Being publicized has often been seen as a good thing, no matter the nature of the publicity an individual or organization was receiving. However, in more recent years, with the advancements in technology and ability to share information on the web at the tap of a finger, the kind of publicity matters. Businesses and individuals have had their entire reputation ruined over issues that seemed miniscule at the time they occurred.
There was a thought that bad publicity was once a good thing to receive because it got you in the spotlight. Everyone knew your name, brand, or the issue that made you popular. That’s not the case anymore and we’re going to share the differences between good and bad publicity, how to combat it, and how to repair reputation if the situation is unavoidable.
Bad Publicity Versus Good
Publicity by definition is the quality or state of being public. Furthermore, the term bad publicity is associated with negative issues, quality, or being, whereas good publicity is the opposite. The way information is publicized, or provided to the public, is ultimately what drives the direction of how a person or organization is perceived by individuals across the globe.
When information is released publicly, it doesn’t take long for the world to run wild with it. We’ve all seen celebrities and well-known organizations take hits for negative issues such as scandals, lies, misinformation, and more. While in pre-web times it took longer for news to spread with such virality, nowadays, it takes the matter of mere seconds for bad publicity to blow up into something irreversible.
Dealing With Cancel Culture
You’ve probably heard the term “cancel culture” more frequently in the past few years. It’s a term that’s been introduced to us through social media and online platforms as mass cancellation of an individual or brand through expressed disapproval. It’s been continually on the rise. If someone doesn’t agree with or support something said or a brand’s views or actions, they immediately strip them of their reputation. Much of the time this results in removal of partnerships, a drop in stocks, increased negative online reviews, and loss of business across the board. Often, those who are in disagreement with an individual or organization do not realize the damage they are doing to those involved. While the party accusing doesn’t necessarily realize the damage they’ve done, the business or individual it’s happening to does. Those under fire have ways of rebooting their image and reputation through simple steps taught early on in life…
- Stop and breathe. While you could get frantic and feel like your world is crashing down, just stop and breathe. With our world in a constant state of news cycling through each hour, your mistake will soon be overtaken by someone else’s.
- Listen. While it is hard to take the harshest, cruel, hateful criticism in the online space, you need to listen to what people are saying and dig deeper to find out why they are saying the things they are.
- Learn. Become a better person, more understanding, forgiving, and open up your level of personal and professional growth to the next level.
- Take Action Appropriately. When enough time has passed, not too little or too long, take action to change the narrative. Proactively creating positive, good publicity around the ways you are improving yourself or your company can change the way you are viewed just as fast as it was seen as bad.
- Reach Out for Additional Help. Managing your reputation and overcoming a bad situation can be extremely difficult if you are not keen on the steps or corrective actions that will revitalize your image. By contacting a professional reputation management company, you can work through and learn best practices to get back on track.
So the next time you or someone you know is facing a “cancel-worthy” situation, remember the above steps to take to repair your reputation.
What Publicity Is Good To Receive?
Publicity surrounding you or your business’ ventures, accomplishments, innovations, and products/services should generally be informative and positive in nature. It should provide solid facts and unbiased information to give a full picture of what you or your company is about to the general public without holes for possible access to generating negative publicity. While it’s impossible to be able to control all aspects of how your business is perceived, you can do your best to create solid messaging, keep your personal life matters out of the hands of your business, avoid controversial topics, improve your company’s cultural diversification, and have a system of check and balances to ensure the integrity of you and your brand are not compromised or at risk for bad publicity.
On the other hand, there are individuals and organizations that will seek out bad publicity to gain fame for a short period of time and have their name be known. This is far from the course of action you should take as much of the time, those who view you for the controversy and negativity you’ve shed light to, will remember you for it and only in a negative way.
Many organizations, from corporations to government agencies and celebrities, often deal with negative publicity caused by controversies or scandals. This can lead to lasting consequences, requiring effective public relations and crisis management to rebuild public trust. Alongside these challenges, some individuals and entities can explore Foreign Trust arrangements by Dominion to safeguard their assets from potential legal troubles and litigation.
If you are finding risks for bad publicity and are actively trying to avoid it though, it is vital that you get a handle on the situation before it becomes a full blown controversial topic of debate for the press. Having a skilled professional in online reputation management and reputation repair on deck to assist you with this type of work can minimize or eliminate the chances of leaks being made to news outlets or issues popping up with consumers or individuals who are looking for opportunities to rip others apart and get them canceled.
Repairing Damaging Claims
Repairing damaging claims can be as simple as apologizing, taking a step back from the situation, and letting it float away until people forget about it as we’ve shared in steps to take above. However, other more serious allegations and claims require attentiveness and action to repair immediately. Consumers online have the ultimate power in driving you to success or to failure with their opinions and ability to easily and quickly communicate with others online.
To get ahead of the quick sharing of information that’s generating bad publicity, use tools, resources, and seek out professionals in reputation management to help you get a hold on the situation quickly. When brands and individuals utilize different platforms for managing online profiles and stay on top of their brand communication to the public as a whole, they do far better than those who do not.
Here at Reputation Rhino, we help businesses create sparkling reputations for all to see. As a reputation defender and builder, we work to suppress negative publicity opportunities discovered with positive content to combat negative, monitor online conversations, raise your visibility online, and help develop a review and reputation strategy that you can use to keep publicity on your side.