How to manage reputation in a post-truth era

Adgully Bureau |

Adgully, in association with CommsAdda, hosted the latest edition of #GullyChat on Friday, October 25, 2024. This edition of #GullyChat focused on ‘Managing Reputation in a Post-Truth Era: Tools and Techniques for PR Pros’.

The esteemed participants included:

Padmaja Konisetti, Communications Professional

Santanu Chakraborty, Corporate Communications Lead, BSE (Stock Exchange)

Pooja Trehan, Head of PR & Content, Jio World Centre

Bhavna Imran, Communications Leader - South Asia, Corteva Agriscience

The session began with a discussion on how PR professionals are leveraging data analytics to monitor and respond to public sentiment in real-time.

Santanu Chakraborty suggested using analytics tools to track mentions, hashtags, and sentiment on platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn for social media monitoring. According to him, this helps gauge public sentiment and identify emerging trends or issues quickly.”

He further added, “For content tracking, analyze different types of content across channels. Understanding what resonates with the audience guides future communications. Brands need to implement natural language processing (NLP) algorithms to analyze sentiment online.”

Padmaja Konisetti said, “Social listening and media monitoring tools play a huge role. They provide immediate access to public sentiment analysis, enabling us to monitor sentiment on various channels and craft our responses accordingly.”

The conversation then moved towards how storytelling can be used as a tool for reputation management in an era saturated with misinformation.

Bhavna Imran noted, “Storytelling can take many forms. A leader sharing an anecdote or personal narrative is one of my favourite approaches. It helps build a connection with the audience and elicits empathy.”

Pooja Trehan emphasized on consistency and clarity. “Keep sharing your story with focused messaging at regular intervals. That’s probably why we remember the audio tune by Intel or the Amul Girl.”

The panellists also discussed emerging technologies and tools that can assist PR professionals in navigating the complexities of the post-truth landscape.

Trehan stressed on going back to the basics. “Read, research, network within the industry, and draft your own communications. While there’s no shortage of tools and technologies, often what’s missing is a simple, grounded approach.”

Bhavna Imran added here, “Exploring sentiment heatmaps – visual representations of sentiment by region or demographic – allows us to track the spread and impact of misinformation so that we can tailor our responses.” She also highlighted the “power of many”, adding, “Crowdsourced fact-checking, if done right, can be very powerful!”

Padmaja Konisetti said, “In addition to traditional and social media analytics tools, PR professionals should also explore influencer marketing and emerging tech, such as AI tools, to navigate this new landscape.”

Talking about crisis management platforms, Santanu Chakraborty stressed on centralizing communication and response strategies during crises for quick coordination. “As far as Blockchain technology is concerned, one needs to ensure transparency and authenticity of information via secure, verifiable sources.”