1. Reputation Management
in the era of social media

2. “Organisations have to engage with their users
and cannot shield negative comment any
longer. [If you] don’t engage you get slagged
off; [if you] do engage and you get slagged off
but you can at least defend yourself!”

3. Contents
Executive Summary 2
Introduction 3
What do digital media leaders do with social media? 4
Social media in context 7
Mapping where influence lies 9
Digital Gatekeeper 10
Blind spots 12
Conclusions 14
1

4. ry
Exec utive Summa
The companies at the forefront of digital media are also leading the way with their use of social
media. Our research shows that for the vast majority – over 80 per cent – not only is social media a
key element in their communications mix, but it is playing a significant role in other areas from sales
to customer service. For many there is no longer a choice as to whether to use social media or not – it
is simply the hygiene factor that gets them through the door in conducting their business.
But, they also recognise that it is not the whole answer. Traditional important. However, the lack of agreed or widely used methods to
broadcast and national print media are still seen as the biggest monitor and rate this could lead to developing blind spots, missed
drivers of reputation, although trade press has fallen behind opportunities and risks as opinion, rumour and conversations
influential blogs in this respect. The power of the buzz from social impact reputation.
media on reputation and sales is also well recognised.
The role of communications agencies is already intrinsic to
Many regard several social media platforms as already essential to managing reputation in the social media environment, with several
their businesses, with more agreeing that this will be the case in organisations relying on PR agencies to monitor, inform and engage
the next 12 months. However, they are cautious on the credibility with social media. This white paper outlines a continuing and
of some of the information shared in these forums. Monitoring, growing role for proactive management of reputation with social
establishing influence and tracking how information transitions media as the context and the channel for engagement.
across the digital and offline media, is acknowledged to be
2

5. Introduction
Influence today is more widely dispersed, faster evolving and ever more connected. Digital
technologies have helped consumers, communities, pressure groups and even individuals organise
themselves and get their voices heard. This digital media revolution is fostering a more open and
transparent world in which communication of views from all segments of the population is exploding.
However, there are also risks as ‘un-mediated’ conversations where emotion, personal opinion and
personal agendas can be imposed without the need for balance, fact or reference to a wider picture.
The world of contested communications is one where drivers for other organisations that are perhaps not so advanced in their
of reputation are harder to identify and reach, and increasingly digital integration.
challenging to influence let alone manage. This is an issue for all
organisations but what about the companies that exist solely in this We asked the shortlisted organisations to complete a short
space, the digital media businesses themselves? Are they driving questionnaire using the online SurveyMonkey tool. The
the revolution or are they just as much at its mercy? How do they questionnaire covered a range of issues from personal use of social
view the role of these emerging platforms and influencers? Are media, to corporate goals related to its use; from relevance and
they ahead of the game in engaging with them? How do they rank credibility of different social media platforms to relative importance
digital influence against the traditional opinion shapers of mass of profile in traditional and emerging media.
media, government and the City?
We also engaged five of the respondents in deeper interview-
By investigating the attitudes and approaches of the next generation based questioning designed to unearth anecdotes and personal
of digital media companies – those which can reasonably be seen as viewpoints that illustrate the core data.
at the cutting edge of the ongoing digital explosion, this white paper
seeks to answer some of these questions. We also hope draw a new Although the survey samples are small, and we don’t claim any
map of influence for the digital world and provide organisations of statistical robustness for the data, we do believe that the profile and
all types with a way to navigate it and decide how, where and when position of our respondents as leaders in highly relevant businesses
to target the various reputation shapers. Finally, it will look at the at the cutting edge of the digital economy makes their views and
fundamental aspects that must be right and work across all channels insights interesting and a useful guide for others as they deal with the
to ensure a consistent and unified view of an organisation, or an issues of managing reputation in a world of contested social media.
individual, no matter which audience or which channel.
MHP Communications is a proud sponsor of the Media Momentum
awards created by GP Bullhound. These annual awards celebrate
the most successful high-growth and emerging digital media
companies in Europe. The shortlisted companies include some
that are household names and some that are quickly emerging as
the next generation of leaders. The shortlist includes innovative
online consumer services such as Ratedpeople.com, Wonga and
Skrill/ Moneybookers, cutting-edge digital media agencies including
Adconion and InSkin Media, mobile marketing firm Upstream,
web and mobile digital video leaders Orcadigital, and online music
company Deezer.com.
As part of our support for these awards MHP has used its access
to the shortlisted companies to survey their approaches and
opinions on the use of digital and social media channels as
reputation management tools. Our thinking is that the insights
from these digital leaders will not only shed light on some of the
key trends in the space, but will also help create some guidelines
3

6. s
The Finding
The benefits of social media as a way of both communicating with
What do digital media leaders do and, perhaps more importantly, listening to, consumers and other
with social media? stakeholders in your business are both quite apparent and well
documented. What is clear is that for those in the vanguard social
For the purposes of our research and this white paper we’ve media is just a normal part of the daily communications mix. As
used a generalised description of social media that encompasses Marco Veremis, president and founder of Upstream, commented:
user-generated content such as Wikipedia, blogs, YouTube, Flickr
etc, communications and community services such as Twitter, “It is definitely becoming more and more important
Facebook, LinkedIn etc, location-based services like Foursquare,
and I suspect it will probably become entirely
and crowd-sourced answers sites such as Quora. Whilst this is by no
means an exhaustive list it does represent the main areas of social dominant. In an environment where yesterday’s
media interaction, and provides recognised examples of each. news is old news, it’s the most appropriate channel
100%
to get out your message fast and make sure it
proliferates faster than any ‘engineered’ form of
90%
83.3% news dissemination.“
80%
70% What is interesting is that although the intense level of
61.1% engagement was welcomed and seen as driving more honest and
60%
open relationships, commentators also recognised the challenges
50% and the stresses this brought. As Will Neale, founder and CEO of
Orcadigital, commented:
40%
30%
22.2%
27.8%
“Organisations have to engage with their users
20%
and cannot shield negative comment any longer.
11.1%
10% [If you] don’t engage you get slagged off; [if you]
0% do engage and you get slagged off but you can at
least defend yourself!”
Ke out w
Cu
Co
Ot
Sa
ab
ep
he
pu
les
sto
mm a
ing hat's
rs
blic
me
un tion
my ha
rs
ica s
rel
se ppe
erv
tio
lf u ni
ns
ice
pd ng
an
ate
d
d
Q. What do you use social media for as a business?
The first notable finding of our research is that whilst a
significant majority of our leaders (over 80%) use social media
for communications and public relations and over half (61%) to
keep themselves updated, there are a number of other uses that
are establishing themselves among this group. Just under a third
(28%) report that they are now using social media directly for
sales and a quarter are using it for customer service. We believe
that this is a significant development that other organisations
should take heed of.
4

7. Veremis reiterated that these ‘naked conversations’ are not as a business. The era in which any organisation can hope that
necessarily comfortable for all organisations: consumers or other stakeholders will ‘not find out’ is well and
truly over.
It [social media] drives transparency and exposes
With this in mind it is imperative that all staff with access to social
artificial or less than 100 per cent truthful claims. media (which means all staff) are trained and at least aware of
Maybe this is not yet visible in all industry the impact that their posts, tweets, updates etc can have on the
sectors, but it is moving towards that direction corporate reputation. Corporate social media policies, whilst
difficult to enforce, should have a role in at least setting out the
fast. In the same way that a poor 5 star hotel is parameters and guidelines as well as identifying the risks and
instantly exposed through Trip Advisor, so a listed potential consequences of ill-considered activity.
company that is less than accurate in its claims
However, our view, built on the insights of the Media Momentum
and eventually private companies as well will be shortlist, is that establishing a social media policy is just one tactical
exposed. In this perfectly transparent environment response. To really make the most of social media, as well as
with open feedback from any source it pays to minimising the risks to reputation, organisations should establish
the strategic goals which they hope to attain using social media. If
follow Polonius’ advice: ‘This above all: to thine social media is left to ‘just happen’ then the chances are that it will
own self be true’. Quite a challenging shift of remain unfocused and difficult to manage. Organisations that have
philosophy for most organizations accustomed to clear, established reasons to interact with specific audiences via
social media are more likely to see real benefits.
years of ‘dressing up’ themselves in line with their
‘target audience’.
So, if as it seems, embracing social media as a communications
channel at the heart of the business, and one which is driving
transparency, our research shows that the leaders are already taking
it to the next level of engagement: using social media as a way of
acting upon this information. Whether this is a reaction – using
social media channels to respond to customer service issues (22%
doing), or as a proactive method to create sales (28%), organisations
need to consider who within their businesses should be using it.
Larger organisations, especially those with mass-market consumers
are already formally allying social media with their customer service
functions. Not only does it provide a cost effective route to identify
customer issues, but, if done well, can turn potentially negative
consumer comments into positive buzz around responsiveness and
commitment to finding solutions. It goes without saying that taking
this step can only be reputation enhancing if the commitment to
better service and responding to customers positively is real.
One of the themes that consistently played out through our
research, particularly in the interviews, is the need to be
transparent and authentic in all that you do – both in social
media, but more fundamentally in all your operations and values
5

8. Establish clear goals
100% Nearly two thirds of our survey (58%) said that they used social
media for both personal and business ends, with much lower
90%
84.2%
percentages using only for personal (10%) or only for business
80% (16%). However, the lines between the two are blurring. Some said
70%
that they used different platforms for different parts of their life,
most commonly typified by LinkedIn for business and Facebook for
60% 57.9%
‘personal’, but as one commentator noted, it’s quite easy to connect
50%
52.6%
the dots on these:
47.4% 47.4%
40%
“A Google search on a particular individual reveals
30%
on the same page their corporate profile, their
20%
15.8% LinkedIn info as well as Facebook and Twitter - and
10%
5.3%
increasingly all will merge in a single interface. It
0% can be very uncomfortable for many executives
who naturally will try to be less open about their
Att
Dr d pro
Ge
Bu stom
Ha ecific
Cr rtner
Att
rac
ive sp
ea s
an
cu
sp
pa
ild ers
rac
ve
ne
te
t fu
ral
aw
sa ect
no als
t ta
personal profile and focus more on their corporate
vis
ly r
nd
les s
te
are and
len
ibil
ing
go
sta
ais
wit
ne pro
t
ity
ep
blis
ss sp
hc
profile and reveal only the personal aspects that
wit
rof
wit ect
he
us
h
ile
d
tom
h
ers
seem compatible or acceptable.”
s
Q. What are your goals from using social media: what do you
want to achieve for you/your organisation? - Marco Veremis, President and Founder, Upstream
The overwhelming majority of the Media Momentum leaders
(95%) have clearly established goals for their use of social media.
The actual goals varied from building awareness with customers
and prospects (84% indicated this was a goal) to attracting new
talent (listed by 47%). What is important in our opinion is that these
organisations have taken the time to think about what they want
to achieve, have identified distinct objectives and then used these to
shape their approach to social media.
For both personal and business use
For my business
It depends on which social media platform
For personal use
57.9%
15.8%
15.8%
10.5%
Q. In what capacity do you most frequently use social media?
6

9. Social media in context
All of our leaders are keen advocates of social media as part of a
business communications and reputation management strategy.
However, not all social media is created equal in their eyes. We
wanted to investigate how important specific sites are, and also
how much they trusted the information they found there. We also
wanted to see how well social media stacked up against ‘traditional’
media as a driver of reputation for their organisations.
100%
90%
93.3%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Yo
Wi
Qu
Tw
Lin
Fa
Fo
u
kip
ce
urs
it
Tu
ora
ke
ter
bo
din
b
ed
qu
e
ok
ia
are
Essential Relevant Not very relevant Irrelevant Don’t know/have not heard of
Q. How relevant do you feel the following are to your business?
The good news for LinkedIn as it looks to an IPO is that 43 per cent
of our leaders felt that it was already essential to their business,
with a further 50 per cent feeling that it was relevant. Facebook – as
noted above, often seen as the ‘personal’ social network for ‘friends
and family’ rather than business was nevertheless still seen as
essential by 18 per cent of respondents and relevant by 55 per cent.
However, unlike LinkedIn, 18 per cent of people saw Facebook as
irrelevant to their business today.
With all the media buzz around Twitter we may have expected
it to score better as a business tool for our social media mavens.
However it was beaten into 4th place by YouTube. Although both
were rated as essential by 21 per cent of the survey (the same
as Facebook), 64 per cent rated YouTube as relevant and 14 per
cent as not very relevant whereas the corresponding figures for
Twitter were 43 per cent relevant with 14 per cent stating that it
was currently irrelevant to their business. Surprising as this is we
should remember that for all the media coverage Twitter generates
its actual user-based is comparatively small compared to Facebook
and although does have a big reputational impact because of the
numbers of journalists etc that follow Twitter, may have less of an
impact on consumers directly than either Facebook or YouTube.
If your social media strategy is to reach customers then Twitter’s
importance will currently be less than Facebook’s.
7

10. Relevant and credible?
100%
90%
93.3%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Yo
Wi
Qu
Tw
Lin
Fa
Fo
u
kip
ce
u
it
Tu
o
ke
rsq
ter
ra
b
d
b
e
oo
in
e
dia
uare
k
Very Credible Credible Not very Credible Not Credible at all Don’t know/have not heard of
Q. In your opinion how credible are these services as sources of
reliable information? 100%
90%
The credibility of information found on these sites is also 93.3%
80%
important, and again Twitter performs less well than some with 32
70%
per cent of people feeling that it was not very credible, and seven
per cent not credible at all as a source of information. It should be 60%
noted that the research was conducted before the recent media 50%
furore over claimed leaks of celebrity affairs and super-injunctions
40%
from the UK courts.
30%
The credibility of Facebook information was also doubted despite 20%
the importance attached to the site (as detailed above). The
10%
majority (57 per cent of our sample) felt that Facebook information
was not very credible or not at all credible, compared to 93 per 0%
cent that felt LinkedIn was a very credible or credible source of
Yo
Wi
Qu
Tw
Lin
Fa
Fo
u
kip
ce
urs
itte
Tu
ora
ke
bo
din
b
ed
qu
r
e
information. Wikipedia also rated very highly in this area with the
ok
ia
highest percentage (36%) seeing its information as very credible. are
Essential Relevant Not very relevant Irrelevant Don’t know/have not heard of
Q. How relevant do you feel the following will be to your business in
12 months time?
In spite of some misgivings over the credibility of the information
from these sites the next 12 months seem likely to see all
increasing in importance to businesses. All of the social media
channels listed except one saw an increase in the percentage of
people rating them as essential or relevant to their business in 12
months time. The exception was LinkedIn which is predicted by
this group to wane slightly in importance. Although 50 per cent
of people feel it will be essential in 12 months time (and increase
of 8 per cent over today’s rating), a growing minority (nearly one
in six) see it as not very relevant in 12 months time. However, it is
predicted to remain the joint favourite alongside Facebook which
jumps in the rankings with 50 per cent rating it as essential to their
business in 12 months time.
8

11. The disconnect between relevance and credibility on Facebook a close second; 36 per cent said it would have a huge impact, 57 per
can perhaps be explained by its reach. As a way of engaging with cent a significant impact. What was surprising was that an interview
customers and prospects it is almost certainly likely to remain on an influential blog came third, before trade media either on or
essential for some time. However, using it as a platform for offline. Over fifty per cent felt a blog interview would have significant
connections and conversations with the public is very different impact and 26 per cent a huge impact on their reputation.
from using it as a source of information.
It seems clear from this that traditional national media are still
Twitter may also suffer in a similar way. Our respondents do massively influential – not only due to reach and role in creating
expect it to become more important over the next 12 months, widespread awareness, but also in being a direct influence upon
with 43 per cent rating it as essential and 31 per cent as relevant, other influencers such as city audiences, regulators, customers and
this despite almost the same percentage (43%) regarding staff. There is still no comparison to the broadcast interview that
information on Twitter as not very or not at all credible. Of course, identifies you and your spokesperson as the opinion leader on a
with Twitter a lot depends on who you follow, and the specific topical issue.
relationships with known individuals will certainly influence your
attitude to the credibility of their tweets.. What is interesting is the relationship between this and social
media buzz. The popularity of bookmarking sites and applications
that share links and stories is testament to the role of social media
Mapping where influence lies as an amplification of news and content of interest to a specific
community. Research published this month by Pew Research
In addition to investigating the views of our Media Momentum showed how Facebook has become the second biggest driver of
leaders regarding different social media channels’ importance and traffic to top US news sites (after Google), indicating, in the words of
credibility, we also wanted to contextualise the impact of social the report authors:
media ‘coverage’ compared to other forms of communications and
reputation building. We asked the leaders to rate the impact on
their reputation of a range of ‘PR outcomes’. “If searching for news was the most important
100% development of the last decade, sharing news may
90% be among the most important of the next.”
80%
- http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1986/navidage-digital-news-
Rating Rating Rating Rating Rating Rating Rating Rating
environment-audience
70%
Average Average Average Average Average Average Average Average
3.31 3.44 2.69 2.75 3.06 2.60 2.63 2.44
60%
So, the impact of that national news interview may not just be the
50% large primary audience, but the echo it causes across social media
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Int tiona
TV oadc
Int de p
Int e pu
Int luen
Vid You
Tw twee web
Ot
na
erv l n
he ' suc ral v
br
erv ub
erv bl
erv tia
tra
rad
inf
on
re- your
'bu
itte ts sit
eo Tub
or ast
iew ew
rs h
to
like
zz r vi
iew lica
iew
iew lo
r b link e
rad int
int e
oc as deo
so
uz in
erv
in spa
io erv
in tion
in tion
on g
ial
za g
a
lb
iew
ica
rel
rel (o
me all
nd
ev (prin
ev nlin
dia pos
an t)
an
w
pe
i
i
ew
t
t t e)
r
ts,
No impact Some impact Significant impact Huge impact
Q. Please rank the following in terms of the impact they could have
on your brand or reputation.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the traditional mass market media still came
out on top. An interview broadcast on TV or radio was seen to have
a significant or huge impact by virtually everyone (50 per cent –
huge, 43 per cent significant). National newspaper coverage came
9

12. present at least an opportunity to put out our version of the truth.
Digital Gatekeepers Acting at these transition points can be the difference between
a negative story reaching mass media uncontested, and getting a
The fact that influential blogs are rated as more impactful than trade
balancing view included.
media could say a great deal about the changing nature of the media
landscape, the quality of trade media and the type of organisation
we surveyed. However, it suggests that specialists who have built Listening brief
a following in social media are increasingly powerful in shaping
reputations. Previous work with brands such as Sony Playstation, Effective monitoring of the social media space is obviously key, not
Vodafone, Sage and Adobe has indicated that there is generally a only to identify potential negative stories as soon as possible, but
well defined and relatively small group of online commentators that also to provide barometers of customer and market sentiment.
can not only instigate and lead online debate, but also help it cross Monitoring should, in our opinion, extend wider than brand,
over between online and traditional media worlds. We term these product and personnel mentions, to include wider conversations
individuals ‘Digital Gatekeepers’. about issues and topics of interest and relevance to you. Spotting
where customer interest lies, and the language they are using to
describe it can uncover significant opportunities for reputation
building, profile and sales.
60%
100%
93.3%
90%
13.3%
80%
70%
20% 60%
6.7%
50%
40% 40%
40%
Yes, I know who they No, I don't know who they are, 30%
are and I have proactively but I'm sure they exist
engaged with them 20%
No, I've not seen evidence that
I know who they are, but have this happens or that they exist
not engaged with them 10%
6.7% 6.7%
0%
0%
Q. Can you identify the ‘digital gatekeepers’ of your brand who
influence journalists and who help transition stories, news and
Se
Us
Us Ra
Wi us
My or
We line
tu
So d re
like
in-
thi
on
th
ing
ing dia
opinion from the social media sphere to traditional media?
PR me
do
pG
sf
fee
ho
pro e too
cia ad
fre entio
pa n6
no vers
ag
oo
l M ers
pri ls
id
et n
co
t m at
en
gle
eta
for
oo an
n
cy
on ion
Ale
ls d
ry
too
ito s
do
like
rts
r
ls
es
These people often have journalistic backgrounds, or have developed
specific areas of technical or market understanding either through Q. How do you monitor online conversations?
working in the sector, or studying it (as academics, analysts or
consultants) and now contribute to debate around key issues on an Our research showed that the most common form of monitoring
ongoing basis. Most of our Media Momentum leaders recognised a was to set up Google Alerts with over 90% of respondents doing
group of digital gate keepers within their markets and understood this. A significant proportion also used free tools dedicated to
the importance of engaging with them. Nearly two thirds (60 per monitoring social media (such as Social Mention and RSS feed
cent) knew who the specific individuals were in their world and had readers). However, very few had either bespoke in house or paid
engaged with them. Of the remainder a fifth (20 per cent) were sure for social media monitoring tools (less than 10 per cent for each).
that they existed but did not yet know who they were. Less than ten PR agencies were also often tasked with providing this service (40
percent had not seen evidence of the transitioning of stories between per cent reporting that their agency did this) – which makes sense
on and offline worlds through specific gateways. considering that most agencies also monitor traditional media.
We believe that the need for human intervention in the area of
As communications consultants we regard it as one of our primary
roles to identify these key individuals and ensure that we can
reach them with key news and opinion, but also that we closely
monitor them to get an early warning of stories and hopefully
10

13. monitoring is quite crucial. Whereas in the field of traditional
media monitoring, we (as an agency) seldom have to work out and
explain the relevance of a newspaper or trade journal, the reverse
is true for social media. Understanding what is just ‘noise’ and
can be ignored with little risk and what is potentially damaging, is
a complex and ever-shifting task. Identification of the digital gate
keepers, and looking at their feeder networks helps, but it is also
important to look for the issues that are gaining momentum and
become more than isolated rants.
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
46.7%
40%
40%
33.3%
30%
20%
20%
10%
6.7%
0%
As ency pers
Us
Do com
Ma m, t
No lidate
k m w on
ag that
the
the
va
et
thi
nu rac
a G me
of
oo
ng
y c heth
ally k c
oo nta
ls s
/I d ir in
olle er
gle tor
se
on flue
the
uc
ag the
e w me
se /site
't k
ha
ue y'v
ho nts
om
arc
no nce
sK
sa eh
co etc
wh
ho
nd ea
lou
nn
n
ow
/or rd
t
ec
PR
to
ts
to
Q. What do you do to validate the influence of online commentators
discussion on you or your brand?
Checking the influence of those discussing you and the issues
that matter to you is key in determining which rants to focus
on. The most frequent way of undertaking this according to our
respondents is to do a search on the commentator or their site (46
per cent did this). Other options are manually tracking back through
comments and links to investigate frequency, reach and tone of
other comments and posts, as well as looking at who connects to
them (40 per cent did this) Although some of this can be automated
with tools like Klout (www.klout.com) few used them (under 10 per
cent) with one third of people (33%) relying on their PR agency to
investigate and advise on the relative influence of commentators.
Most worryingly a fifth (20%) did not know how to, or did nothing to
investigate or validate the influence of online commentators talking
about their brands.
11

14. 13.3%
Blind spots Similarly, the activities, perceptions and attitudes to key events, 6.7%
100%
issues and topics that relate to your business can by association
impact your reputation. Monitoring online conversations about
90%
93.3%
issues that matter is crucial if you are to be in a 33.3%
position to react
80% 85.7% when an opportunity or a threat emerges. For example, privacy is
20%
70%
78.6% a topic of ongoing hot debate online. It is a virtual certainty that
any business that collects customer data – especially online – will
60% at some point be asked about its views, procedures and protections
50%
around data. Monitoring and participating in this debate before you
53.3%
have to can lead to you benefiting from this scrutiny rather than
20%
40% 46.7% 46.7% suffering from it.
40%
6.7%
30%
20%
We drive most of the social media
conversation about us - it is largely 13.3%
10% 14.3%
centred on owned media (eg. our
6.7% 7.1% 7.1% 7.1% 6.7% 6.7%
own website, Facebook and
0% 6.7%
Twitter pages)
Yes We are well discussed and
Co
Pr
Co prod
Ke
Ind topic
mp
od
No
or
or
ye
mp uc
us s
referenced in ongoing social
uc
an
try
xe
eti t na
Don’t know
tn
y/b
cu
media conversations and
tor m
iss
am
tiv
ran
ue
33.3%
co es
es
es
we are actively involved in
dn
s
mp
'n
am
an
am
these discussions
y
e
es
20%
There is ongoing dicussion about
Q. What terms do you use to monitor online conversations? us, but we are not actively involved
There is active discussion of issues
that are relevant to us, but we are
We also asked what terms people used in their monitoring and found not engaged with them
that whilst significant majorities searched on company name (93%), There is little conversation in social 20%
competitor names (86%) and their own product names (79%), just media about us or about issues of
relevance to us 6.7%
over half searched on key executive names (53%) and even fewer
monitored key industry issues or topics (47%). Our view is that this Don't know - we do not monitor social
media discussions
could lead to potential ‘blind-spots’ in managing reputations; blind
spots that could lead to reputational damage or missed opportunity. Q. How would you describe your current visibility and reputation in
social media?
In today’s world of contested communications well connected
‘fanatics’ of whatever hue can quickly gain a share of opinion that
massively outweighs their actual importance. Seemingly small and
irrelevant issues can quickly become major reputational risks. Keeping Our question on current reputation in social media was designed
an eye on what people are saying about your key people, as well as to dig into this a little further. Although brands are often justifiably
your brand is important – even if rumours are untrue, unconnected proud of the level to which they are in control of what is said about
to your business, or even concerning a similarly named different them online, we believe this can also be a weakness. A third (33%)
individual with no connection to you. Just as the worlds of business of our respondents felt that they drove most of the social media
and personal social media are blurring so the impact of personal conversation about themselves. They used a variety of channels
reputations on corporate reputation is increasing. And it need not be including Facebook, Twitter and their own websites to lead and
just the senior people – although there may need to be an explicit link maintain social media presence about themselves.
made to the organisation, the social and business exploits of any staff
member could impact your reputation. A further 13 per cent saw a wider role and actively participated in
conversations in which they were referenced. This switch from control
to influence is a key step in using social media to shape and manage
reputation beyond the channels you directly control. Fortunately,
only 7 per cent of respondents knew there were social media
conversations about them that they were not involved in. Ceding
the field to others, without endeavouring to engage or influence the
discussion puts your reputation entirely in the hands of others.
12

15. About a fifth of respondents felt that there were ongoing social Of course today’s search results contain more than corporate
media conversations that although did not mention them, but were websites; blog posts, Flickr streams, YouTube videos, Twitter posts
nonetheless relevant, and with which they did not engage. These and Facebook pages can all end up on that first page of results - as
conversations represent clear opportunities to create reputation well as, of course, news items from a wide range of publications.
by providing informed and insightful commentary to discussions Each of these entries has the potential to enhance or damage
whilst at the same time building awareness with audiences already your reputation. Although blog posts and Twitter updates tend
engaged in key topics. The flip side of this opportunity is that by to be quite ephemeral and only feature in search results for a
not engaging you leave the door open to competitors, or create an few days, other things like media interviews can persist for much
impression that you either cannot or do not want to comment on longer. When they are positive this can significantly enhance your
these issues. In an age of transparency, non-engagement can be reputation by providing a halo of influence surrounding your
seen as evidence of wishing to hide something. ‘official’ online presence. But when they are negative you can
Finally, the remaining quarter of respondents felt that currently imagine where most traffic is going to go!
there was little conversation about them or about issues that
mattered to them, or didn’t know. We would urge at minimum Just under half of our panel felt that they only have control
a watching brief here to establish when and how to engage as over one entry in the first page of search results – their own
a conversation develops. If you want to be more proactive we’d website (43%). However, some are extending their influence
also suggest this is a good opportunity to stimulate or channel an by maintaining a wider range of digital and social channels to
existing conversation and establish yourselves and thought leaders. increase their population in the Google space. Forty-three per
cent claimed that they managed two or three of these entries
by actively managing and frequently updating Facebook pages,
The Google space YouTube video channels, blogs and official Twitter feeds and the
like to ensure they rated highly in search.
A smaller number have gone even further by actively engaging with a
One - just our own website
range of third-party advocates, media and social media influencers to
Two or three - we manage a range 14.3% ensure that their output is positive towards the company. Providing
of social and digital media (website,
blogs, Facebook pages, Twitter compelling content to third parties is a great way of creating more
pages etc) that regularly feature reputation-enhancing results. Not every listing has to promote the
in top search results
company line – there is benefit in just ensuring that competitor
More - we engage with a range
of third-party advocates, media messages and sites are pushed off the first page by more interesting
42.9%
and other influencers whose content – even if it is just neutral towards your brand. Content should
pages also feature in top results
to ensure that our messages
not be corporate-speak, heavily messaged and refined, but rather
reach a wide audience interesting stories that subtly present you as an expert, provide
42.9% insight or information that supports a point of view in a natural way.
Q. Of the top ten results from a web search - how many do you have
influence over? NB - this excludes paid for search advertising results.
One further aspect of digital reputation that we were keen to
investigate was the brands’ influence over the first page of search
results. Often seen as the most valuable ‘real-estate’ online, Google
search results are hotly contested and an entire industry of search
engine optimisation (SEO) has grown up to help brands place well
here. However, whilst just over half of our respondents regularly
checked where their brands turn up in relevant searches, fewer than
a quarter checked any of the other sites around them. We believe
that this could represent a further blind spot. Looking at these other
entries can highlight what competitors, customers, partners and
other influencers could be seeing instead of your messages.
13

16. Conclusions
Our short survey of some of the leading exponents of digital The vanguard is now making strategic and proactive choices on how,
media has illuminated some of the key areas in which they are when and why they use social media and putting it at the heart of
using social media to manage their reputations. It has also show not only communications but their whole business. For many, some
those areas where even these leaders are still feeling their way social media tools are already essential, and all agree that more
and identified some potential blind spots for all. There are no right will become so over a relatively short space of time. What this does
or wrong approaches, but it does seem that, although some of not mean is headlong and mindless adoption of all aspects of social
our commentators encourage those still unsure of social media to media. Our leaders are well aware of some of the shortcomings and
‘experiment’, the era of dabbling is coming to an end. Social media risks associated with social media and the content it delivers.
increasingly is not an option or even a choice. It is a fact of doing Organisations need to be clear on the difference in using social
business and increasingly for some a ‘hygiene factor’ – media as a channel to engage, and as a source of information. Both
are valid and important, but need different levels of proof. How you
“Don’t approach social media activity as a choice respond, rate and react to information and conversation in social
media must be predicated on a knowledge of the relative influence
but rather a given - a hygiene factor. So, senior and credibility of the source and the forum. As noted above,
executives need to get to know and develop the finding this out, in a timely fashion is one of the great challenges of
right channels by become users themselves and reputation management in the era of social media. Auditing and
monitoring topics issues and conversations is essential if you are to
not just delegating it all to ‘experts” - Marco Veremis have the information ready to make these decisions.
14

17. Digital leaders are also wise enough to recognise and acknowledge
where traditional approaches are still more influential. As Will
Neale of Orca Digital put it
“[Social Media is] Quite important - we’re a B2B
play so ‘real’ personal relationships are [also
still] important.”
The value of getting out and meeting customers face to face was still
an important way to influence them. The role of traditional media
in not only driving reputation directly, but also in stimulating social
media buzz, conversation and opinion formation was also recognised
in the research. Getting the right balance is about understanding
who you want to reach and who influences them. Social media must
therefore be managed as a part of a greater whole – be it the wider
communications and reputation management strategy, or as part of a
customer service or even sales approach.
Lastly, we all have blind spots. These are often an unavoidable
consequence of focus elsewhere, or of simple lack of resources and
funds (no one can monitor and engage with everyone everywhere).
They could be the result of the rapid evolution of the space and the
relative inexperience of everyone in it. However, knowing that you
could have blind spots, and even better identifying where some
of them could be, can be a significant step towards avoiding being
blindsided by events. Organisations should get into the habit of
listening to the conversations in social media that they should be a
part of, even if they don’t want to engage just yet.
Our research has revealed a group of individuals and
organisations that are leading the way on the real use of social
media. They can certainly provide the rest of us with some
important insights into best practice and effective use of social
media for reputation management.
Top Tips
• Establish clear goals
• Consider the multiple facets affecting your reputation –
it’s more than your Google rank or Twitter mentions!
• Know the different social media tools and try them out
• Be as transparent as possible
• Make sure there is a social media policy to ensure
consistency and clarity
• Get to know and engage with the people who have an
influence on your business
• Monitor the issues surrounding your business
• Listen to conversations and intervene where necessary
15

18. MHP Communications,
60 Great Portland St,
London W1W 7RT
tel: 020 3128 8100
www.mhpc.com