaneous information now at everyone’s fingertips, an issue can snowball into a full-blown crisis well before a call has been made to the Communications Team.  

These days, reputation needs to be built proactively for organisations to have any opportunity to maintain ongoing trust. Not doing so presents exposure to avoidable issues and unnecessary costs...along with a multitude of other impacts that will likely be the subject of another article. 

The problem is that many organisations are leaving it too late to invest in reputation, relying on the traditional approach where reputation management is only considered when something has already gone wrong.  

That approach was sufficient in the days of a 24-hour news cycle when there was a much better chance of controlling the narrative. 

It won’t cut it now. Conversations are happening around organisations, and people cross-check thoughts across multiple sources of information to form opinion, often paying little attention to an official statement in times of crisis.  

In an environment where public opinion forms at lightning speed, attempting to influence the narrative after an issue has occurred, or even while it is unfolding, is much too late.  

Last year’s Coldplay kisscam saga shows how opinions form quickly, and official statements are often ignored.  

In July Astronomer’s CEO Andy Bryon and the company’s head of HR Kristin Cabot were featured on kisscam at the Coldplay concert.  

A video was uploaded to social media (TikTok) within minutes, and the viral snowball commenced within hours. It took less than 24 hours for the couple to be identified, and in just two days the TikTok video had 10.4 million likes and over a million shares. 

The online narrative quickly became one of workplace ethics, and Astronomer’s silence was deafening, as highlighted by Business Insider: “Meanwhile, the startup at the centre of the drama has stayed silent as people online flood the company's social media posts with comments.” 

The concert was on Wednesday evening. The company issued its first public statement on Friday afternoon. By then, the damage was done. 

Official confirmation of Andy Byron being placed on leave came hours after the organisation’s first response, swiftly followed by news of his resignation. 

Proactive reputation management would not have stopped the issue. But it could have enabled Astronomer to have more influence over the narrative that emerged. 

Firstly, the company’s response would have come much faster - well before the viral snowball gained velocity. Organisations that invest in proactive reputation management and commit to building trust are well-oiled machines. The focus on reputation sharpens the senses for potential issues, supporting early identification.  And they’ve practiced scenarios when things go wrong and know who to call, and when.  

Secondly, putting in the groundwork to build trust over time creates a buffer between an issue occurring and opinion forming. When people don’t know the details of an organisation, they rely on its reputation to make judgments. And if a strong reputation is present, people are more forgiving about how a company handles issues, including the speed of its response.  

In the Coldplay scenario, a strong reputation built on trust would have afforded Astronomer a little more time to understand the situation and respond accordingly. Combined with the earlier point, it may have been just enough to shift the public narrative. 

All organisations, regardless of whether they are publicly-traded, public sector or business-to-business, need to treat reputation as a strategic priority, not a reactive function.  

Organisations simply can’t rely on responding to issues because public opinion has already formed before they begin responding. And that opinion is largely based on the trust they have already built.  

The time to build reputation is when the seas are calm, not when the storm has already hit.