Facebook’s PR Slip-Up: An Opportunity for Relationship Management

On May 3, 2011, a security blogger received an email from a well-known public relations firm, Burson-Marsteller. Burson pitched an anti-Google story to the blogger in hopes of it spreading through the Internet and eventually leading to top news outlets. The influential blogger, Chris Soghoian, asked who the client was, and Burson would not give the blogger the name. Instead of pursuing the story, Soghoian published the email exchange online for the whole world to see. This was the beginning of one of the “biggest battles of the Internet Age.”

More than a week later, Facebook came forward and confirmed that the social networking site hired the PR firm. Facebook hired Burson to support its claim that Google is violating Facebook’s terms of service by using the data found on Facebook for its own personal use.

But wait… There’s more.

Facebook is attacking Google for obtaining information about Facebook’s users without Facebook’s permission. However, is there still a case when the majority of information that users share on Facebook is available to the public?

Throughout the years, Facebook has continued to change its terms of service with its users. The top social networking site was once comprised of a private virtual circle of friends that only the user could see. Now, anyone who can access a computer can see information that is shared on the website.

Facebook has dug itself a fine hole. Instead of the media looking into Google’s whereabouts and accounts, the fingers are now being pointed at Facebook about its own privacy issues. The plan to frame Google has turned around on Facebook. Now who’s laughing?

This PR slip-up has hurt Facebook’s reputation immensely. Due to this public humiliation, many PR practitioners are looking into their own company’s reputations. This example has caused many PR practitioners to look into an evolving field – reputation management.

As a PR professional, one likes to believe that all the people will be honest and trustworthy, but one must also be prepared to deal with those who are not. In Elizabeth Gooding’s blog post on reputation management, Gooding offers some suggestions for how to effectively maintain a good reputation.

1. Use systems to monitor social media and other platforms of media that are used to communicate about your company.
2. Encourage your employees to report any information that may be helpful for the company to know. This includes stories and rumors.
3. Give employee guidelines or create a social media policy for employees to follow when communicating on the Internet.
4. Condense responsibility for the development of a response strategy.
5. Manage the company in an ethical way. Make it clear to employees that creating or spreading a rumor will not be tolerated.

Hiring a reputation management expert is a great investment tool. A reputation may seem like a breeze to maintain, but once it’s broken, it may be difficult to pick up the pieces.

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