Confessions of a journalist: the 5 things I simply can’t stand.

May 21, 2012 by 1 Comment

Now that I’ve been regularly confessing my intimate, journalist secrets to you all, I figured it was time to finally open up and share the dark stuff. This is the stuff that makes me (and probably every other journalist) outraged.

Please keep in mind that there are naturally many aspects of being a journalist, most of which do not cause my blood to boil. But here are the things you should most definitely avoid.

1. I said “email me.” Not “poke me on Facebook.”

It’s funny, a lot of journalists make it very clear how they want to be contacted – yet people consistently ignore this info and seek out utterly annoying ways to get in touch, usually with the hopes of “making a statement.”

People figure journalists are bombarded with press releases and info (which they are) via email, phone, Twitter and whathaveyou, so by finding a different way to get in touch they’ll probably get the journalist’s attention. Well, this method definitely gets attention – though typically not the right kind.

All journalists are different. I have public profiles on a lot of social sites but I have always made it very clear that people should get in touch with me via email, Twitter and Linkedin. I dislike using both telephone, Skype and Facebook for people I have never met, yet many people somehow managed to ignore this. I’ve had people do everything from Facebook poke me to call my parents in California for an article. I definitely makes me wonder why people go to such extensive lengths when my email address is very visible and I am (generally) pretty good at reading and responding.

In short, most journalists make it very clear how they want to be contacted. Why not just try one of those?

2. As it turns out, I don’t blog about mattresses.

One of the problems with my email being so available to everyone on the Internet is that sometimes people who have no idea about what I write about contact me with their completely irrelevant press releases. I get press releases about trucks, wine – even mattresses. Clearly, none of this really appeals to a French tech/startup blogger…

There are also times when the line gets a little blurry. I write about tech – but for the most part, I cover Europe and French-related news and companies. Therefore, I have more difficulty writing about companies in China or Australia if there isn’t a direct relationship to France or Europe. It can be done – but usually I would prefer that these startups actually have a relevant story for my audience before pitching me.

So, before contacting a journalist, it’s definitely good to check and make sure that what you are sending them is relevant to their readers.

3. Yes, you DO have competitors.

This is my biggest journalist pet peeve of all time: whenever someone I am interviewing and he or she tells me that their company does not have competitors. Every time this happens, there is an explosion inside my head. And a part of me dies.

I am a strong advocate of openly talking about competition for several reasons:

First, you help the journalist understand your business better. If you ignore talking about other people in your industry, there is a chance that the journalist may not fully understand the market you are in.

Second, I always think it’s beneficial to be seen as part of a movement – alongside big, dominant players, if possible – than as a lone star. And plus, if you are competing with the likes of Amazon or Apple (in even the smallest of ways), wouldn’t it be nice for your name to appear next to theirs?

And finally, you risk taking the journalist for an idiot – and then you’ll get a not-so-friendly surprise if they actually publish an article. If the journalist does their homework, they’ll end up finding out who your competitors are and publishing them anyway. So why not just talk about them openly and avoid looking like a bit of a scoundrel ?

4. No, my question cannot wait 48 hours.

Perhaps this applies more to bloggers than any other type of journalist – but do not forget that journalists are on incredibly tight schedules. Embargoes are not very fun to play with and usually journalists are working on multiple stories at the same time and trying to get them out as fast as they can.

Therefore, when you or your communications/PR team gets a question from a journalist, try to respond ASAP. I cannot tell you how helpful it is when someone is able to get an answer to you right away – it also helps drive the momentum for finishing the article and getting it published.

There have been times when PR teams or communications people have not responded right away, have dragged their feet a little and gotten me the answer to my question after my article had been published. Well, needless to say, it ends up making my question and the answer absolutely pointless.

5. Yes, we had a conversation. I did not sign a contract.

Perhaps one of the worst assumptions that someone can make is that a conversation equals an article. I’ve had many conversations with startups and discovered afterwards that there just simply wasn’t a story. And explaining this can be difficult.

Some journalists have enough integrity to come out and just say clearly that they will or will not publish. But on the whole, it’s best to assume that a conversation doesn’t necessarily equal an article – and not harass the journalist to bits just because you had a conversation.

Now, if there are any other journalists or bloggers out there who would like to share the things that annoy them most, by all means – feel free !

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Confessions of a Journalist: um, that’s not a story.

April 30, 2012 by 4 Comments

Last week I begin a series of posts called “Confessions of a Journalist.” Every week, I reveal some of my so-called deep, dark journalist secrets from my last few years of experience as a tech/startup blogger in France and Europe.

Last week, I confessed why I may not read a press release. This week I’ll go one step further and tell you what actually makes something compelling enough for me to write about it.

From here, you all look the same.

If you’ve ever gone to more than a couple of networking events in your life, you’ll definitely know what I’m talking about. You meet tons of incredibly talented people, who all work with amazing companies – from influential investment funds to life-changing startups. But over time, they all begin to blur together. Put a bunch of revolutionary people and ideas in the same room and you may eventually see no more than a crowd. Well, that’s more or less what happens once you’re being pitched “amazing” startup ideas 24-7. And that’s what happens in any industry; for the most part, everything starts to sound more or less the same.

“Once upon a time…”

I quickly discovered that entrepreneurs may actually be sitting on a fabulous story but not even know it. One example that comes to mind is from French startup MadMagz. Simply talking about a platform where people can make magazines didn’t really make me jump for joy. But then I found out one of the first users of the product was a 9 year old boy who had used the platform to print these adorable magazines. I was sold.

After I published the story, it was picked up by other publications throughout France as well – and it naturally highlighted how great the product was if a 9 year old boy could use it so easily. (Then again, this story seems less impressive now that toddlers are happily flipping through iPad applications.)

One great way to know what makes a story is to talk to people OUTSIDE of your industry. See what they react to and what they find interesting. Also, look at what else people are talking about and see if you can make your topic relevant.

“A dog made a website with our product.”

After the MadMagz story was published, some entrepreneurs thought that this type of story was a definite win with me – and they went on to pitch me all kinds of nonsense. At some point, I was even pitched a story about a dog that made websites. Puhlease. Make sure that if you’re going to craft a story, it’s based on (some form of) the truth. That said, if you actually do have a product that allows pets to make websites – please contact me…

In addition, it may seem like there are some pieces of information that always make the news no matter what; companies raising funding, the launch of a new product, etc. However, this definitely isn’t the case.

The truth about “non stories.”

It’s true – there may be times when you pitch a journalist a story and they come back and tell you “it’s not a story.” Actually, what they could also mean is “it’s not their story.”

I was actually reminded of this recently when talking with former Mashable Editor, Ben Parr. I mentioned a story to him that was easily picked up by French publications – but he insisted very strongly that it wasn’t a story. Turns out it just wasn’t a Mashable story. There are tons of different publications out there – a lot of the time, it’s just about making sure you’re pitching to the right people.

I cannot tell you how many times I have been contacted to write about the launch of a non-innovative iPhone app for a truck company, a mattress company, a coffee company and more, simply because the PR team figured an iPhone app meant I of course had to be interested. For me, it was definitely not a story. Then again, for an app review site or a site about trucks, mattresses or coffee, maybe it was a story.

Not sure what journalists at a particular publication actually want to write about? Just ask them – via email, Twitter, Linkedin, Quora, etc. For example, here are some TechCrunch writers revealing what startups need to do to get covered.

What about the end?

The one thing that every single journalist – no matter what industry – will be looking for, is the “so what” at the end of the story. It’s the moral of the story, the reason why people should care, the lesson to be learned. You need to make it very clear why the topic matters to them and their audience. For example, a startup building the most ridiculously hi-tech product may never get coverage if they can’t demonstrate to a journalist how their product is going to impact the lives of many people.

Here is a conclusion I found in an article in Fast Company about the data that proves that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Why should people care? Because eating breakfast can make them healthy and thinner – and here are the stats to prove it.

In many cases, this “so what” part of a story should actually come in your introduction when you are pitching a story. If I can’t immediately understand why something is important, I’m never going to write about it…

If you have additional thoughts or questions on what makes a good story, feel free to comment below.

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Confessions of a Journalist: do you think I actually read your press release?

April 19, 2012 by 4 Comments

This post is the first of a new series I am going to write about my experience as a journalist/blogger. I’ve written and continue to contribute to numerous publications – TechCrunch, Business Insider, the Telegraph, the Kernel, Betakit and more – and  I cover primarily tech startups. That said,  these tips are definitely relevant for all industries as journalism is going through a massive evolution with the development of new technology platforms.

Topic 1: The beloved press release.

Now, I picked a bit of a provocative title for this article on purpose. But PR and comms departments, please calm down – I DO read your press releases. Well, that is, if they are good.

What makes a good press release, you ask?

Any PR or comms expert is very familiar with a press release – an official written communication statement that is sent to the media in order to announce or share a piece of information. Most of the time, companies send out press releases to announce “official” news – the launch of a new product, new funding, an acquisition, etc.

Press releases also vary greatly from one industry to another. In tech, press releases tend to be 1-2 pages max, a little more neutral in tone with less visuals and more text. But go look at press releases from more visual industries – like fashion or cosmetics – and you’ll discover a variety of tones, colours, photos and very little text. For example, here’s a very eye-catching press release from bath & body brand Soap and Glory:

If you want to see an example of a more sober press release, take a look at Ebay’s press room. Honestly, neither of these styles is necessarily better than the other – they are actually both relevant for their audience.

Good press releases will of course feature a catchy title (I cannot stress the importance of titles enough as I often receive hundreds of emails a day that look more or less the same) and relevant information for the particular topic. Some journalists will actually publish more or less exactly what you send in the press release. But many journalists will (hopefully) want more; in fact, they’ll want to publish something exclusive that you’re not offering to everyone in your standard communication – so be sure to save some good bits of info for the journalists you really want to develop good relationships with.

News beyond the release.

Even though many traditional PR and comms teams may still hold on tight to their beloved press releases, journalists are actually excited in finding news through other means – and there are tons of terrific social platforms that they turn to in order to do so. Some of these I mentioned in an earlier post about some of the new social platforms companies should really be paying attention to: Pinterest, Quora and Instagram. But naturally, the list is much longer and often includes Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Foursquare and more. These different platforms are now considered viable and verified sources for news, so Facebook status updates, Tweets, Quora answers and Foursquare checkins can all be used in lieu of quotes in articles.

For example, here is an article in People Magazine about actress Melissa Joan Hart. Notice that the evidence in the article is a direct link to her Tweet…

Journalists love this type of thing because it looks like they’ve done some good fact-checking and they can use quotes direct from the source. PR and comms teams should think about leveraging different platforms when communicating to journalists and supplementing press releases with Tweets, Quora answers, Foursquare checkins and more. Or, ditch the press release and send this stuff in lieu – in some cases, a very powerful Tweet can be enough for a story…

Oh, careful, everyone can see.

That said, don’t forget that social platforms are public and that everyone can see. Therefore, the information published on these platforms lose their exclusivity if the journalist doesn’t publish quickly and if multiple sources pick up on the info. So be sure to manage what you publish and what you give to journalists – and always include something exclusive if you can.

No, press releases are not dead.

It may be natural to want to draw the conclusion that press releases are losing their relevancy – but they are very clearly NOT dead. They’re simply going through a bit of metamorphosis with the evolution of the social web. But we need to recognize that communication habits are changing as are the ways in which journalists and bloggers receive and relay info as well.

Some quick things to avoid…

In the past, I have seen some companies do all kinds of no-nos with press releases. For example, one company used to send along a press release every month to announce a “new” product feature. It quickly became evident that the features were rather trivial and that this was simply a poor communications tactic. Overtime, I stopped reading the releases.

Another thing to be sure of is that you send the press release in the right language (the language that the journalist will be publishing in) and the right format. If there are elements (photos, videos, links) that the journalist may want to incorporate into their article, be sure to send them as part of the original email (there are now different products that let you build dynamic and multi-media press kits, including Augure). Do not send large attachments as they can get stuck or also annoy the journalist – in fact, the journalist will probably contact you to get the elements they need if they are interested.

Now, if there are other journalists, PR or comm experts out there that would like to share additional tips and tricks, feel free to chime in.

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10 French brands you’ll find on Pinterest

April 11, 2012 by 15 Comments

Typically, French companies are not the first to jump onto a new social media trend or craze. Not that any of these more traditional, historic brands is averse to social media, but they’re definitely not your average early adopters. And with President Sarkozy not setting the best social media example, we were pleasantly surprised to find a few French brands on up-and-coming social marketing platform, Pinterest. Here’s a look at a few we discovered…and a few who are, well, missing in action.

1. Marmiton.

French cooking and recipes platform, Marmiton.org, is behind one of my all-time favorite Pinterest accounts. The platform owned by Aufeminin.com (yet to have an account) displays tons of images of delicious treats from around the world, with a majority of the photos linking to the actual recipe on their website. It’s a fantastically visual way to get users excited about their content and expand their reach.

With 182 actual followers, my main criticism for Marmiton at this stage is that there is no way of knowing that they are on Pinterest from their homepage. Wouldn’t it be good to include that somewhere?

2. Allociné.

I’ve always been very pleasantly surprised by film platform Allociné. Their social/innovation efforts have really been a terrific example for numerous French companies to follow. Still, there Pinterest account isn’t as developed as I would have expected. Clearly lots of effort has gone into the boards for cult films like Star Wars and Lord of the Rings but not as much attention is given to indie or even French films. And the “actors” board is completely empty – despite The Artist’s recent Oscar win. Plus, the fact that  there is a board dedicated to attractive men (titled “Ils vous font vibrer”) and not the female equivalent makes me wonder if this board is not run by a lovely lady. But all criticisms aside, it’s a great start and has already accumulated a small following.

3. FNAC.

FNAC, the French equivalent to book and music retailer Borders, has gotten off to a terrific start on Pinterest as well. With fewer boards and pins than both Allociné and Marmiton, FNAC does currently have 2 separate accounts for France and Spain. Just as with Marmiton, all the images link back to the products on their website. However, I have to say that some of the products could be more creatively displayed to attract more social interaction. Take for example the Volume 1 DVD of cult TV series Bref. While the logo is definitely widely-recognized throughout France, Pinterest content that would be more likely to be liked and reposed than the simple DVD case might include actual photos and quotes from the show itself, no?

4. Evian.

Like FNAC, Evian currently has 2 accounts on Pinterest – one for the Netherlands and another in English, which I am guessing is not run out of France. Interestingly enough, Evian’s Pinterest seems to have a less commercial focus (no links back to the company website) and is much more about communicating brand and lifestyle messages, as redistributing content created by their community. Check out this incredible work of art. Still, I would encourage Evian to link to the products that are sold on their site and to also include their skincare products that are probably less well-known.

5. CITROEN.

I’ll be totally honest and say that I never expected to find Cirtoen with such a developed Pinterest account – especially since Renault seems to be straggling along with only 1 account for Renault Switzerland and a whopping 0 pins. But funny enough,  Citroen’s 17 boards dedicated to various models pull content from Citroen’s different international websites and other content sources, like Flickr. But if there is one thing I have to criticize Citroen for, it’s the large amounts of commercial text they are publishing with each pin. And the worst part is, it’s the exact same text for multiple images (see here for an example)…yikes.   What about something a little more subtle that feels less like an advertisement?

6. Lacoste.

If there is one sector that has been really slow to get onto Pinterest, it’s French fashion brands. But it’s not just names like Louis Vuitton that are MIA – it’s also more innovative online companies like Vente-privée. So even if Lacoste isn’t yet rivaling UK designer brand Burberry in terms of its social media presence, I was nonetheless pleased to find that it did have an active Pinterest account. The company appears to be taking somewhat of a similar approach to Citroen, however, placing repetitive text underneath its images. Still, I think in particular the company’s fashion show boards could be a huge hit.

7. Dior.

Again, as Chanel and a number of other high-end designer brands were MIA, I was pleasantly surprised to see Dior. And clearly, they’ve capitalized on fashion shows…

8. L’Occitane.

Just as with fashion, I was a little disappointed with the beauty brands as well. Even Sephora – who is traditionally the example to turn to in the beauty space when it comes to its online presence – still hasn’t officially launched on Pinterest. That said, French brand L’Occitane has a very impressive Pinterest account being run out of NYC. The account takes a lifestyle approach, like Evian’s account, but has also done a great job repining content from Pinterest and linking it to their online store. See here for an example.

9. L’Oréal Paris.

Another example from the beauty and cosmetics space is L’Oréal Paris. There is another L’Oréal Paris account with only 1 board, making it a little difficult to tell which is the official account until you discover that it is actually the Australian account. The company will clearly have to do a better job of separating their international accounts for users and followers. The French account does have one very nice board for the brands ambassadors, all beautiful black and white photos that link back to the company website.

10. Michelin.

Ah, yes, Michelin. While the account is not officially up and running, I’m glad to see that they have the intention to get one going soon. We’ll be sure to keep you tuned once the board goes live.

While some are clearly ahead of others, it’s nice to see French companies jumping on board and not shying away from the occasion to be an early adopter.

Did I forget anyone?

There are definitely more French brands than just these 10 on Pinterest. In fact, La Redoute also recently got a lot of attention for their creative use of leveraging Pinterest to see their most popular products. If you are a French brand with a Pinterest account we should be looking at, feel free to let us know!

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Rooting for collaborative media monitoring

March 28, 2012 by 3 Comments

If you’ve read my previous posts on media monitoring, you’ll know that I rank collaborative very high in the criteria for success for this activity as well as – more generally – for PR and Reputation Management.

When one team used to deal with gaining press coverage and another with getting products in front of the public, it didn’t matter quite so much but, today, it does. When PR teams are earning and measuring clicks and marketers need to incorporate corporate reputation management in their campaigns, the overlap is simply too important to overlook and the only way of working successfully is: together.

And nowhere is this taking-down of internal silos more important than monitoring. Whether sizing-up the playing field for a product launch, extinguishing the flames of a social crisis or monitoring the impact of a campaign on reputation, the need to share information throughout the organization without hinderance is essential.

Media monitoring feeds view on a smartphone and an iPad

Click to view a sample Webzine

With this in mind, we’re hopping-up-and-down pleased to introduce our social webzine module, that lets any one in your company view the results of your monitoring process. Think of it as a daily press review incorporating mentions from traditional, online and social media and readable like a magazine. A cross-channel Flipboard of sorts, for PR and marketing pros.

The webzine is loaded with user-friendly features (the articles behind the links in tweets are displayed along with the tweets, for instance, and prominent stories are given greater screen real-estate) and designed to be as easy and pleasant to use as possible.

Coupled with our recently acquired cross-channel monitoring abilities, this lets you easily :

  • Define the keywords that matter to your business : brands, products, executives, competitors, industry topics …
  • Use your entire monitoring results or cherry pick the most relevant for a specific situation
  • View and share with any number of colleagues the results in a daily digest that will brighten up their computer screen at work, your tablet at home or your smartphone in the tube

We don’t often brag about our products on this blog but, seriously, we think this one’s a biggie :) So much so, in fact, that we’re handing out free trials to every one. So, if you’d like to be reading a cross-channel digest of your company’s coverage in your next train commute, just click below !

Request an Augure demo

Be seeing you!

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10 ways media monitoring will help your crisis management

March 22, 2012 by 2 Comments

It used to be that a corporate crisis was triggered only by major events involving top executives, global scandal or industrial accidents. The media would relay the news at best on a daily rhythm and giving company spokespersons as much coverage as the news itself. The public would get daily updates from a limited number of sources, most often TV, maybe the morning radio and a newspaper. Coverage would be very similar, providing incremental information in a linear fashion as time went by. Only the amount of coverage in a given publication or program would determine how much of the story people got to read or watch.

Contrast this now with a classic social media outbreak such as the Domino’s Pizza or United Airline broken guitar videos. Created by amateurs – employees for Domino’s Pizza and a disgruntled customer for United Airlines – these received millions of views on YouTube in only a few days, spread from friend to friend every minute and got relayed by mainstream media, sometimes without the respective companies having their say.

Both videos triggered response from the highest levels of management in spite of the original incident being fairly minor : yes, the Domino’s Pizza video was disgusting but the gravity of the facts pale in comparison to what would have been necessary to generate as much noise only 10 years ago. And the United Airlines example – and its almost 12 MILLION views – highlights the possibility for the dissatisfaction of a single customer to find a great echo with the other members of the public when the heat would previously have been kept private.

Given that the probability of positively resolving a crisis decreases in time, with simultaneously increased crisis management costs, this greater propagation speed not only means more frequent crises but also more complex and costly resolutions. An efficient monitoring process and well rehearsed response plans are the best safeguards against this phenomenon.

Here are 10 ways media monitoring will help you avoid the worst before, during and after the crunch :

  1. Knowing you natural channels. The most effective crisis management device, bar none, is a favourable terrain. Surveys show, year after year, that a company with a good reputation will be much less affected by bad news than another with a low trust capital. Pretty obvious but not always acted upon. Cross-channel media-monitoring will tell you exactly who is talking about you and where discussions are taking place. Also what media and what channels are covering you.
    2. Coverage of a crisis by media type

    Twitter rules this crisis

  2. Closing the gaps. Conversely, by monitoring your competition and industry topics, you will also find who isn’t talking about you, but should be. This lets you start conversations and begin building trust in other important corners of online and social media.
  3. Understanding propagation. If, through your monitoring, you’ve been paying attention to what the information propagation patterns are in your industry, you’ll have a pretty good idea of who starts rumours, rants and misinformed discussions. And of who amplifies news, who defends your positions or corrects errors. Not only should this provide you with plenty of ideas for engagement before a crisis, it will also help you react much more efficiently when red alert is sounding.
  4. Understanding pain points. You might be surprised with the topic that ignites a crisis. There probably was no way for Domino’s to anticipate the coup-d’éclat of their employees but, in most cases, it’s pretty easy to understand what the main pain points are for your customers (or partners, or employees …) and prepare for disaster in that direction.
  5. Detecting a problem early. If my lengthy intro tells you anything, it’s that speed is an essential ingredient for success. Frequent feed updates will give you an early start and the ability to at least establish an official presence in the discussions very early on to correct mistakes or, at worst, simply say “I don’t know, but we’re looking into it”. In the example below, catching the opportunity to speak out on the 25th is a lot better than a few days later. Real-time is better still.

    6. A sudden spike in media coverages can indicate a crisis

  6. Fostering engagement. In the first phases of a crisis, it is important to understand where the threat is strongest. The most angry and most influential relays need to be addressed very quickly. Even if you have very little to offer, identifying the greatest detractors and simply acknowledging you have heard their complaint and are doing everything to look into it, is a great help. This stops the flame wars and buys you (a little) time to prepare for the next step. Since you cannot respond to millions in a few hours, your monitoring must help you pinpoint the most important stakeholders to talk with.
  7. Planning a response. Your monitoring will then tell you what the exact complaint is and how it is being discussed in the media. What terms are being used? Who is being mentioned? What are the undesirable associations with your brand? … Share these insights quickly inside the company and prepare a response plan.
  8. Measuring progress. As you reply to angry comment and gradually feed in information, measure how the crisis topics you previously identified are rising or falling in ‘popularity’. Are opinion leaders picking up your information or are crisis related terms still gaining. Monitor constantly and adapt your strategy accordingly.
  9. Monitor side issues. If you’ve been listening carefully to your communities and to internal discussions, you’ll know what other pain-points are likely to be picked-up as extra fuel in the crisis. Are any of these flaring up ? Prepare responses for all of those that are related to the current hot-topic.
  10. Checking for secondary flares. I come from the South of France, where the summer time is a period of constant battle against forest fires. After a long day or week of extinguishing the main fire, an intense watch is set up at many peripheral point to be ready for spontaneous re-igniting. In a dried-out landscape, a single incandescent log forgotten under ashes is enough to start the fight all over again. Crisis management follows the same logic. And when the main combat phase seems over, you need to be particularly watchful for new spikes. So keep the monitoring very regular and use what you learned in the previous phases to monitor the terms most likely to mean trouble.
  11. Rebuilding trust. If all goes well, your side of the story should progressively get greater share of coverage. Measure how consistently you messages are relayed and how the tone relating to these gradually shifts to green.

Effective crisis management consists if many successive phases, including:

  • Comprehensive pre-crisis engagement to establish a favourable terrain
  • Immediate response, if only to establish a corporate presence, even if you don’t have the answers
  • Laying out of a plan and swift communications about it
  • Walking the early road to recovery by providing information on how the plan is unfolding
  • Re-building trust, which can take 4 years

In today’s instant-information and connected world, mapping cross-channel monitoring to each of these will go a long way towards dealing effectively with the worst the web can offer.

How is your company preparing for such crises ?

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Managing the cross-channel reputation of a government institution

March 13, 2012 by Leave a comment

In spite of popular belief, Reputation Management is not restricted to high-profile companies that are likely to cause mass environmental destruction or disrupt the social balance of fragile and exotic communities. Corporate reputation has now become one of the most important criteria in the mind of ordinary people looking to buy everyday products and most report they would not do business with a company with a tarnished reputation.

But in fact, Reputation Management is not exclusively the sole preoccupation of businesses either. Even governmental institutions that have nothing to sell are preoccupied with creating and maintaining long-term trust with their stakeholders. Who these stakeholders are, how varied they are, what their main concerns related to and what communication channels they use most is explained in detail in this new episode of our “Reputation Management Decision Makers” Web TV series in which Augure CEO Michael Jaïs talks to Didier Venturini CTO of the Region PACA.

Multiple stakeholders and reputation drivers

What does a public procurement awards and CMMI certifications received by an IT department have to do with reputation ?

In very practical terms, they prove that the department is spending public money efficiently and wisely. More generally, they are just two of the numerous reputation drivers that are discussed in this video. And this is one of the most interesting aspects of this interview, in that it clearly describes that reputation management is not simply about pushing messages out to your Facebook page hoping that fans will gobble them up and buy products in their droves.

In the case of the regional institution Mr Venturini describes, reputation management hinges around creating a lasting relationship with multiple stakeholder types over multiple issues and multiples channels. In particular :

  • Stakeholders can be citizens of all ages, business owners, other administrations, the French government, the European government …
  • Issues addressed range from optimized public spending, quality of outreach, legal information, event promotion
  • Communication channels include mail (of the pulverized wood pulp type), email, the website, blogs, newsletters, Facebook and Twitter
  • People playing a role in reputation management are not limited to PR but include IT and other departments

Besides this important diversity, collaboration with the public is a strong focus and building lasting trust is envisioned as fostering personalized and interactive engagement with all.

My guess is that many large company are not as mature in their own internal definition of reputation management. What do you think ?

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