The phrase “online reputation” implies something separate from your offline reputation. Many people make the mistake, sometimes unconsciously, of assuming their online reputation is not related to their reputation.

Let’s start with a definition of reputation:

1. The general estimation in which a person is held by the public.
2. The state or situation of being held in high esteem.
3. A specific characteristic or trait ascribed to a person or thing: a reputation for courtesy.

What I get from these definitions is that someone’s (individual or organization) reputation is a sum of many parts. You do not do one thing and subsequently have a reputation for it. It is something that suggests a pattern, trait or commitment.

If your reputation is built up over time, and is a sum of all your actions and words, then to say you can have an online reputation divorces it from your overall reputation.

In a nutshell, how you behave online will directly affect your reputation offline. Your reputation is your reputation, whether you are online or off.

I have seen time and time again examples of people behaving online in ways that would horrify those around them if they were done in person.

Sadly, there have been many times when I valued someone’s opinion and felt a great deal of respect towards them, only to lose that regard when I see them lash out online, calling names or oozing anger and nastiness towards others. All too often people forget there are real people behind profiles and text postings.

The only way to protect your “online” reputation is to treat it the same as you would your offline reputation – walk your talk, be true to who you are and realize that people are watching and formulating opinions.

But life is life and the only thing you can count on, or so they say, is death, taxes and change.

If you are sitting on a non-profit board, running your own company or in charge of your own department at work, there will come a time when you will have to lead people through the process of change. Although there is a whole profession designed to help people with change management, here are a few tips from a communications perspective that should help you guide people through this process as painlessly as possible.

1. Involvement = Investment

This is the most important step. If at all possible, include your audience in the process. If there is a decision to be made, ask their opinion. Do you need to research options? Ask them to help. Run ideas by them; include them in meetings and discussions.

People who have walked through the process with you will understand the outcome and the reason for the change. They will become your change ambassadors because they understand why it is necessary.

2. Know your audience

Is your non-profit board full of people who value personal one-on-one interactions and who don’t like to be too ‘business-like’ or ‘stuffy’? Or are they a no-nonsense group who just wants the facts, cut to the chase and get to the business at hand?

Keep this in mind as you consider how you will be talking to them about change. A slick PowerPoint presentation complete with charts, tables and statistics might not work for the first group, but work great with the second.

3. Keep it Positive and Real

When talking about upcoming change, make sure you present the information in a positive and upbeat way. But whatever you do, don’t ignore the realities. Don’t pretend the elephant isn’t in the room. If you pretend the negative doesn’t exist, your audience will either think you are an idiot because you can’t see the negative or they will lose trust in you because you are trying to pretend it doesn’t exist. Address the negative but highlight the positives.

4. Provide Assistance

When addressing the negatives, provide some answers. Let them know how they can downplay the negatives. If possible, suggest resources, techniques or tips. Better yet, tell them how YOU are planning to deal with any negative aspects of the change.

5. Follow Up

Don’t just leave people to deal with things. Follow up. Call them and find out how they are coping with the change. Ask if there is anything else you can do to help. Listen.

Have you ever been on the other side when change was implemented and these steps were not followed? Was there any fallout? How receptive were you towards the change?

Useful Links

10 Tips for Communicating Change

PDM and Change Management

Collection of articles on change

If you allow your employees full access to social media sites during work hours, will they fritter away valuable time playing Farmville or Mafia Wars while your company slowly goes bankrupt?

Will banning social media sites during company time cause a riot in your company with employees banding together to poison your coffee – or at least steal your favourite mug?

Are these your only two options? Or is there a middle ground somewhere? (no, the answer is not to just ban Myspace – no one would really care anyway).

In an October 2009 study, it was found that 54% of companies ban social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin and Myspace. Only 10% grant employees full and unlimited access.

In a world that is being driven by open and transparent communication, a world where people’s thoughts and opinions have greater influence and power than ever before, where is there a place for “The Man” to block websites, cyber-watch and dictate employee’s actions?

The answer is that if you want to attract brilliant, interesting and engaged employees – there is no place.

In a world where information is king, where a single tweet or status update can topple a company’s or a person’s reputation, you can no longer cling to the illusion that you are in control.

Take a deep breath. Exhale. Let go. Got that? Ok, lets take it one step further… Embrace your lack of control. No? ok, one step at a time.

How can allowing access to social media sites during work hours actually be beneficial? Something to embrace? Simple. It can work in your favour. Don’t think of social media as a productivity drainer and time waster, think of it as your own secret cadre of brand agents let loose on an unsuspecting world.

You already know that people form opinions on your company based on every interaction they have with you, whether it is through your sales staff or your receptionist. But what if your entire staff was out in the world talking up your company? Would it be easier to attract valuable employees in the future? Would you have greater brand awareness? Increased revenue?

What if you could hire a group of people to spread your corporate message? How much would that be worth to you? Is it possible that banning social media could actually hamper your brand?

What if you armed your staff with the knowledge and understanding they need to participate in social media while helping to support your brand?

But what if my staff goes crazy and wastes hour after hour feeding their cows on Farmville???

Well, there is always that possibility. But that will very quickly make another benefit of social media access apparent – discovering who your most valuable employees are. As someone once said “if you cant’ trust your employees to use their time wisely, then you are hiring the wrong people.”

Useful links:

Alternatives to Facebook Censorship at Work

Why Your Company Can’t Afford to Ban Social Networking

We are getting our house ready to sell. This involves emptying our house of about half of our possessions, cleaning every nook and cranny and making sure any minor repairs are done. One of the things we wanted to do was something that has been on our to-do list for about 2 months. Get Shaw in to fix a cable outlet. I won’t bore you with all the history and details of said outlet, but suffice it to say that my husband’s hero is Tim The Toolman Taylor – the end product being some cables hanging out of the wall that are taped together to ensure we get to watch HBO in our bedroom. Effective, but not visually appealing.

My sweetie is a smart man and decided we had best call in the experts to fix things. He sat on hold for 30 minutes during his lunch break before hanging up. I took up the charge the next day and was lucky to talk to someone after 25 minutes. During the time I was on hold, I filled in a customer survey that I found on their website. I let them know that I wasn’t overly impressed with their hold times. Once I did get to talk to someone, we set up an appointment for between 2 and 4 the next day.

The next day, I received a very nice email from Shaw responding to my survey. They said all the right things in their email. They acknowledged my concerns, took responsibility and explained how they were working to correct the problems. I was impressed. But not for long.

The appointment time came and went. When it was a half hour past the time the technician was supposed show up, I went online and started up their online chat program. After 25 minutes online, I was informed that there was no record of my phone call and there was no service call scheduled. But don’t worry, we will re-book it for you. Gee, thanks.

I had now spent 3.83 hours with the potential of adding 2 hours more as I waited for a technician to arrive for another appointment.

Throughout all of this, I was tweeting on twitter about my experience, using the hashtag (a tool for tracking topics) #Shaw. A helpful gentleman named Jay Baron (@action_Jay) noticed my tweets. I presume he monitors twitter for mentions of #shaw. As his twitter profile states, Jay is a “Frontline Tech Support at Shaw Cable. Huge on customer service and social media. Not an official liasion, but happy to help all the same” – I translate that to mean his monitoring of #shaw is something he does on his own time, because he is huge on customer service and because he believes in the company that gives him his paycheque.

Jay contacted me and expressed concern regarding the service experience I was having with Shaw. He asked questions and then tried to see what he could do to help reimburse me for some of my time. I don’t know if his efforts will yield results, but I appreciate his diligence and his passion.

Now here is the kicker for me. Jay works for Shaw. In Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. He doesn’t work out of the same branch I was dealing with at Shaw (Edmonton). He works one province away.

Here is an employee who went out of his way to help a customer. He listened. He responded. He went above and beyond his job description. He believes in the company he works for enough to look out for its brand and reputation.

But my question is this. Where is the official liaison for Shaw? I checked out their website and they have all kinds of ways for me to approach them. I can email, phone, online chat, check out their 24/7 virtual helpdesk or even visit their office. All of these methods are great, but it assumes that the customer will take the initiative and time to go to their website and initiate communication. At one time, this would be been enough. In fact, they would have been seen as cutting edge. That time has come and gone.

The time when a company or organization can sit back and wait for people to come to them has long come and gone. Now, the organizations that are listening are considered cutting edge. They use the various social media tools that are available. They keep their ear to the ground and listen. They listen for talk about their company, their product, their sector. Then, they proactively respond and show they are concerned about their customers.

As I have heard said so many times – the conversation about your company or organization is happening through social media – the question is, will you be there to participate in the discussion?

The real head-scratching began when they started to share with me that they have found the best way of generating business is to network. If you get out there and let people know who you are, they assured me, you will see results.

Um. But. Um.

As I asked more questions, it became apparent to me that they were making a very critical error in their thinking. They see online social media as technology.  Something for the geeks or those with no life and plenty of time on their hands. What they were missing is that tools like twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn are not primarily pieces of technology but rather methods of interacting and networking.

 If you find that most of your business is the result of networking, then social networking is probably a really good fit for you.  It is just another way of meeting people – yes, even online – and having an opportunity to forge relationships.

Do you have any stories to share about how social media has influenced or affected your business? What is your biggest deterent, if you aren’t involved?

He looked at me with a mixture of shock, disgust and amazement. At that point, I think he was mentally reviewing the marriage license he had signed only three short weeks prior. When he realized there probably wasn’t an escape clause in the fine print of the license, he began to patiently explain the difference to me.

 “a tire is the round black thing,” he said with more than just a hint of patronization.

“you mean the rubber part?”

“yes dear, the rubber part. The wheel is thing the tire goes onto”

“oh! You mean the tire is the doughnut and the wheel is the Tim Bit?” You could almost see the light bulb go on over my head. “now you’re speaking my language!”

This is a lesson that many people who are trying to communicate need to learn. When you are trying to get a message across to someone, or a group of people, make sure you are talking their language.

Every group, organization or profession has their own lingo and acronyms. Don’t assume everyone is conversant in this language. Take the time to explain. If you use acronyms, write it out in full the first time you use it and then use the acronym in brackets. From then on, feel free to use the acronym. For example:

We are avid supporters of the Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB). The CNIB helps those who…

If you are using words that aren’t in the dictionary, offer an explanation or definition. Don’t leave your audience scratching their head and wondering what you are talking about. And speaking of scratching their heads, don’t forget names of buildings and rooms. Saying “On Thursday we will meet in the Cloverbar conference room” isn’t very helpful to someone who maybe doesn’t even know what building the Cloverbar conference room is in.

Be careful that you aren’t making assumptions about the language your audience speaks. What I find helpful sometimes is to get someone to review my communication who is totally removed from the subject. I ask them if it makes sense. They are usually pretty quick to tell me what parts are Greek to them.  

You see, there is nothing that makes communication more difficult than when conversing in two different languages. When my husband was talking tires and wheels, he thought we were speaking the same language. Turns out, I speak foodese…he speaks English.

Unfortunately, I often have to resort to telling them they might better understand what I do if they think PR. Oh! Why didn’t you say you’re a publicist. Sigh. And then, inevitably, the word spin comes up.

Just what is spin? Wikipedia suggests it is a pejorative term signifying a heavily biased portrayal in one’s own favor of an event or situation. Hmmmm…. doesn’t that mean everyone uses spin? I mean, really, who portrays events or situations in a way that isn’t in our favour?

•  I was speeding officer? My speedometer must be out, I NEVER speed! This is so embarrassing!
   Vs. yes officer, I was speeding. I thought I could get away with it and just assumed
   you were at the local doughnut shop.
•  I’m so sorry boss, my kid has had the flu all week and although I came in early, I just wasn’t able to
   make up the lost time vs. sorry boss, I didn’t get project done on time because I was feeling lazy
   and sluggish yesterday and didn’t manage my time well.

 An alternative definition is:  Spin is the act of knowingly ignoring aspects of a story or telling outright lies in an attempt to cover up the negative. I’m more comfortable with this definition.

An ethical, professional and quality PR professional would never counsel their client to lie or ignore a potential crisis situation. They will counsel disclosure, honesty and ethical behaviour. To do otherwise is bad business. Just ask Bill “I did not have sexual relations with that woman” Clinton or Gary “go ahead and follow me” Hart

Sometimes, that may mean taking a hard line with a client. As Gini Dietrich, in her blog The Fight Against Destructive Spin explains, “public relations practitioners should be firm with clients… even if it means conflict or uncomfortable situations.”

Good PR isn’t about ignoring the negative or lying about it. I think Betsey Rogers said it best when she said:

What good PR really does is find the great stories, information, perspective and achievements within a company that are already there but haven’t been told/communicated yet – as often clients have difficulty seeing these being close to their own company, products … If there happens to be negative information that is relevant for customers and public audiences to know about, good PR people advocate and practice being proactive in communicating this information to the public.

If lies are involved or if you are afraid of the skeletons in the closet, the line has probably been crossed. If your audience found out all the facts – and they will – would they feel they had been duped? Then the line has probably been crossed.

In my line of work, policy, advocacy & communications, the lion’s share of my writing is intended to persuade. In fact, when you think about it, even when writing a simple notice about a new online survey or upcoming event, the intent is to motivate participation, so still involves a “grab”, a “call to action”.

Given that reality, here are a few things I have learned, mostly by trial and error. While not a comprehensive list by any means, and it’s pretty basic, I hope it will jog some ideas and strategies for you:

1. Get their attention early: Start with a strong statement that summarizes the case you intend to make. Some trainers say you can open with an anecdote or a quotation, but I discourage this. Those to whom you are advocating, particularly in a business setting, are busy people who much prefer the bottom line to a “song and dance”. If you think an example or quote strengthens your argument, then add in where appropriate – but don’t open with it or you’ll have lost the battle before it begins.
2. Know your audience: Having a general sense of who I am trying to persuade really helps me to craft the “ask”. This is particularly true with writing strategic policy to advocate to government. If it’s under provincial jurisdiction and I send it to the feds, I’ve just wasted my time and theirs. Additionally, since I am trying to persuade, I want to know what matters to the target audience and use language and examples that will speak to them.
3. Don’t make assumptions: This is a tough one for me. I get immersed in an issue and forget that others may not have a clue what I am talking about. I am developing a habit, now, of writing all the background details of an issue into the document, and then going back afterward to vet the fluff and make it succinct. The other thing I am learning to do is leave it for a while and then go back and reread it, trying to put myself in the shoes of the recipient. This is quickly becoming a staple part of my writing routine and I sharply notice when I skip this step.
4. Avoid accusations and guilt trips: Since I am also a politician – but don’t hold that against me – I know what it is like to be blasted. Huge tip here: vilification and aggressive presentation is counter-productive. When I am on the receiving end of advocacy, and it is delivered to me like a cannon, I cannot hear the message, even if there is a valid point in there somewhere, because I am focused on the insults. Done in written form, the most frequent response of the target audience is to simply place your letter in the “round file”. Keeping your verbiage respectful and focused on the issue is the best way of getting for message across. The same is true of guilt trips: it is an ineffective method of getting real results. The recipient wants something they can get on board with and be motivated to respond to; guilt as a motivator generates begrudging actions at best. I make a practice of carefully considering what will make my advocacy palatable to the target, asking, “What’s the carrot in this?”
5. Tell them what you want and when you want it: If I had a dollar for every piece of writing I’ve seen where the problem or issue is presented very effectively but the “ask” is missing or else stated very passively. Don’t say “please consider doing this, but if you don’t want to or it doesn’t really work for you, maybe try this instead”. Indicate clear recommendations or requests in a direct manner; it’s the recipient’s job to sort out the details and decide how to proceed. Always ask for a meeting or a response and include a deadline; if it appears to be something that can be relegated to the back burner until that sweet someday when time permits, that is exactly where it will end up.
6. Follow up: I don’t like babysitting people and they don’t like being hounded, so there is a real balance in how to accomplish good follow-up. I send ONE reminder and always frame it as “just following up”. People appreciate having their memories jogged but they don’t want to be backed into a corner.

So, those are some quick and simple tips for effective persuasive writing. I’d love to hear your thoughts on this, and what works for you. Happy writing!
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Hailing originally from Edmonton, Danielle considers herself a true Alberta girl, having lived in several Alberta communities. She came to Red Deer in 1997 and settled in Penhold in 2001. She is married and has three grown children, one teenage step-daughter and two grandchildren.

I believe we all have stories to share. Some are pretty good at sharing them. Others are still trying to figure out their story. You see, storytelling is at the heart of communications. Whether you are a non-profit, a multi-million dollar corporation or one person, we are all about stories.

In order to make sure you story gets heard, you have some work to do. You need to write your story. Is your story about medical research or is about the lives that research touches? Is your story about fundraising or about problem-solving? In order to tell the story, you need to know the story.
Who do you want to tell your story to? Who wants to hear your story? We all think our story is important, but are we telling it to the right people?

But one of the most important questions is this: are you telling your story in a way people can understand? If you aren’t sure what your story is or even who wants to hear it, how will you share it effectively?

What if you are self-employed though? Or you are a non-profit organization or society? Chances are, there will come a time – in fact, many times – when you will have some decisions to make. Will you work with designer “A” or designer “B”? Will you choose a printer you know does great work, or will you choose an unknown who has a better price?

Then there is the question of referrals. You meet someone who seems to be a really nice person. They say they make great widgets. Later that week you meet up with an old friend. Turns out, he needs widgets. Do you make the referral? Do you take the chance he makes great widgets and won’t waste your friend’s time?

The answer to these questions won’t be the same for everyone, but here are some thoughts on the subject.

1. Do your research. Ask around and find out if they have a good reputation. Do they deliver on their promises?
2. Do they have samples of their work or their product?
3. What does your gut say? Never under estimate it’s power.
4. Start small. If possible, work with them on a project that, if it goes bad, won’t cause irreparable damage.

Sometimes though, despite your due diligence, things happen. Many organizations have those kind of horror stories. The supplier that doesn’t supply, the partner that doesn’t partner.

What have been your experiences? Do you have any other tips or suggestions to add?