We’ve seen a number of people in the public eye ‘outed’ recently, having said things in the past that have come back to bite them from a reputation perspective.
Just in the last week, we’ve seen Stormzy, Zoella and I’m a Celebrity’s Jack Maynard caught out.
These are young people – Stormzy made these comments before he was famous, aged between 18 and 21. Zoella was 20. Jack Maynard was 17.
Of course, you should take care of what you say online – and never say anything you wouldn’t say in person or want read back to you, but if we were able to search a feed of the language or opinions of our parents or grandparents from the past and judge them by it now, most would end up falling foul of what’s acceptable in 2017.
At 30, and having worked in PR since I was 20 when Twitter launched, I’ve been fortunate enough to have the benefit of awareness. Many of those in the public eye have been thrust into the spotlight.
Social media audiences are maturing, and past social media activity is catching up with us. In every case so far, those involved have apologised and said they thought differently at the time of writing.
Twitter, which is publicly and easily searchable, has been around for more than a decade. People that started using the service at launch aged 13 would be 23 now – and potentially in high profile roles. Their thoughts, language and opinions will, in most cases, have matured, as is common.
We’re at an interesting point in history – where more than a decade of our social footprint is searchable.
With one search for the right words, journalists can simultaneously find a story that’ll get (profitable) clicks while putting individuals through potentially enormous reputation damage.
Having provided a wide range of personal PR services to high profile individuals alongside our brand work since launching the agency, we are well-placed to deliver a service directed at individuals and organisations.
We are launching a new and off-the-shelf global reputation management product – Social Media Safeguard.
With Social Media Safeguard, we will scour client social media accounts and deliver potential areas for reputation concern in a report. We can then advise on action, based on our decades of combined personal PR experience for high profile individuals, dependent on the outcome.
This isn’t just combing for inflammatory language, it’s about looking at how what’s been said might be received by potential employers and the wider public – for instance, a person in the public eye might have once discussed a negative brand experience, but might also hope to one day work with that brand. We can work to a specific brief to ensure profiles reflect the person clients are today.
Who could benefit?
- Entertainers, record labels, production companies
- Politicians and political parties
- High profile businesspeople
- And anybody in a position to have their reputation impacted by their social and digital footprint
Why us?
Having provided a wide range of personal PR services to high profile individuals alongside our brand work since launching the agency, we are well-placed to deliver a service directed at reputation management for individuals and organisations.
Interested?
Contact us by emailing pr@radioactivepr.com, with the subject ‘Social Media Safeguard‘, or call 01452 698765.