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8/7/2019 ItsOpen Report - Digital Media and the Future of Corporate Reputation
1/32 Copyright 2011. ItsOpen (www.itsopen.co.uk).
ITSOPEN REPORT:DIGITAL MEDIA
AND THE FUTURE OF
CORPORATE REPUTATION
Author:
Dr Andrew Currah
Executive Summary by:
Stuart Bruseth
Vice President, Shell Global Media Relations.
First member of Social Media Leadership Forum.
Executive Summary 1
Part 1Corporate Communications within theDigital Media Landscape 3
Part 2Opening the Executive Culture of Communications 9
Part 3Building a Digital Communications Structure 15
Conclusions 23
Acknowledgements 26
Endnotes 27
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DIGITAL MEDIA AND THE FUTURE OF CORPORATE REPUTATION
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Executive Summary
This report examines the impact ofdigital media on corporate reputation.By distilling and explaining the principalforces of change, we hope that the reportwill help communicators make sense ofthe opportunities presented by the newconverged media landscape. Based onover 30 interviews with leading thinkersand executives, the research argues thatdigital media is powering a renaissancein the corporate communications sector.
Never before have communicators had somany tools at their disposal with which tocraft, distribute and develop messages ona global basis. On balance, we suggest thatthe opportunities greatly outweigh thereputational threats.
Dened by a new sharing ethic, the web
has given rise to myriad gift economies ofcontent. Residing over vast repositories ofideas, experience and data, companies are in a
unique position to contribute and prot from
collaboration. We argue that, by participating
in these gift economies, companies have anopportunity to connect with a variety ofaudiences, in a more authentic, personal anddirect fashion, and consequently incorporatea much wider range of insights into theiroperating practices.
Despite the speed and scale of thechanges underway, the report assertsthat the overall impact of digital media oncorporate reputation is evolutionary ratherthan revolutionary. The skills and experiencethat have traditionally dened corporate
communications will continue to have
immense value. In addition, the interactivityand spontaneity of social technologies are
no substitute for formal channels of nancial
and regulatory disclosure.The net result will be a hybrid media
landscape, which is dened by top-down
and bottom-up channels of corporate
communication. The challenge for themodern company is devising a digitalstrategy that can effectively balance bothforms of communication; namely, developing
an innovative presence around digital media,while also ensuring that controls, checks andrules of disclosure continue to be observed.
The central communications team will
increasingly nd itself sandwiched between
two expanding bodies of information: on theone hand, insights and data from employeesacross the company; and on the other hand,external news and comment about thecompany across traditional and digital media.To strengthen the digital reputation of the
company, communicators will need to ndinnovative ways of ltering and harnessing
the former as they monitor and engage withthe latter.
In this regard, the report proposes asatellite model of digital communicationsin which a specialist network of advocatesorbits and reports back to the centralcommunications team. Recognising thecollaborative possibilities of digital media,we argue that it is more scalable andcost-effective for companies to empower
their employees to contribute to digitalcommunications activity.In this model, the central
communications team effectively functionsas a hub around which distributed expertise
can coalesce, ourish and expand. In other
words, it is responsible for providing mediatraining and establishing the guidelinesaround which advocates can thencommunicate with the wider world.
By empowering employees in thisfashion, communications teams will arguablybenet from richer and more powerful
narratives from the very frontline of thecompany. The keystone of this model isan executive culture that is more curious,humble and collaborative in its approach tocommunications. Opening to the possibilitiesof digital media will require a leap of faith
from senior management - both in terms of
the allocation of greater communicationspowers to selected advocates and in termsof the investment needed to build theaccompanying systems, training and resources.
Never before havecommunicatorshad so many tools
at their disposal
with which to craft,
distribute and develop
messages on a global
basis.
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Corporate communications is at thedawn of a new era. The convergencebetween digital and traditional mediais transforming the way information isproduced and shared.
The increasingly viral, realtime andmobile nature of the web, for example,means that the lag time between theincidence of news and the reporting of newsis being reduced to minutes, even seconds.
Digital media is now dened by social
technologies - a combination of advancesin software and hardware that simplify andaccelerate the sharing of content. Thesetechnologies hold great promise for thecommunications sector.
First, they allow companies to craftand disseminate messages in richer, moreinteractive and tailored formats. Neverbefore have such large organisationsbeen able to communicate with so manydifferent audiences with such a degree ofpersonalisation.
Second, they also allow companiesto adopt a more collaborative andparticipatory approach to the generation ofcommunications. By regularly contributingideas, insights and data to what we term thegift economies of the web, communicatorshave the opportunity to connect withspecialist communities, take on board awider array of viewpoints and in doing so,potentially reinforce the digital reputation ofthe company.
Third, the information generated bydigital media provides companies with a
realtime view of their reputation - both at amacro-scale across markets and at a micro-
scale within particular communities andterritories. This functions as an early warningradar against crises and as a valuable sourceof intelligence about different audiences.
Taken together, the trends underwayin digital media are argued to herald arenaissance in corporate communications.The convergence of digital and traditional
media - and in particular, the transformation
of newsrooms into web-centric hubs - is
increasing the demand for digitally packagedinformation from the corporate sector.As the resources available to professional
journalism dwindle, companies are nding
that they have an important role to play assuppliers of specialist and industry-specic
news. This creates a valuable opportunity forcompanies to articulate their own narrativeof events.
There are also challenges. Thetransparency afforded by digital media willtend to expose companies to a greaterlevel of scrutiny and public questioning. Andalthough digital media dovetails with the
core function of communications - that is, to
produce well-crafted messages for a varietyof stakeholders, whatever the channel- it also demands a variety of cultural and
operational changes that some companieswill struggle to accept.
Nonetheless, the broader outlooksuggests a sustained reinvigoration ofcorporate communications. The skillsthat have traditionally underpinnedcommunications will continue to haveimmense value, even though new systemsand training will also be required to tap thespeed and reach of digital media.
1.1 Social technologies are now
the dening feature of digital
media
Social technologies are integral to digitalmedia. The latest devices, software andonline services are all designed with someform of digital sharing in mind. In fact, thiskind of functionality has become so prevalentthat it is increasingly passe to speak of web2.0 or social media as somehow discrete
phenomena. They are now built into the veryfabric of the digital age. Nonetheless, as ClayShirky writes in his recent book:
the social uses of new media tools have
actually been a big surprise, in large part
because the possibility of these uses wasnt
implicit in the tools themselves.1
Today, social technologies are verymuch taken for granted. As they sink intothe background of everyday work and life,tools such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter,as well as video sharing platforms and the
blogosphere in general, are all transformingthe way we nd, organise and share
information. The effects are as pronouncedin our business lives as our social lives.
Part 1
Corporate Communications within the
Digital Media Landscape
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In the words of Charlene Li, co-founder
of the Altimeter Group, the greatestachievement of social technologies hasbeen to bring humanity into a place thatwas once cold and technological.2 What isalso signicant about these technologies is
that they enable a human mark-up around
information. In contrast to the algorithmicbasis of a search engine such as Google,platforms such as Facebook and Twitterenable users to navigate information on thebasis of their social connections.
Advances in user interface design - and
crucially, broadband connectivity - have
dramatically simplied the act of digital
sharing, creating a much wider, more inclusivegift economy around digital media.3 Thatis, a growing number of internet users nowhave the capability to share both content andcomputing resources (e.g. hard disk space and
processing power) with other users on thenetwork. In contrast to physical equivalents,participation in digital gift economies comesat low or virtually zero cost.
Examples range from general-purpose
tools such as Wikipedia (an encyclopediaproduced entirely by volunteers in theirspare time) to specialist initiatives such asthe Folding@Home project (the worldslargest distributed computing network),which utilises the power of PlayStation unitsto perform complex simulations of protein
folding and other molecular dynamics.4
Avariety of gift economies are now takingshape as more and more users opt toparticipate, collaborate and share withothers via the web.
Despite the widespread adoption ofsocial technologies, our digital attentionis narrowing. For example, the majority of
web trafc is concentrated around a handful
of websites. According to Compete, thetop 10 websites accounted for 31% of USpage views in 2001, 40% in 2006 and 75% in2010. Similar trends are evident in countriesworldwide.5 With over 500 million users,Facebook is a vivid example of this process
of concentration - and is arguably the
dominant gift economy on the web.The driving force in these gift economies
is the accumulation of reputation - and in
particular, the attention that contributionscan command. The masters of the gifteconomy model of exchange are thosethat generate the most clicks, commentsand connections. With regard to the eld
of news and comment, the status and
inuence of participants is determined notonly by how much they contribute, but alsoby the originality and accuracy of thosecontributions.
However, the openness we typicallyassociate with social technologies appearsto be coming to an end as a series ofboundaries steadily emerge across theweb.6 These boundaries are taking the formof paywalls and proprietary software. Bycontaining and corralling large audiences,
these boundaries are designed to exploitthe commercial value of the sharing ethic
- either through advertising or subscription
revenues.7
As a result, the gift economy modelof exchange is being absorbed withincurated walled gardens, which are typicallyclosed or at least tightly controlled withrespect to their development and use. Theresult is distinct communities of sharing,concentrated around particular platforms.The shift from the open web browser tothe closed application is accelerating this
process, particularly via the adoption of
mobile devices such as the iPhone and iPad.8
1.2 Social technologies are
driving fundamental changes in
publishing
The evolution of social technologies isdriving a number of important trendsacross the digital media landscape, which
have signicance for news publishing in
general and the business media in particular.
The rst trend is the transition to anetwork of realtime communication. Socialtechnologies herald a more open world whereinformation moves from being local to global
in seconds, as a communications expert putit. To better handle the resulting torrent ofsocial content, search engines have raced toincorporate realtime feeds into their results.Google, for example, recently upgradedits search engine with a system known asCaffeine to enable realtime indexing ofthe web. A range of other search tools arealso emerging, particularly with regard tothe sentiment and political orientation ofrealtime results (see, for example, Blekko, anew search engine).
The second trend is the viral nature ofrealtime communication: once published,information has the potential to rapidlypropagate both the web and traditionalmedia channels. As Jeff Jarvis argues, the
simplicity of the hyperlink - in concert
with recommendations, social connections
and the so-called human mark-up effect
- is integral to the rapid exposure of new
information, whether it is a newsworthystory or an expression of artistic creativity.Hyperlinking is the essential underpinningof what might be termed the social graph;
With over500 millionusers, Facebook
is a vivid example
of this process of
concentration - and is
arguably the dominantgift economy on
the web.
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the means by which individuals connect andshare information using the internet.
The third trend is the rapid shift tomobile devices and tablet computers.According to research by Morgan Stanley,annual sales of smart phones such as theAndroid, Blackberry and iPhone will exceed
sales of desktop PCs by 2012.9
Equippedwith a variety of sensors, these devicesprovide a particularly fertile environmentfor the next generation of interactive socialtechnologies. Location tracking, for example,
means that content can be accurately geo-
tagged. In the developing world, mobilephones are especially important to theadoption of the web and social technologies
- indeed, they enable countries to leap frog
the need for a wired infrastructure.The fourth trend is the growing appeal
of personalisation software. The noise
created by digital sharing has triggered thedevelopment of applications and servicesthat offer users a cleaner interface, whichis tailored to their particular interestsand integrated with their social network.For example, the iPad has enabled novelapplications such as Flipboard and PulseNews, which automatically aggregateinformation feeds into a digital magazineformat. As one analyst noted, the rules ofprint media are nding a new life on mobile
devices as users increasingly opt to visually
de-clutter through curated apps.
1.3 News publishing reveals the
convergence of traditional
and digital media
Acommon misconception is that traditionaland digital media are locked in opposition.Although it is true that digital media hascreated profound challenges for traditionalmedia, most of all through the fragmentationof advertising and audience attention, it isalso true that the social dimensions of digitalmedia are extremely valuable to existingmedia brands, in particular news publishers.
Under pressure to adopt a morecollaborative and participatory approach,news publishers have started opening to thepotential of social technologies. There is agrowing consensus among publishers thatsocial technologies are an important additiveto their business models. This is evident in avariety of areas.
In news gathering, for example,publishers are mining the realtime web for
trends, stories and eyewitness accounts.Never before have so many eyewitnessesbeen available to the media or visible tothe wider public.10 Publishers also benet
from immediate audience feedback to theircoverage. Social technologies are formingnew channels of communication betweenthe makers and subjects of news; notablyin the business sector, where leadingjournalists and corporate communicatorsnow regularly follow each other.
Channels such as Facebook and Twitternow provide an important source of trafcto news websites, as do aggregators suchas Digg, Google Reader or Feedly. In thecase of broadcast news websites, Facebookis now referring three times as much
trafc as Google search.11 Publishers arealso beginning to use mobile social gamingplatforms, such as Four Square and Gowalla,as an additional route to the audience.12
Live news events are increasinglysupplemented with comments, photosand videos from the audience. ITV News
recently announced plans to incorporatesocial updates into its television bulletins:viewers will be able to direct questions toreporters and guests in realtime.13 Specialistpublishers, such as the FT, have created theirown community hubs in order to engagedirectly with the audience (for example,via FT Alphaville and the forthcoming FTTilt). Indeed, such hubs are seen by manycompanies as an important platform formonitoring and managing their reputation.
The result of these trends is a more
hybrid, symbiotic and uid media landscape:coverage of news stories now tends torely on a blend of information from bothtraditional and digital sources of media.
On the one hand, traditional mediabrands still have immense reach and
inuence, particularly around major stories.
The latest research by NMIncite continuesto show that the traditional media brandsstill drive and dene the news agenda.14 Onthe other hand, however, these brands alsofunction as anchors for the constellationof content now being generated by socialtechnologies. As one editor described:
Despite the explosion of web 2.0 and user
generated content, existing media brands still
function in a very important way as lters for
the digital audience... Although it is possible
for stories to go viral without our help, in most
cases the process of viral distribution is helped
along by the reach and visibility that an old
media brand confers.
News stories are now subjected toa much greater degree of scrutiny and
questioning. Perhaps the most signicant
aspect of social technologies is that, byaggregating opinion and otherwise disparateexperiences in realtime, it serves to amplifyattention around contemporary issues.
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Again, this effect was particularlynoticeable during recent coverage of theGulf of Mexico oil spill: social technologiesprovided people with a platform throughwhich they could easily vent their anger.Demonstrating the symbiosis withtraditional media, this sentiment was then
quickly funneled and amplied throughbroadcast channels and newspapers. Theresult for BP was an unprecedented intensity
of focus and an unprecedented attack.15
1.4 Digital media is
transforming the business
and craft of journalism
The convergence of traditional and digitalmedia through social technologies isresulting in the redesign of newsrooms. Asprint circulation and broadcast audiences
continue to dwindle, publishers are lookingto the web for new sources of advertisingand audience attention.
As a consequence, there is a freneticrace for clicks as publishers try tokeep users on their websites (or mobileapplications) as long as possible.16Digitalmedia is now very much at the heart of what
we do on a daily, even hourly basis, explainedan editor. There is now instant feedback fromthe web... we are now inundated with data
about what our audience is reading and what is
likely to be popular going forward. The impacton journalism is arguably transformative.
Once limited to either print orbroadcast, journalists are now requiredto master a variety of skills. Across theindustry, as one commentator pointed out,newsrooms are being re-cast as digital
centrifuges, the sole purpose of which isto produce a consistent stream of content,increasingly on a 24/7 basis, with a view tomaximising clicks and advertising revenue.As one editor noted: We are moving towardsa system of performance-related pay, which is
dominated by metrics and web analytics. Inthe words of another editor: Generatingtrafc and creating a loyal online following are
becoming the modus operandi of journalism in
the digital era.The dangers inherent to this approach
are becoming clear: under pressure toperform, journalists in many newsroomsare complaining of digital burnout.17 Withbudgets already limited, journalists arerequired to supply content to a wideningarray of digital channels, typically without
any increase in pay. In a recent upgrade ofits digital activities, for example, Forbesannounced that every reporter wouldbe required to have their own blog.18
Participation in social channels is now essential
to climbing the ladder, commented a businessjournalist at another prominent publisher.
The risk, in this quest for speed, is thatthe quality and accuracy of news coveragewill suffer. The screen-tethered nature of
contemporary journalism means, in practical
terms, that there is less time for face-to-facemeetings, less time to triangulate stories and
less time to conrm facts before publishing.
The increasingly realtime pace of newspublishing means that mistakes, hoaxes andmisinformation are more likely than ever.
These effects are unevenly distributedacross the media landscape. The pressureis arguably greatest at publishers of generalnews and comment, where businessmodels for journalism are being eroded ata faster rate.
The outlook is brighter for publishers
of specialist and time-sensitive news,particularly in the business and nancial
media. For example, leading publishers suchas the Economist, the FT and the Wall StreetJournal have successfully enticed subscriberswithin their paywalls. The FT, for example,increased its base of digital subscribers by
27% between 2009-10. To borrow a phrase
from William Powers, these brands havesought to position themselves as islands ofpeace within the chaos of the wider digitalmedia landscape.19
Indeed, in the opinion of severalrespondents, there is now a discernible
ight to curated quality in the business and
nancial media - which is due, in large part,
to the importance of accurate, timely and
well-researched information to decision
makers.
Publishers of business and nancial
news are seeking to further differentiatethemselves: rst, by adding a raft of
community and sharing features to theirpaywalls; and second, by developing
magazine-like applications for mobile
devices, which combines the order of aprinted product with the interactivity of theweb. As one publisher observed, the paywallisnt meant to keep people out; it is designed to
attract and keep our most loyal customers in.There are numerous commercial
benets of paywalls, especially for specialist
publishers of business news. First andforemost, they provide publishers with amore predictable guide to income, whichallows for more concrete strategic planningand investments. Second, the lower levels of
web trafc that are typically associated withpaywalls are often more than compensatedby the detailed information that publishersare able to collect about their subscribers.
Across the industry,newsrooms arebeing re-cast as digital
centrifuges, the sole
purpose of which is to
produce a consistent
stream of content,increasingly on a 24/7
basis, with a view to
maximising clicks and
advertising revenue.
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Not only does this help the editorialteam shape the product more closely tothe behaviour of the audience and therebyincrease dwell time on the websiteand/or mobile applications; it also enablespublishers to sell digital advertising spacemore effectively (and crucially, at above-
market rates) via the analysis ofbehavioural metrics.20By nurturing communities behind their
paywalls, moreover, publishers also have theopportunity to sell reputation managementand monitoring tools to companies. Forexample, Forbes recently began using readercomments as the basis for a new reputationtracking tool.21 According to John Ridding,CEO of the FT:
What we hadnt realised, and what may
turn out to be bigger benet, is that [the
paywall] provides a deeper understanding of
our audience. Without contravening peoplesprivacy, the data supplied by users enables us
to know much more about them, allowing us to
observe patterns of interest and trends.22
1.5 Social technologies herald
a renaissance in corporate
communications
Social technologies are typically portrayedas a threat to companies. In one respect,it is true that social technologies enable a
more varied, participatory and unpredictablelandscape of news and comment - which
in turn exposes companies to a far greaterdegree of public scrutiny than allowed bytraditional media alone.23
Indeed, the viral nature of socialtechnologies means that negativeinformation about a company, whether trueor false, quickly permeates both digital andtraditional media channels. In recent years,
a variety of high-prole companies have
suffered reputational damage as a directresult of digital media activity.
The list includes global brands such asDell, Dominos Pizza, Nestle, Starbucks andUnited Airlines. In each case, the aggregationand amplication of opinion allowed
by social technologies exposed thesecompanies to unprecedented amounts ofnegative publicity.24
However, by responding to the threatscreated by social technologies thesecompanies also found new and morepowerful ways of engaging with the outsideworld. Dell and Starbucks, for example,
respectively launched Idea Storm andMy Starbucks Idea in an effort toincorporate consumer opinions and
suggestions more directly into theiroperating practices. The result hasbeen overwhelmingly positive for bothcompanies.
Which underscores a key point inthis report: rather than spelling outrightdisruption for companies, social technologies
actually herald a renaissance in corporatecommunications. Thanks to their reachand interactivity, social technologies allowcompanies to extend and enrich theirexisting communications activities. Theoverall impact is arguably evolutionary, notrevolutionary.
Indeed, the skills and best practices thathave traditionally underpinned corporatecommunications continue to have immensevalue in the digital age. Whatever thechannel, corporate communications isstill dened by the ability to represent
the interests of the company to a varietyof stakeholders - employees, customers,
investors, partners and regulatory bodies.Although it is expanding into an array ofdigital channels, the craft of corporatecommunications continues to rely on aseries of orchestrated interactions, allpivoting around a central narrative.
Social technologies allow foran evolution and extension of thatcore function - not least through the
development of realtime conversations with
the companys stakeholders.There is a huge opportunity, in particular,
for corporate communicators to activelyparticipate in the rapidly expanding gift
economies of the web - and in doing so,
win the attention and respect of digitalaudiences. By drawing on their existingresources and relationships,communicators have the opportunity tocontribute relevant content that bothengages audiences and stimulates debates -
for example, in the form of product-specic
messages or campaigns about broaderenvironmental or economic issues.
Nonetheless, the successful evolutionof corporate communications will alsodemand a variety of internal changes, bothcultural and operational. The key challengewill be building a digital communicationsstructure, within the context of existing
practices, which is sufciently agile, open and
innovative to embrace the potential of socialtechnologies. With the convergence of themedia landscape, communicators will needto master a much wider variety of channels
and technologies, both in their interfacewith digital newsrooms and in their directinteraction with individuals.
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1.6 Structure of the report
Digital media demands that companiesadopt a more authentic, openand responsive approach to theircommunications with stakeholders. Theprevailing model of reputation managementneeds to be updated to take into account
both the challenges and opportunitiesarising from digital media.
In the remainder of this report, we
identify the most signicant forces of change
in corporate communications - and in doing
so, outline what we see as the principalcomponents of an alternative approach toreputation management, which is bettersuited for the new converged medialandscape. Those components are outlinedin two steps.
Part 2 argues that digital media heralds
a new paradigm of reputation management.The model of communications that
ourished under traditional media needs to
take into account the speed and participationenabled by digital media. As a result, theexecutive culture around communicationsneeds to evolve to embrace the possibilitiesof digital media. To successfully managedigital reputation, communicators must bewilling to adopt a more curious, humble andcollaborative stance.
Part 3 then moves on to argue that
cultural change must be accompanied by
substantive changes to the operational
structure of communications. The key
challenge is building a new structure that is
equipped to manage the interface between
internal and external information ows.
Communications teams will need newresources, training and systems to effectively
navigate the information generated internally
as they simultaneously try to monitor and
engage with external digital media activity.
In summary, we suggest that central
teams consider appointing a satellite
network of digital advocates both to create
a framework of best practice around social
technologies and to support the companys
external communications.
The report concludes by weaving
together all of the evidence presented intoa visual ow diagram, which details the
general operation of the satellite model. The
purpose of this visualisation is to identify
the specic components that companies
need to build as part of a wider digital
communications structure. Although the
central communications team is argued to
be the principal instrument of change, the
report also identies strategies that will have
ripple effects across the wider company.
Digital mediaheralds a newparadigm of reputation
management.
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The era of traditional media encouragedcompany executives to think about theirreputation in very specic ways. The linear
structure of traditional media fosteredthe assumption that information could befunneled to a select group of publishers. It
was a top-down model of communications.
Reputation was effectively shaped via a
close-knit network of relationships between
executives and newsrooms.The digital renaissance in corporate
communications will depend on companiesupdating this legacy model. The speed andscale of participation enabled by socialtechnologies heralds a new paradigm ofreputation management. To adapt to thisnew paradigm, and successfully navigate theconverged media landscape, companies mustbe willing to open their executive culture toa greater degree of curiosity, humility andcollaboration.
Perhaps the clearest indication ofthe change is the evolution of corporate
communications beyond the conventionalrealm of press releases and nancialreporting. To be sure, these remainimportant mechanisms of communicationand disclosure; however, communicatorsare also developing new capabilities, andgenerating different kinds of content,through their participation in the gifteconomies of the web.
Increasingly, for example, communicatorsare learning to adopt a more authenticand conversational tone vis a vis externalstakeholders. They are beginning to engage
with issues, announcements and discussionsthat, in the past, would have been too specic
(or eeting) to justify a conventional press
release. There is a powerful shift from top-
down to bottom-up communication - and in
tandem, a blurring of the boundary between
communicators and their audiences.
2.1 Digital media has triggered
a paradigm shift in reputation
management
Digital media heralds an inexorableshift towards greater openness. Withthe mass adoption of social technologies,consumers increasingly expect transparency
from both public and private institutions.However, there is still a surprisingly widegulf between the expectations of consumersand the ability of these institutions to adapt.
In corporate communications as a whole,there is still considerable uncertainty arounddigital media. Some companies doubt its
long-term signicance and remain very
much wedded to traditional media as aplatform for communications and reputationmanagement. As one analyst noted:
Recognisable brands such as the FT or WallStreet Journal, in addition to the trade press and
investment bank reports especially, are still seen
as the real anchors of reputation. Digital media
is only now appearing on corporate radars.
In the words of a communicationsexecutive: Despite all this talk of tweets andlikes on Facebook, I still dont see how social
[technologies] impact the bottom line. Toquote another: We measure the success ofour communications strategy in relation to the
stock price: digital [media] coverage, however
sexy it may sound, practically does not gure.To some extent, these criticisms areentirely valid. Away from the gaze ofconsumer attention, certain sectors areadmittedly shielded from social technologies.Open sharing of information is anathemato sectors where the principal agents ofbusiness activity and investment are highlyguarded and closed in their approach.
Whether it is the esoteric language
of the sector, the pivotal role of face-
to-face relationships in deal making, or
the paramount importance of client
condentiality and trade secrets, certainparts of the business landscape are unlikelyto be illuminated by social technologiesanytime soon. A private investor made thefollowing remarks:
From our perspective, the digital media
revolution is still very much at the margins of
our consciousness. It looks and feels like a space
where consumers dish out complaints or praise
to visible brands... [and] where those brands
jostle to please the average consumer. I simply
dont see digital media ever bringing the same
level of open dialogue to our business.Such pockets of secrecy will of
course remain, especially in guardedsectors such as arms procurement or
Part 2
Opening the Executive Culture
of Communications
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bio-pharmacological research. Technology
also permits the extension of closed
communities through invite-only
networks and encryption tools. Still, thesecurity vulnerabilities inherent to digitalcommunication have reinforced the appealand value of ofine interaction,
particularly when it concerns sensitiveinformation. As we discuss below, thespontaneity and interactivity afforded bydigital media is no substitute for formal
channels of nancial and regulatory
disclosure; indeed, it means that top-down
controls and guidelines are needed morethan ever to regulate the new mechanisms
of bottom-up communication.
Nonetheless, the overall outlookdoes point towards increased opennessin communications. Across a variety ofsectors, companies are acknowledging
the importance of digital media from amarketing and communications perspective.Social technologies are now at the heart of
executive statements, notably for consumer-
facing brands.On a practical level, however, there
is still considerable resistance to thechanges demanded by social technologies.The principal challenge, as one executivedescribed, is that these technologies requiremore authenticity, curiosity, humility, openness
to failure - which for many if not most of the
largest companies is a formidable challengeindeed. In many companies, the culturalattachment to traditional media oftenobscures the potential of digital media. Tosucceed, companies need to open theirexecutive culture to the possibilities of a
converged media landscape.
2.2 The speed and participation
of digital media challenges the
prevailing culture of reputation
management
Social technologies require corporatecommunicators to accept that thereis now very little that can be hidden frompublic view, and that they must be readyto reconcile contradictory or questionablepractices at very short notice. As a result,corporate reputation is much morecontingent and unpredictable. Underlying
this are two more specic issues that
challenge prevailing wisdom.
The rst is the speed at which the new
digital media landscape operates. As the webbecomes a 24/7 realtime communicationschannel, executives are required to thinkand respond at the same speed.
Digital activity affecting the brand cannow emerge at anytime of day or night.Not only does this demand more fromexecutives outside normal working hours,it also requires the communicationsteam to operate at a faster tempo thancurrently allowed by existing procedures.
Responsiveness to digital media means that wesometimes have to bypass what are extremely
laborious procedures for contemplating, creating,
massaging and then [writing] press releases,commented one executive.
The second is the multiplicity ofsources through which information now
ows. Traditional media no longer holds
a monopoly over the production anddistribution of news or comment. Socialtechnologies enable millions of individuals toplay a more active role in the coverage andanalysis of world events.
Crucially, they also give rise to virtuallynetworked groups and platforms whichcan hold powerful institutions to account
- WikiLeaks being a prominent recent
example. One of the great challenges ofsocial technologies is that they requirecorporate communicators to take thesenew participants seriously and to open theirminds to the possibility of an alternative styleof dialogue, as one executive recognised:
We are being forced to grant legitimacy to
sources that still lack widespread acceptance in
the corporate world... It is quite a leap in thinkingto accept that digital media will be as formative
to our reputations as traditional media.
2.3 Reputation management
now relies on new relationships
All of which means forming andsustaining new kinds of relationships viasocial technologies, particularly via the gifteconomy model of exchange. It is now vitalthat companies analyse where their most
valued stakeholders are producing, acquiringand sharing information - a process that
Charlene Li terms socialgraphics. In turn,they must strive to create a dialogue withthose sources, whether it is a blog, a social
network or a community-focused website.25In the words of one analyst:
companies are slowly but surely awaking to
the fact that they have to follow the audience
and build a meaningful presence on a variety
of platforms.
Sustaining that presence is arguablythe hardest part for companies to grasp.The essence of digital media is realtime
conversation - companies now need the interest
and capability to sustain that conversation,
It is now vital thatcompanies analysewhere their most
valued stakeholders
are producing,acquiring and sharing
information.
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commented one executive. Some companiesstill tend to view social technologies throughan adversarial lens, which limits theircommunications to either a narrow topicor a period of time (such as remedying theeffects of a crisis).
Social technologies have the potential to
yield the greatest opportunities for brandbuilding and community engagement whencommunications are sustained in a consistentfashion. By regularly contributing contentthat engages and stimulates, for example,companies can establish a leading role in thegift economies of the web. The top tier ofmanagement has the potential to drive thisprocess of engagement and provide a digitalplot line for the wider company.
However, a recent survey by WeberShandwick shows that this point is still missedby most of the worlds largest companies.
According to the research, for example,few companies are effectively using socialtechnologies to position and disseminatecomments from senior executives.26
In general, the companies that aremost developed in their approach to social
technologies tend to be consumer-facing,
especially those that have faced a digitalcrisis. It was only through their direct
experience that they began to redene their
approach to communications and reputationmanagement. In the remainder of Part 2, we
examine more closely how the executiveculture of corporate communications needsto change if companies are to prosper with
digital media.
2.4 Collaboration is the
keystone of successful digital
communication
Slowly but surely, companies arebeginning to take digital media seriously.There is a growing realisation that social
technologies require a more open approachto communications and reputationmanagement, as one executive admitted:
Its no longer about whether we should
respond to this technology; its more about how
we join the online conversation that is happening
anyway. If companies dont reach out in new
ways, they risk being left behind. A reluctance to
engage only triggers negative sentiment.
No longer can companies protecttheir reputations behind messagedspokespeople, as one interviewee put it, orthe usual formulaic press releases. On the
contrary, the age of digital media enablesand indeed demands more direct andpersonal forms of communication.
Engaging early, clarifying, compromising,
staying calm - these are the hallmarks of
effective communication on the web.To successfully adapt, companies
must have a senior management teamthat is willing to embrace the spirit ofdigital collaboration. A collaborative
approach to communications has profoundimplications. It requires that the corporatecommunications team recast themselvesas enablers rather than controllers ofinformation ows.
Jeff Jarvis argues that companies need tothink in a more distributed fashion; that is,they should seek to embed their brand andtheir wider communications strategy acrossa variety of digital platforms, around whichusers are congregating.27 Being platformneutral is essential, as one consultantemphasised. Rather than taking a completely
centralised approach, communicatorsare likely to have greater success if theyparticipate in the myriad gift economies ofthe web.
This is not to suggest that companiesabandon their own websites or existinginternal mechanisms of informationproduction and distribution; rather, thatthese channels are integrated with thewider conversations, communities and gifteconomies that social technologies nowenable. For example, in her new book,
Open Leadership, Charlene Li suggests thatcompanies position their websites as hubsaround which users can congregate andparticipate in discussion.
More specically, the key is to view the
companys digital presence as part of a muchwider ecology of news and comment. As oneexecutive admitted, It is no longer realistic totry to control the companys reputation; all that
communicators can do is position the brand in
the best possible light, taking into account the
available data.
The task for executive communicators isallowing users a more authentic and exibleexperience in their engagement with thecompany. The following comments, made bya communications expert, build on this trainof thought:
It makes more and more sense for
companies to take a lead role in publishing
data and information around which others
can then generate their own insights... The
communications team should be falling over
itself to stay ahead of the digital news ow. The
information is going to come out anyway, so why
not position the company as a leader - even ifthat means admitting mistakes and giving space
to criticism up front.
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2.5 By contributing content
and creating platforms,
communicators have an
opportunity to build trust
By explicitly opting for exibility in theirapproach, corporate communicatorshave the opportunity to build a great deal oftrust with a variety of stakeholders. In theirresearch for McKinsey, for example, Boniniet al. argue that absolute transparency is nowthe best antidote to a digital crisis. In practicalterms, this means that companies consideradding the following elements to their digitalpresence:
An open and realtime communicationschannel through which companyexecutives can update the outside worldon news, events or crises as they are
unfolding - and what the company is
doing to resolve the situation (e.g. viaFacebook or Twitter).
Authorisation for the communicationsteam (or selected members thereof)to update the companys digitalpresence in realtime, including both itscentral website and appropriate socialtechnology platforms.
A comprehensive online databasewith up-to-date (and crucially, veried)
information, encompassing text, data,
audio and video, which differentstakeholders can use to build their owninterpretation of events.
Providing space for meaningful dialogue,
and user-generated ratings, even if that
means allowing users the opportunityto criticise the companys products oractivities, or participate in discussionsthat are ostensibly off brand.28
Building customer-led websites to assist
with problem solving and customer
service, which are argued by many tomore efcient tools because they enable
companies to harness the loyalty andknowledge of their best customers.29
Ensuring that the corporatecommunications team has the resourcesand training to produce and package
digital-media friendly content, both
for traditional newsrooms and otherstakeholders such as consumers andregulatory bodies.
To be effective, however, these strategiesneed to be coupled with an executiveculture of curiosity and humility. It is notenough for companies to simply create
platforms for feedback; they also need to bewilling to seriously consider and respond
to user-generated ideas. The speed at which
feedback is now generated and collated alsorequires companies to adopt a more nimbleapproach.
Social technologies accelerate the
aggregation of sentiment, with the resultthat companies must respond to issues inless time and in ways that bypass existingprotocols. In contrast to the relatively gentletempo of traditional media, for example,digital media coverage demands companiesact instantly.
A recent illustration was the situationfaced by Air Canada after baggage handlersdamaged a passengers wheelchair. Newsthat a 10-year old disabled boy had arrived
in New York from an Air Canada ight
to nd his specialist wheelchair in pieces
sparked fury on social networking sites suchas Twitter. Facing a public relations disaster,Air Canada was compelled to repair thewheelchair within hours of the incident.30
These and similar stories suggest thatsocial technologies are becoming a newsource of consumer power, albeit for arelatively narrow segment of the marketand typically for those individuals who aredeemed to have a degree of digitalinuence worthy of attention. A growing
number of companies are now using
channels such as Twitter to resolvecustomer complaints and as an earlywarning radar against potential crises.31Many are also beginning to tap services suchas Klout and Peer Index to assess the digital
inuence of particular users.32
The speed at which digital crises canform and impact a company mean thatcommunicators need to work moredirectly with particular divisions of thecompany, not least to harvest the verylatest information. As the following sectionhighlights, this points to another importantshift in executive thinking around corporatecommunications.
2.6 The authenticity of digital
communications relies on
contributions from employees
across the company, not
just a specialist cadre of
communicators
T
o effectively manage their digitalreputations, particularly during periods
of crisis, communicators also need tolook more broadly inside the company forsources of relevant information.
Social technologiesaccelerate theaggregation of
sentiment, with the
result that companies
must respond to
issues in less time and
in ways that bypass
existing protocols.
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As Charlene Li contends, communicators
must nd ways of tapping the collective
experience and loyalty of the companysemployees.
Rather than holding a monopoly overcorporate information, executives arguablyneed to incorporate the ideas, insights and
recommendations from employees in otherdivisions when they are preparing digitalcommunications. In doing so, they also needto participate in the conversations that arealready happening internally. In other words,the collaborative spirit of digital media shouldalso permeate the company from within.This kind of inner collaboration is vital to theauthenticity of digital communications.
By supplementing their digitalpresence with content from the frontline,communicators are in a much betterposition to win attention and trust in the
gift economies of the web. The inclusionof accurate, up-to-date and relevant
information adds considerable force todigital communications, particularly if it iswritten in a more authentic and humantone. For example, it was arguably due toa mismanagement of information from thefrontline (which included inaccurate data,doctored photos and formulaic statements)that BPs public prole suffered so greatly
during the Gulf of Mexico crisis.
Collaboration is also a necessitygiven that companies are rendered moretransparent by digital media. The adoptionof social technologies such as Facebookand Twitter means that every employee is apotential source of information or pointof contact. In this context, it is even more
vital that communicators reach out tothe wider company, not only to marshalgood ideas but also to educate employeesabout best practices around digitalcommunications. This last point is examinedin greater detail in Part 3.
In summary, the practical lesson fromthis discussion is that, to prosper withdigital media, executives must be willingto move beyond the assumptions thathave traditionally dened communications
and reputation management. Alongsidethis shift in executive thinking, companies
must also be ready to implement a newstructure of communications, which is more
open, responsive and collaborative - both
internally and externally. In turn, that meansgiving the central communications teamthe authority and resources both to collateinformation from across the company andto directly engage in realtime with thecompanys digital presence.
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At an enterprise-scale, digital mediais having profound impacts on theway information is produced, stored andmanaged. Companies are now awash in data.As a result, many are increasingly turningto social enterprise applications to bettermanage their internal knowledge reserves,whether it is structured databases or thethoughts, insights and recommendations ofemployees worldwide.
Corporate communications is therefore
sandwiched between two bodies ofinformation - internal and external to the
company - both of which are mushrooming
due to social technologies. The challengefor communicators is determining howbest to develop a digital communicationsstructure that allows them to navigate the
companys internal information ows as they
concurrently monitor and engage with theexternal ows of news and comment about
the company.The implication is that corporate
communications will need new resources,training and systems to manage the interfacebetween internal and external information
ows, increasingly on a realtime basis. The
communications team will also need to forgecloser relationships with different parts of
the company - in particular, via partnerships
with what we term digital advocates.Echoing the view recently articulated
by Josh Bernoff and Ted Schadler in theirbook, Empowered, we put forward asatellite model of digital communications.33In this hypothetical model, the centralteam enables, monitors and coordinatesa distributed network of advocates, whospeak on behalf of the company withindesignated areas of specialism and have the
creative freedom to experiment with socialtechnologies. The core elements of the
satellite model are depicted in Figure 1.The keystone of the satellite model,
and the future of communications in
general, is argued to be collaboration -
or more accurately, an executive culturethat is willing to explore the collaborativedimensions of social technologies. Onlythen can communicators begin to (1) devisea framework of best practice around whichemployees should be free to innovate and
(2) invest in the systems and training throughwhich employees and advocates will be ableto communicate internally and externally.
We suggest that communicators delegate
carefully dened responsibilities to a satellite
network of advocates, who are responsible
Part 3
Building a Digital Communications
Structure
Figure 1 The Satellite Model of Digital Communications
Devising aframework
of best
practice
Openingexecutiveculture
Investing insocial
enterprise
applications
Appointing a network of digital advocates
The keystone of thesatellite model,and the future of
communications in
general, is argued to becollaboration.
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for speaking on behalf of the company viathe latest social applications. In this way,specialist information from the front line can
more easily ow into the gift economies of
the web and thereby cement the companysposition as a trusted contributor to thoseconversations.
The central team will continue to play apivotal role - notably via setting standards,dening strategy, providing a digital plot line,
coordinating messages, training advocatesand monitoring media activity, in addition totheir existing responsibilities.
However, the satellite network couldeffectively become the companys principalinterface with digital participants. Focused
on their respective elds of specialism, the
advocates would be able to offer a moreauthentic, engaged and responsive interfacewith the company via social technologies.
The rationale for the satellite model is
explained in the following sections.
3.1 Digital media is leading
to a raft of social enterprise
applications
The collaborative possibilities of digitalmedia are transforming the waycompanies manage their skills, talent andcollective experience. The same technologiesthat gave rise to activities such as photo or
video sharing and status updates betweenfriends are now gaining momentum in thecorporate sector.
In particular, social technologies makeit easier for companies to record, organiseand share information as it is created on aglobal basis. In the words of one consultant,this reduces the amount of organisational
friction that typically restricts the ow of
ideas and the resolution of problems withina company.
Led by technology providers such as
IBM, Jive Software, Microsoft, Salesforce,SAS and Tibco, a new sector orientedaround social enterprise applications israpidly emerging. In general terms, thepurpose of social enterprise applications isto enable more visual and efcient forms
of collaboration between employees. Theyeffectively function as a professional gifteconomy in which employees contribute
content, rene their expertise and build
a reputation:Post the new sales presentation youve
updated and it will show up in the feeds of
your colleagues... Collaborate with colleaguesto prepare for the big customer meeting next
week... Follow experts in your company for
tips on how best to close deals or nd industry
expertise... Follow important customer accounts
to be sure issues and open items are resolved...
Post questions to your company network to
receive advice and relevant documents from
your colleagues across all departments(Kraig Swensrud, Salesforce).34
These applications are signicant to the
eld of corporate reputation managementbecause, in theory at least, they providecommunicators with comprehensive access
to enterprise-level data.
They provide a layer of applications (e.g.
databases, internal micro-blogging, customer
relationship management software) whichcommunicators can use to supplement andenrich their messages. Moreover, companiesmay choose to give consumers and digitaladvocates realtime access to designatedparts of the social enterprise layer in orderto encourage participation and build trust, as
discussed in section 2.5.To implement and take advantage
of the social enterprise layer, however,communications teams will requireexpertise from existing web and IT teams
- not least due to the technical and
logistical challenges associated with realtimeinformation harvesting. Some degree ofcross-departmental cooperation is inevitable,explained one executive in relation to thevariety of skills that are now integral todigital communications. You really need web
specialists and computer and network engineersworking in concert with communicators to
ensure the communications machine is always
running smoothly.
3.2 Social technologies allow
companies to better manage
their knowledge
Historically, these technologies areobviously far from new. Knowledgemanagement has been a much vaunted area
of business since the advent of moderncomputing and telecommunications. Emaillists, discussion boards and intranets havebeen the backbone of organisationalcollaboration for decades.
However, the changes broughtabout by social technologies do pointtowards a paradigm shift in the speed andinteractivity of knowledge managementin large companies. Due to advancesin realtime indexing and user interfacedesign, for example, the latest generationof technologies mean that companies are
increasingly able to visualise and managea much wider array of organisationalknowledge. As one communicationsexecutive described in detail,
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required to develop new skills specic to
the latest applications and platforms:As the nature of employee collaboration
changes, the skills to perform well in an ofce
environment may follow suit. No longer is it
enough to be able to infer from an email what
needs to be done and then set priorities. Now, an
astute observer could see on a Chatter-like servicethat, despite the communication in the email, she
should be setting different priorities based on the
communication across the organization.38
More generally, the adoption of socialtechnologies will also require a greaterdegree of internal coordination between
business units. This conicts with a tendency,
in many companies, for information and
resources to be hoarded by regional- or
product-specic units. Breaking down the
silos within any organisation is the single
biggest barrier to the social enterprise, noted
one consultant.Without an underlying strategic plan
in place, there is a risk that the usageand value of social technologies will behighly fragmented. To be effective, socialtechnologies need to be directed, managed
and monitored as part of a wider company-
wide approach to communications andreputation management. The centralcommunications team will play an
instrumental role in that process.
3.4 Communicators need tocarefully manage the social
information ow
Although there is growing pressure forcompanies to adopt a more open stancetowards their communications, they alsoneed to retain some degree of controlover the adoption of social technologies,
particularly in relation to the ow of
information at an enterprise scale and theconduct of digital advocates. The pursuitof realtime collaboration, for example, maycreate tensions in the following areas.
First, as corporate boundaries becomemore uid through social technologies, there
is a risk that sensitive information relating
to operations or nancial performance
leak into the public domain. To meettheir regulatory obligations, companiesmust ensure that material statements aredelivered through formal channels with theappropriate disclaimers. Social technologiesare no substitute for existing mechanisms
of nancial and regulatory disclosure, which
will need to be sustained in parallel.This applies to both structured
information (such as the typical pressrelease) as well as the conversational
information that is now routinely generatedbetween company representatives andonline participants. As we suggest below,outgoing digital communications shouldfollow an underlying series of guidelines andbest practices - as well as, where justied,
a streamlined system of executive review
prior to publication.Second, there are also implications for
the condentiality of corporate information.
Reecting a wider distrust with digital
media, there are questions surrounding the
security of web-based platforms for realtime
collaboration. Although encrypted andtheoretically limited to internal use, seniormanagement in some companies still viewplatforms such as Yammer or Chatter withconsiderable skepticism, as the followingquote suggests:
The ease with which these [platforms] can
record and transmit information so quickly iswhat scares corporates. Added to that is the small
possibility that a fragment of the information
stream will somehow nd its way outside the
company. With that as a backdrop, many
are holding back from truly open enterprise
collaboration... and that in turn provides enough
of a justication to limit what employees can do
and say on those internal platforms.
Third, another area of contention isproductivity. In a recent survey of 1400 chiefinformation ofcers, Robert Half Technology
found that fewer than 10% companiesgave their employees full access to socialtechnologies due to the potential impacton productivity.39 There is still a widely heldview that digital media equates with socialnotworking. Companies are still reluctant toallocate the resources required for realtime
collaboration, at least until the nancial
benets are better understood.
Fourth, the participation of moreemployees in the exchange and developmentof information also creates complicationsfrom an external communications viewpoint.Social technologies mean that every
employee (and even sub-contractor) is a
potential representative of the companyand a potential source of information.Furthermore, these technologies blur theboundaries between professional and privatespheres: whether at work or at home,employee actions may impact the company.
For all these reasons, it is increasinglyimportant that companies devise a setof guidelines to manage communicationsin the social enterprise. As we describe
below, the satellite model must also beaccompanied with appropriate training of
digital advocates - both to instill core media
skills and to ensure that they only speak
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about designated topics in accordance witha framework of best practice.
The misuse of social technologies, evenby a single employee or advocate, hasthe capability to damage the companysreputation on a global basis, with astonishingspeed. The dangers have been demonstrated
vividly by recent incidents - for example,the manipulation of Wikipedia pages by
Astra Zeneca, mis-tweeting at Habitat and
Vodafone, or the publication of inaccurate
information at BP during the oil spill.
3.5 Social technology is best
managed in collaboration with
employees
Rather than prescribing a rigidapproach, however, the consensusview among interviewees is that socialenterprise guidelines should be created andimplemented in an organic fashion throughdialogue with employees.
In some cases, social technologies are sointegral to a companys culture that the keyvalues are imbued during basic staff training.A prominent example is the US onlineretailer Zappos, which actively encouragesstaff to use social technologies to shareinformation as part of a broader objectiveto improve the overall customer experience.
The goal is to create a foundation for bestpractices to evolve, noted one communications
executive in relation to their latest approach. It
is more effective and desirable to actively enroll
employees in the creation of evolving guidelines,explained another. After all, this is a rapidlychanging space ... and the most innovative ideas
for ... communications may well come from
the youngest employees. Reecting this view,
Felix Kugel, Vice President of Manpower Inc.,argued that:
The foundation of any healthy social
network is an engaged community. Let
your employees help develop and enforce
your companys guidelines. This approach will
certainly appeal to those employees most likely
to use social media, promoting trust in the goals
of the guidelines that ultimately are instituted
(interview with the Moscow Times).40
Some companies have already startedappointing digital advocates, particularly tobuild community, trust and understandingaround social technologies in different partsof the business. For example, Intel operates
a certication programme through which
employees across the company can becomeofcially sanctioned digital communicators.
In turn, employees who are sanctionedthen form part of a distributed centre of
excellence, which is responsible for educatingothers in the use of social technologies.41
By nding and empowering suitable
employees, argue Josh Bernoff and TedSchadler in a recent article for HarvardBusiness Review, companies are in a betterposition to harness social technologies and
effectively engage with consumers.42
Building on this view, we argue here thatcompanies should adopt a satellite model ofcommunications. In this model, a specialistnetwork of advocates orbits and reportsback to the central communications team ina symbiotic fashion. The central team createsthe guidelines and protocols for digitalcommunications; the advocates then craftand promote their own messages aroundthose guidelines and protocols. This modelis arguably more scalable and cost-efcient
than, for example, the central team trying
to educate the company or handle digitalcommunications on its own.
In addition, digital advocates aremore likely to win the support andunderstanding of their colleagues if theyare able to operate with a degree ofautonomy. Advocates can become agentswithin distributed communities of engagedemployees. Examples of this approachnow abound. Companies are increasinglyappointing internal evangelists and specialiststo communicate about particular parts of
the business using social technologies. Indoing so, some of these communicators
have become inuential participants within
their respective elds.
A key challenge facing the satellitemodel is ensuring that different parts of thecompany are equally represented. Not onlydoes this help to raise a broader awarenessabout social technologies, it also helps tobreak down the rivalries associated withdifferent business units stake in the onlineprole. The digital presence often exposes
a variety of turf wars, noted one executive.Teams from strategy, business development,
branding, marketing, even customer support are
all vying for some control over how the company
is presented via digital media.Another challenge relates to appropriate
training. Once guidelines and bestpractices have been formulated, the centralcommunications team still has a vital role toplay as a hub for the training and oversightof digital advocates.
The selected individuals need to be
sufciently media savvy to understand, in
realtime, how to frame different issuesrelative to the companys overall strategy.They should only communicate withintheir own area of expertise. They also
Some companieshave alreadystarted appointing
digital advocates,
particularly to build
community, trust and
understanding aroundsocial technologies in
different parts of the
business.
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need to be prepared to communicate
across a variety of platforms - text, audio
and video. Most importantly, however, they
also need to be trained to follow a specic
set of guidelines when communicating onbehalf of the company - crucially, to avoid
communications that expose competitive
secrets or prematurely disclose pricesensitive information.
And nally, the satellite model needs to
allow the communications team the abilityto subject outgoing information, whetherstructured or conversational, to a seriesof routine checks. The purpose would beto avoid some of the dangers outlined insection 3.4. For example, certain keywordsor sensitive topics may be automaticallyagged for review, by the appropriate
executive, subject to the priorities of acompanys communications strategy at a
given time. Depending on the companysenterprise platform, this process ofexecutive review could become a seamless
part of the realtime publishing process.
3.6 The satellite model must
be driven by realtime media
monitoring
Avital component to the satellitemodel is the realtime monitoring ofexternal digital media activity. Information
owing back into the company can beused to update, rene and extend digital
communications strategies.Realtime monitoring allows companies
to improve, clarify and tailor theircommunications in the gift economiesof the web. Most importantly, realtimemonitoring acts as an early warning radarfor problems and as a source of intelligenceabout stakeholders, especially those with
an extensive sphere of digital inuence.
The central team can then funnel relevant
information to the satellite network ofadvocates. If they are regularly informedin this fashion, advocates are more likelyto improve their online contributions andthereby win the attention of users in theirrespective elds.
Social enterprise applications - such
as Chatter from Salesforce or Lotus
Connections from IBM - now incorporate
realtime monitoring features so thatcompanies can augment their internaldatabases with online activity from known
employees and customers. Start-ups such
as Meltwater, Radian6 and Alterian are alsohoping to tap demand for accurate realtimemonitoring. An arms race is developingaround digital media monitoring, as
providers compete on the speed, depth andaccuracy of their software.43
The next generation of monitoringtools will feature enhanced features such ascluster analysis, semantic search, linguisticsand sentiment analysis, as well as new visualdisplays.44 The key to adoption is automation,
emphasised a communications executive.That is, monitoring tools need to be intelligentenough to extract the relevant data and push
it to the relevant executive in the fastest time
and with the least amount of resources ... before
they go mainstream.New entrants, such as Cyveillance and
Teneros Sentry, are even marketing anintegrated realtime surveillance solutionthat allows companies to monitor whatemployees are publicly saying via socialtechnologies both at home and at work.45
Given the inuence of digital advocates
in their respective elds, companies may well
want realtime information about the onlineactivity of those individuals, day or night.However, such monitoring is already raising
concerns among civil rights advocates.They argue that companies have no right toinfringe the privacy of employees outsideworking hours. As sociologist Danah Boydargued in her keynote at SXSW 2010, eventhe aggregation of seemingly public data canquickly feel like an invasion of privacy.46
Surprisingly, the vast majority of
companies are relatively undeveloped intheir approach to digital monitoring. In arecent eConsultancy survey, a surprising 46%of companies reported that they did notuse any form of monitoring in their digitalcommunications activities.47 As one consultant
explained, most companies lack even themost basic data about their online reputationand consequently are ying completely blind
in the digital media space. This is arguablythe Achilles heel of reputation management,argued another consultant.
Companies that develop a realtimeapproach to digital media monitoring willtherefore have an important edge over theircompetitors. In particular, by monitoringdigital media activity, communicators are ableto collate immense amounts of data aboutcorporate reputation and the role of different
stakeholders - for example, by identifying
brand champions, inuential journalists and
bloggers, as well as vocal critics.Although most companies choose
to outsource monitoring, a handful arebuilding their own internal listening centres,
typically on the basis of a social enterpriseapplication. A prominent example is theGatorade mission control centre recentlycommissioned by PepsiCo, where staff
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can follow conversations around thebrand and evaluate the impact of theirown contributions.48 It is only throughthe detailed analysis ofonline chatter,commented an analyst, that companies canpiece together a live map of their reputation,
the relationship between participants and the
inuence that different individuals and groupsexert over their overall digital [prole].Realtime monitoring is also an essential
prerequisite to a more open, authentic andpersonal approach to communications.According to a consultant: Companies needthe best monitoring if they are to fully understand
crises as they appear - and then make the most
appropriate communications. Added anotheranalyst: The mistake made by BP during theoil spill was ... that their early communications
were too cold, too instrumental and only linked
to conventional press releases. The severity of the
situation needed a more human tone.
Armed with the latest information,communicators are in a far better positionto engage with particular stakeholders,
which in turn can foster positive word-of-
mouth and generate higher sales revenues.Releasing information to inuential groups
ahead of time can help to build online support,
which can yield great value during periods ofcrisis, explained a communications executive.A prominent example is the Vocalpointnetwork, created by Proctor & Gamble to
engage with inuential mothers:
Mothers share their experiences using
P&Gs new products with members of their
social circle , typically 20 to 25 moms. In
markets where Vocalpoint inuencers are active,
product revenues have reached twice those
without a Vocalpoint network
(McKinsey & Co.).49
Realtime monitoring
is also an essential
prerequisite to a more
open, authentic and
personal approach to
communications.
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Digital media is powering a renaissancein corporate communications.The connections afforded by socialtechnologies, in particular, are allowingcompanies to craft messages to a widerrange of audiences with far greatersophistication. In effect, every company isnow a media company.
By participating in the gift economiesof the web, companies have an opportunityto connect with new audiences and
thereby incorporate a much wider rangeof insights and recommendations intotheir operating practices. When harnessedcorrectly, digital media has the potentialto add considerable strength to acompanies reputation. Important lessons
can also be learned through digital crises.On balance, the opportunities greatlyoutweigh the risks.
Due to the speed and variety ofchanges, however, the converged medialandscape is still poorly understood withinthe corporate communications sector.By summarising the principal forces ofchange, it is hoped that this report willhelp communicators make sense of theopportunities presented by digital media.
Recognising that corporate reputationis now shaped by myriad sources,encompassing both traditional and digitalmedia, the report recommends thatcommunicators take into accountthe following:
Conclusions
Figure 2 Key recommendations for communicators
The noise created by digital media has increased the value of accurate and reliable content.With fewer resources available to journalists, there is an opportunity for communicationsteams to re-cast themselves as digital publishers, renowned for the quality of their output
in the respective sector. By drawing on the expertise and enthusiasm of employees acrossthe company, communicators can craft messages that come alive in digital media, whetherit is using video, images, interactive software or blog posts. To do so, communicators will
need to develop new skills in areas such as audio-visual production, social marketing and
online community engagement.
The vitality of a companys digital reputation is determined by the frequency as wellas the quality of its engagement with digital channels. In particular, it is increasinglyimportant that communicators maintain an active participation in the myriad gifteconomies of the web. The masters of the gift economy model of exchange are those
who can sustain the most clicks, comments and connections. However, the greatestbarrier to effective participation is the executive culture of communications. Seniormanagement arguably needs to adopt a more authentic, open, curious and humble stanceif the team is to succeed amidst these gift economies.
In every company, the central communications team now functions as a critical interfacebetween internal activity and external media activity about the company. The viral,realtime and mobile nature of the web means that organisational boundaries are morepermeable than before, with the result that communicators need to play an especially
active and alert role in managing information ows. In practical terms, this means that
communicators need to lead the development of guidelines for the management of
digital media at an enterprise scale. This report has argued that companies considerimplementing a satellite model of digital communications, whereby a network of subjectspecialists orbit and report back to the central communications team.
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In short, companies need to devise adigital communications structure (depictedin Figure 3 above) that can effectively
process the realtime and recursive ows
of information that now move across andbeyond the company. As noted earlier,the keystone of this new structure is anexecutive culture that is more curious,humble and collaborative in its approach
to communications. Only then can theoperational components be put in place:
A layer of social enterprise applicationsthat can record, manage and visualisethe full spectrum of organisationalknowledge, across all business units,from raw data to the tacit insights,recommendations and experiences ofemployees. Elements of this layer may beopened to the public to provide a richer,more interactive view of the company.
Devising a framework of best practices
around which digital communicationscan ourish. Coupled to this, companies
will need to implement protocols for theseamless quality assurance of outboundmessages, notably for sensitive or topicalcontent, but without restricting thecreative freedom of communicators.
A network of digital advocates withresponsibility for innovating aroundsocial technologies and communicating
on behalf of the company in specic
areas. Advocates will need to have access
to the latest databases, including reportsabout external media activity, if theyare to participate effectively in the gifteconomies of the web.
A central communications team thatis responsible for directing rather thanimplementing the full spectrum of digitalactivity. In particular, the central team willserve a key role in appointing, training,coordinating and updating the satellitenetwork of advocates within a wider
corporate communications strategy.
The changes outlined are best viewed as an
evolutionary extension of communications,not an outright disruption. In the majority ofcases, companies already have the skills andexperience to harness the opportunities todigitally enrich their reputations. However,they will also need to invest in new systems,training and resources if they are to fully takeadvantage of the latest advances in digitalmedia. Most importantly, opening fully to thepossibilities of digital media will also requirea leap of faith from senior management.
To begin the process of building a digital
communications structure, this reportrecommends that communicators considerthe following actions:
Establish a steering committee, withrepresentation from as wide a rangeof business units as possible. Thecommittee would be responsible forformulating a blueprint for a digitalcommunications strategy, tailored to
the company and sector - in particular,
identifying mechanisms to streamline
the internal ow of information to
the central communications team andevaluating potential applications toassist with information management andrealtime media monitoring.
Figure 3 Information Flows in the Digital Communications Structure