We’ve all heard it before. Don’t be sales-y. Tell the truth. Don’t be in a position to be proven wrong after the fact. Why do we need such reminders? And why do we continue to make these basic mistakes? In Partnership With decided to get to the bottom of how to elevate your communications game. In the end, it’s about delivering authentic communications while being true to yourself and your brand. For those of us who are looking to build stronger connections with consumers, contacts and colleagues in a way that is going to add value to them (and therefore us in return), read on.
You never want to lie to your doctor, your lawyer or your PR team. None can help you if you are withholding, or falsifying information.
Who among us hasn’t fibbed about the number of drinks we have in a week during our annual physical? That little white lie may not catch up with you tomorrow (and I’ve heard most doctors double the number you give them anyway) but the essence of this advice is clear. Tell the truth so you are known and trusted as an expert. Sounds simple, right?
Authentic Communications Are Under Attack
With so much uncertainty on the horizon, institutions are struggling to gain the trust and confidence of the public. According to the 2020 Edelman Trust Barometer report, only 53 per cent of Canadians trust core institutions. These include business, government, media and non-governmental organizations. The lack of institutional trust is concerning and the rise and spread in fake news has further confounded this issue.
With so much information and the pressures of a 24-hour news cycle, it’s become increasingly difficult for people to decipher the truth.
This applies to public relations as much as it does as to where the public is consuming media. At a much larger level, the entire concept of democracy is openly being discussed as being at risk. That means that we’re in a pretty dangerous place right now. It really is a challenge because, we haven’t seen this sort of thing before.
COVID-19 has compounded the idea of authenticity. Marketers are still figuring out how to put their best foot forward. When it comes to marketing during the pandemic, the notion of being true and authentic is not a new idea. However, one may argue that authenticity and trust is even more critical during a period of heightened uncertainty. The world is truly upside down right now. Someone conducting themselves or their business in a dishonest or inauthentic way would surely be held to account in the past. That isn’t happening by and large today. In fact, some are remaining quite successful.
Own Your Story and Your Brand
Now more than ever, reputation, trust and authentic communications matter. Brands are beginning to see the value in getting real and making authentic and genuine consumer connections. Today’s consumers are as informed as ever and won’t easily be duped.
Consumers can sense a disingenuous brand from a mile away and are not looking to be sold to.
Delivering brand value today for communications professionals means to secure a strong position. To make sure that what is being said is true. It’s often said that you only get one chance to make a first impression. In order to win your placement, you need to share your message accurately and appropriately.
The Road Ahead for Authentic Communications
The challenge is that people don’t always listen to their PR experts. They are not willing to be managed and are often resistant to being truthful, authentic, or even positive. As a PR professional, it’s your role to be a counsellor. You try to help manage the brand of the politician, the persona, the professional, the brand entirely. That is something that is becoming increasingly difficult because truth doesn’t matter today as much as it did. That said, ultimately, the truth will always come out. This fact is incredibly important for people who are working in PR.
The people in the room who have doubted PR, who think it’s about self promotion, and that social and content marketing is a fad, it is not.
The Opportunity for PR to Lead the Way Forward
There is a need for an authentic voice of authority. A dependable, reputable trusting of the source of data. Layer on working in partnership with people who you feel comfortable with and trust. Whether with wire services – even Huffington Post – these things are going to evolve and that’s okay. But at the end of the day, you have to know who to trust.
Media outlets must be objective and unbiased. We know this is not a reality. When outlets subscribe to a particular ideology and then finds facts to fit that narrative, it can put the entire system of democracy at risk. If we look back in history at Walter Cronkite – and I might be dating myself here – you believed, whatever he told you was true. It was verified. It was important. And when important and verified messaging gets shared and commonly accepted, respected and commonly understood to be true, that becomes effective media messaging. We need to get back to that place of authentic communications and it starts with all of us.
Talking About Failure
Most of us are afraid of failure. People won’t create new ideas, because they could get knocked down or mocked. They don’t do whatever needed because they were risk-averse; they were afraid. That’s a really easy way to be fired in PR. It’s so easy to critique, but it’s incredibly hard to create. Therefore, David’s philosophy for his business is that we would rather get fired for something we do and not for something we don’t do.
David’s team is not afraid of making bold decisions. Early in his career, David working with a wealth management firm, and was trying to gain media interest in the company. The client wanted to build profile for their president, and the team was able to secure interest for an interview from a media outlet. But the client denied the interview, claiming the media outlet was beneath them as an organization, putting David and the team in a tough spot with the journalist. Eventually, the firm and the client parted ways. Looking back, David realized that in most cases, the client is the client. When it comes to working with the media, sometimes the media is the client, and the client is the content. David would rather lose a client than hurt the firm’s reputation and future clients’ opportunities with the media outlet.
In Partnership With
David Kaiser is an elite level communications strategist who can quickly assess business needs, and deliver thoughtful courses of action in highly stressful situations. His unique set of experiences and expertise, including his six year tenure at the Toronto Stock Exchange, is unmatched in the Canadian corporate communications landscape. David effectively speaks the language of business and provides strategic counsel to the most senior of executives.
Tim Bishop, CM is a multi-disciplined executive with a proven record of optimizing strategic efforts to expand the influence of leading organizations, such as the Canadian Marketing Association, Cineplex Entertainment, Lavalife.com, IMI International and Northstar Research Partners. In Partnership With is his latest focus to curate Canadian marketing experts to celebrate the power of strategic partnerships in a perspective-based content series.