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A Turd is Still a Turd, Glitter or Not – The Brutal Truth of Authentic Communication

A Turd is Still a Turd, Glitter or Not - The Brutal Truth of Authentic Communication

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Authenticity is central to the success of your communication activity.

Defined as the quality of being genuine or real, it is what people look for in people, products, brands, businesses and organisations.

There is proof that this is true – studies have shown greater levels of engagement with brands and organisations who are perceived to display authenticity.

However it’s simpler to use your own learned experience.

Ask yourself – do I know what authenticity is and can I recognise it? Would I trust, or want to have dealings with, something or someone that I perceive to be inauthentic?

Going out on a limb, we’d say the answers to the questions are yes, and no, respectively.

And if that’s true, then surely you should be vetting your own communication for authenticity and making sure that what you’re putting out passes the test.

If it doesn’t, then you’re risking losing the trust, damaging reputation, discouraging engagement and decreasing the chances of any sort of objective-delivering impact – sales, for example, or support, or investment or stakeholder approval.

Clearly, authenticity is a multi-faceted thing.

In 2021, researchers from the University of Southern California, Bocconi University and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam published a paper explaining six types of judgments that consumers make about a brand’s authenticity. They were:

  • Accuracy
  • Connectedness
  • Integrity
  • Legitimacy
  • Originality
  • Proficiency

Which is all well and good and open for discussion, but ultimately distracts from the main and most visible arbiters of authenticity – the language you’re using to communicate, and how you present your communication.

To the six types of authenticity judgements therefore, we’d add one more – as much an internal judgment as it is an external one – and it’s self-awareness.

Self-awareness is the ability to recognise that no-one is ‘surprised and delighted’ by a threefer or a bogof.

Self-awareness is knowing that being a sponsor of something, or being awarded something, or assisting in something, or just being somewhere are not causes for unseemly celebration – no-one, in the history of happiness, has ever been ‘delighted’ to be any of these things.

Self-awareness does, however, allow you to create (and exploit) personality in your communication, so (and as we were recently) you might choose to be ‘stoked’ by these things. But only if you can carry it off.

Self-awareness is the knowledge that – no matter how much glitter you roll it in – a turd is a turd and you’re probably better off not trying to raise its profile.

Self-awareness is understanding, intuitively, how you come across and what your audience will take from the words and images that you use.

Self-awareness is recognising that there are innumerable different occasions and adapting your language and your message to suit each one as it arises.

Authenticity is many things, but it’s being self-aware and testing your communication and its content before you push the button that keeps you honest and keeps you real.

And if you’re not sure – you could talk to us about it

Photo by Ian Yates on Unsplash

Get in touch if you feel you might be be polishing something that’s unlikely to take a shine.

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Communication Training

Media Training – Not Just Interview Hints and Tips

Media Training - Not Just Interview Hints and Tips

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Media training is where you pit your wits against the trainer – or, if it’s expensive enough, against a journalist moonlighting from her day job with a major media outlet – who’s asking you difficult questions about your business, brand or organisation.

All in a safe environment, captured on tape, and then reviewed to identify areas of improvement.

You’ll then be furnished with hints and tips and tools to help you improve your performance. If you’re lucky, you’ll get a second go at it, so you can put some of the stuff you learned into practice.

Nothing too threatening, of course, just a taster of what it might be like – leaving you with the reassuring feeling that, if media engagement were to come your way, you’d be better prepared.

It is, however, just the tip of the iceberg.

A good media training session should, of course, include what we’ll call ‘live fire’ exercises. You should get the practice in and – as far as we’re concerned, anyway – it should be difficult.

It should be uncomfortable. It should instil a healthy respect.

Above all, it should demonstrate the importance of the rest of the session’s content.

Acting as a spokesperson, and being prepared to do so, is not an end in itself. Arguably, there’s no real need for spokespeople, trained or otherwise.

The only time that spokespeople are needed is when there is something to say.

A story to be told. Messages to be communicated. A position to be detailed. An issue or incident to be clarified. An audience to be influenced.

This, then, is the other two-thirds of a good media training session.

  • What makes a story
  • What do the media want to hear
  • Who’s your audience
  • What are your messages
  • What do you want to achieve

To be familiar with all of this is to be familiar with how media relations works, allowing you to be more targeted, to achieve against your objectives, to make the most of each and every opportunity and – above all – to make the best use of your time.

Interview technique is extremely important.

However, you can be the best, most effective interviewee in the world – but if you don’t know why you’re doing it, how it works and what you want to achieve, then you might as well not bother.

Get in touch if you’d like to be an effective spokesperson as well as a good one.

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Earned media only works if all platforms play the same game

Earned media only works if all platforms play the same game

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Earlier this year, it emerged that two Irish influencers – one of them former Ireland rugby captain Brian O’Driscoll – received compliance notices from the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) because they’d not disclosed the commercial nature of posts on social media.

Both O’Driscoll and fitness coach Caroline O’Mahony were found to have “engaged in a misleading commercial practice”.

It’s the same principle that applies to all sponsored content – it needs to be labelled as such. If the content has been paid for, unless it’s immediately obvious, you need to say so.

Otherwise, the consumer is being misled.

The acronym PESO describes the types of media available to the communicator – Paid, Earned, Social and Owned. Three of those are controlled by you because you’ve paid for them.

Earned media, of course, isn’t controlled by you.

It’s the coverage you receive if a journalist decides to cover your story. It isn’t labelled because it’s independent – the journalist has not been paid and is under no pressure to provide coverage.

Because of this, earned media carries weight. It is tacit endorsement.

The consumer has the right to trust that earned media – coverage produced by journalists – is not directly affected or influenced by a commercial transaction. Any advertising space that has been bought is (and remains) separate from the editorial content.

Traditionally, editorial departments are fiercely protective of their integrity. Journalists resist any attempt by the commercial arm of their organisation to exert influence over editorial output.

From a PR perspective, this is a good thing. Allowing commercial interests to dictate what is and is not news would devalue earned media.

It would dilute its impact, weaken its relevance and, ultimately, remove a crucial means of reaching and influencing the audience.

Sometimes a media organisation’s commercial team will successfully persuade editorial to bend to their will to keep a key advertiser happy – but it remains the exception rather than the rule.

Earned media coverage remains the result of a good story, or a valuable opinion, or expertise specific to a topic or issue. It’s because a journalist has decided that their audience would be engaged by it. It is independent and delivered through the lens of a third party.

Had either O’Driscoll or O’Mahony chosen to endorse a product, brand or business they didn’t have a commerical relationship with, that would also qualify as earned media. However, the nature of the social beast and its many influencers makes such instances rare in the extreme.

In an increasingly digital media, growing scrutiny of social media by the CCPC is welcome – as are sanctions against those who transgress. If content is run as a product of a commercial agreement, the audience needs to be made aware of it – no matter the platform on which it is published.

It’s the best way to preserve trust in the media, while also ensuring business and brands with good stories can earn positive exposure.

Photo by Julian Hochgesang on Unsplash

Get in touch if you’d like to explore how your story can earn you media coverage that influences and engages.

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What’s the story? Why it matters more than media contacts

What’s the story? Why it matters more than media contacts

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“Hi Paul, it’s James here.[1] Oh yeah – great thanks, how about you? Really? I’ll give that a watch. Will we be seeing you at Harry’s? Yes? Great.

“Listen, mate, I wonder if you could do me a favour. It’s just that I need to get coverage for a client of mine that produces plastic widgets. Yes, they’re feeling a bit left out. They feel that they’re an interesting company and that plastic widgets are fascinating.

“What’s that? A story? A profit increase? No, not really. Sizeable investment in factory or plant? Nope, not recently. A new product innovation? I don’t think so! Expanding the workforce? Actually, quite the opposite, old chap.

“Yes, that’s right – some coverage. You know – a namecheck, a bit about how brilliant plastic widgets are, quotation and opinion from the CEO – that sort of thing. You will? Next couple of days?

“You’re a mate, Paul. See you next week!”

Now, we’re not saying that conversations like this have never taken place. They definitely have. And we’re not saying that – regardless of the moral and ethical implications – media coverage wasn’t delivered as a result.

What we are saying is that this isn’t anywhere near normal. This is not how PR works.

Your agency, or your in-house PR department, can have the littlest, blackest, little black book of contacts that has even been compiled, but contacts alone do not cut it.

There’s only one reliable route to earned media coverage, and that’s a story. There’s got to be something that merits coverage – investment, innovation, expansion, business success, utilisation of technology, impact on the community (there’s quite a long list) – and merits coverage because it’s of interest to the audience.

Contacts are no good if you can’t identify a potential story and develop it into something interesting. Media coverage is no good if your story doesn’t deliver your key messages and highlight your business or brand.

Any PR practitioner who has worked with the media for any period of time will have a list of contacts – people they’ve talked to before and may have worked with to enable and deliver earned media coverage.

But media contacts and the strength of the relationship with those media contacts is never more important than the ability to recognise, research, develop and tell a story.

Put simply – a contact without a story is unlikely to result in coverage.

With social media and electronic distribution, a good story without a contact has a far better chance of success.

[1] All names have been changed, despite being made up in the first place.

Get in touch if you want to know more about finding a story that delivers coverage with or without contacts.

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Client news Corporate Communication PR

Choosing a Communication Partner is not a Bargain Hunt

Choosing a Communication Partner is not a Bargain Hunt

It’s not like pasta shapes – the biggest and cheapest package isn’t the best

Recently 4TC was invited to tender for a piece of business – it doesn’t matter who or what it was, or in what sector, or the specific services that were required – suffice it to say that it required full-service communication counsel.

Ultimately, we weren’t appointed to manage the account – but it’s a competitive marketplace and, to borrow a phrase, you can’t win them all.

However.

A comparison between the scores awarded to the 4TC tender submission and that of the successful tenderer showed that ours had outperformed in all areas related to the delivery of services – understanding the client’s requirements, programme effectiveness, the quality of the proposed team, and account management.

In fact, in every area except day-rate cost 4TC’s submission scored noticeably higher.

Despite an annual budget for fees being provided within which all tenders had to fit, a decision was made to spend on quantity, rather than quality. The implication is that the larger the number of hours provided, the greater the value of the service.

Professional communication services – PR, corporate affairs, public affairs, internal communication, crisis and issues management – are not one-size-fits-all.

All providers and practitioners are not equal.

Communication services are not like own-label dried pasta shapes – the bigger and cheaper the packet, the better.

Choosing a communication partner should be based on a series of factors, before taking cost into consideration. They are:

  • The people running your account, their experience and expertise. What have they done and what can they do?
  • The quality of the team’s thinking and their understanding of the environment in which you operate.
  • The quality of the team’s proposed programme, their ability to deliver on the programme and to work well with you.
  • The team’s ability to add value, as well as their flexibility and commitment.

“This is where the value of communication lies.

Of course, price matters and if all of these factors are taken into account and your potential partners are deemed to be equally competent then – but only then – should day-rate cost become a factor.

But if your potential partners are not equally competent according to these criteria, and yet they are all proposing to work within your overall budget parameters, then day-rate is unimportant.

 Value – not cost – is what drives the decision.”

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How do you Engage with Influencers?

HOW DO YOU ENGAGE WITH INFLUENCERS?

Seriously? I wouldn’t recommend that you do. When it comes down to it, there have to be other ways of raising awareness in your target audience group that are probably more effective.

Yes, yes, there are product categories that are bang out of options (I’m thinking savoury snacks and sliced bread, don’t know why) but even then – even then – there’s got to be something, right?

Right?

OK, there isn’t. But I still don’t think you’re looking for influencers, or for simple celebrity endorsement. You’re probably looking for ambassadors.

The three things are not the same and although all have ‘influence’ over the audience, roughly speaking one is a product of his or her environment, the second has a touch of sparkledust and the third actually may have done something to deserve it.

Let’s explore that further.

We’re told that influencer marketing is a form of social media marketing involving endorsement and product placement by individuals, groups or organisations with a supposed level of knowledge/expertise in a particular field (and breathe).

All well and good – but we’d be kidding ourselves if we didn’t recognise that ‘influencer’ is a synonym for youtubers, tiktokkers and instagrammers with enormous followings based on – erm – stuff. Lifestyle. Attitude. Looks. And it’s all about the money.

Clearly this is all about glitter-by-proxy which, incidentally, is not a charming little village in the Cotswolds. A definition would be something like – a form of marketing involving endorsement of a product, organisation or service via the proximity of a well-known face who might, or might not, have something in common with the product, organisation or service that they are (tacitly) endorsing.

In reality, what we’re talking about is the presence of a celebrity at your photoshoot, product launch, supplier luncheon or corporate event – a presence that you’ve paid for and which makes everyone attending, or looking at the pictures, feel a bit warm and fuzzy.

A very different thing indeed. Ambassadors are experts in a particular field, or well-known public figures, with whom a product, organisation or service has a long-term contractual agreement guaranteeing their participation in certain types of promotional activity at certain pre-agreed levels. But, clearly, your ambassador isn’t going to be any Tom, Cressida or Harriet.

They’re going to be someone who fits – who has knowledge or expertise you want to share, who has qualities you want to be associated with, who is aspirational and relevant in the way you want your product to be.

I mentioned savoury snacks earlier and there’s a case in point – Walkers Crisps and footballer turned pundit turned household name Gary Lineker. There’s a whole other article in exploring why Lineker is (was, or became) such an asset for the brand, and we won’t go into it here.

All this goes to say that it’s very easy, in today’s hyper-connected world of social media likes and follows, to assume you and your asset need an influencer.

Fact is, you probably don’t. But if you really, really do – ask the question.

“Do I actually mean ‘influencer’?”

And if you’re not sure – drop us a line on info@4tc.ie

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What’s the Future for AI and Content Generation?

what does ai mean for content generation?

I’m not very good with source material. I read something and think ‘oooh – that’s interesting, and no mistake’ and it’s only later, when I want to reference it, that I realise I’ve not a scooby where it came from. Example. Recently, I read something on Twitter which, as far as I could see, was about the use of AI in PR. If journalists think that they’re being spammed by PR practitioners now, just wait until Robocommunicator gets here. It struck a chord – and then came the dawning realisation that I had no idea what it was referencing and even a quick root around in Google didn’t throw anything up. But, actually, that’s not a problem. Because I am absolutely certain that AI is being used in communication in one form or another. Whether or not we’ve got to artificially compiled media releases, I don’t know, but I’d bet a million squiddlies against a bent sixpence that we have, or that we’re about to. And my certainty stems from the fact even I have considered whether it’s possible to create an algorithm that could produce – once fed a certain number of facts, premises and parameters – a half-decent media release.

When all’s said and done, there are – as we all know – things that a media release needs to contain to be functional and things that need to be added to make it ‘news’. Just in case anyone’s forgotten what they are:

Needs to be based around the who, what, why, where and the when. And – sometimes – how. It should be three paragraphs long and needs a quotation in the second paragraph.

Contains one or more (preferably more) of a list of things – money, technology, human interest, controversy, celebrity, sex or ‘futurology’ – linked to, or part of, the subject matter.

As I’m briefing an AI, here, I’ll also state the incredibly obvious – it has to be true and backed with evidence.

So – is this the end of the communicator as we know her, him or they? I’d say no – in the medium term – for two reasons.

First, no-one’s been successful (or at least not that we know of) in creating a ‘true’ AI – one that is conscious, one that can think for itself, has its own personality and makes its own decisions.

Second (and see above) writing a media release isn’t rocket science – you’d spend as much time feeding the information into the algorithm as you would simply writing it yourself.

That being said, of course, if you don’t trust your writing skills, and it normally takes five attempts to get approval, then an AI with machine learning capability would probably be more consistent out of the box. And would soon learn to create content in a client’s preferred style.

Maybe you’re right to be concerned.

(This blog was created by 4TC’s new communication composition algorithm, Scribl.)*

 

*No. No, it wasn’t.

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Thinking about authenticity? Authentic communication is a good start

Thinking about Authenticity? Authentic communication is a good start

You can’t go anywhere these days – in marketing and communication, anyway – without someone getting all authentic on you. Authenticity is a business imperative.

As such, authenticity needs measuring and tracking – and where better to start that with your communication? After all, if your communication strategies and activities aren’t seen as authentic, then how can you be?

Based on decades of communication and journalism experience, 4TC has developed a self-assessment tool – it’s part of the Authentic8 | Communication Authenticity & Effectiveness Audit.

The Authentic8 Self-Assessment module is based around a simple, thought-provoking questionnaire. It will provide you with a clear indication of where you are on your communication authenticity journey – and the things you might consider to help you go further, faster. Click here or below to give it a go.

Take the Authentic8™ Self-Assessment

It’s probably worth reminding ourselves why authenticity is important, what it means and how it manifests in communication.

  • 90% of people use authenticity to decide which brands they like[1]
  • 83% of marketers consider authenticity to be important to their brand
  • 57% of consumers believe that less than half of brands communicate authenticity
  • Authenticity (in leadership) is the strongest single driver of work happiness and job satisfaction – two key factors in employee engagement

Authenticity is a key factor in business success – but (and in case you’re wondering) what is authenticity? We came up with a definition (based on our decades of communication experience) which no-one (so far) has disagreed with.

Authenticity is:

  • Honest – representing something as it actually is
  • Targeted and Personal – talking to the right people, through the right channels in the right language
  • Professional – transparent in response, able to admit fault and apologise
  • Inclusive – bringing the team along on the journey
  • Not a ‘Tick in the Box’ – false impressions, inconsistency, greenwashing, avoidance

[1] Stackla Research – 2017/19

The 4TC Authentic8 Self-Assessment is based on the eight pillars of communication that underpin the entire Authentic8 audit process.

Language is about the way you speak or write, the flow or words and your choice of words.

Tone is about the overall sense of what you are communicating and what that says about you. How does it make someone feel towards the subject/brand/organisation?

Is your communication structured – beyond language and tone – to contain clear messaging that is important to your target audience?

What does your communication consist of – does the content you choose to communicate add value, does it serve a purpose, and does it benefit your audience?

The accessibility of your communication is as important to your authenticity score as is language, tone, messaging, and content. It speaks to the clarity and visibility of your communication.

Tolerance for inauthenticity may be higher amongst some audience groups than amongst others. Communication should be viewed in the context of who will be receiving it.

How does you communication reach its intended audience? Are you using the right channels – e.g. web, email, social media, news media, internal platforms – and are you executing a strategic approach to delivery?

Engagement is the culmination of language, tone, messaging, content, accessibility, and delivery. It is the ultimate barometer of the effectiveness, and therefore authenticity, of your communication.

Evaluating your communication in the context of each of these elements provides insight into your communication’s authenticity and therefore its effectiveness in communicating your business or organisation’s stories and truths.

If you would like to know more about anything you’ve read here, or would like to discuss the Authentic8 Communication Authenticity and Effectiveness Audit, please get in touch with us at info@4TC.ie

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Should you – Can you – Measure Authenticity?

Should you - can you - measure authenticity?

We’ll start from the premise that authenticity is a good thing. A 2019 survey found that 90% of consumers believe authenticity is important when deciding which brands they like and support – up from 86% in 2017 – and 83% of marketers agree saying authenticity is very important to their brands.

Authenticity is, of course, not just about brands, it’s also about businesses and organisations, and about workforces, and about individuals. However you look at it, Authenticity is an important thing.

There’s power in using your authentic voice

Former US First Lady Michelle Obama wrote: “There’s power in allowing yourself to be known and heard, in owning your unique story, in using your authentic voice.”

Employee perception of authentic leadership is one the strongest single predictors of job satisfaction, organisational commitment and work happiness – all factors in a high employee engagement score.

According to Gallup, the most engaged teams in its (sizeable) database – when compared with the least engaged teams – experience an average of 44% less absenteeism, 10% higher customer scores and 21% higher profitability.

So, authenticity is key to trust, to belief, to propensity to engage and to propensity to purchase. Authenticity is a business imperative, however, you cannot (as a brand, as an organisation, as a leader) be perceived as authentic unless you communicate your authenticity.

Communication strategy is linked to authenticity

Emmanuelle Probst, SVP of Brand Health Tracking at IPSOS, in his 2018 article What Makes a Brand Authentic suggests finding your authenticity in stories about your brand or organisation, and developing those stories to communicate it. Most importantly, he says that the stories have to ring true.

Your communication strategy is inextricably linked to how authentic you are seen to be. Unless you communicate your authenticity, none of your audiences are going to know about it, or understand it, or engage with it in a positive manner.

But the story you’re telling – your communication strategy – has to ring true. If your communication is inauthentic, you will not be perceived as having that quality.

If, therefore, we’re measuring authenticity, then surely a good place to start is to measure the authenticity of a brand or organisation’s communication strategy, direction, activity, and the materials that support them.

There are eight elements that contribute to authenticity in communication and against which communication activity and content can be measured:

The written and spoken words your organisation uses, as well as the choice and flow of those words

The overall sense of what you are communicating and what that says about your organisation and its character

The structure of your communication, containing clear messages that are important to your brand or business

The content you choose to communicate should add value, serve a purpose, and benefit your audience

The clarity and visibility of your communication – as important to your authenticity as language, tone, messaging, and content

The context of who will be receiving your communication – authenticity of communication matters more to some audience groups than others 

The strategic approach to delivery across the most appropriate channels and platforms 

The culmination of language, tone, messaging, content, accessibility, audience identification and delivery and the ultimate barometer of the effectiveness, and therefore authenticity, of your communication

An organisation’s communication (external and internal) can, and should, be benchmarked against each one. This will provide an indicator of how authentic – and, therefore, how effective – communication is, in terms of overall strategy as well as individual programme elements.

Certainty and consistency

Getting communication right and embedding it as a process – a ‘how we do things around here’ – provides certainty and consistency. It enables all your stakeholders to understand and engage with the story of your authenticity, your beliefs, your behaviours and your way of doing business.

 

4TC has developed its proprietary Authentic8 Communication (Authenticity and Effectiveness) Audit to enable businesses and brands to assess their communication strategies and activities for authenticity and, therefore, for effectiveness.

Authentic8 is borne of many decades of PR, corporate communication and journalistic experience. It blends independent assessment with self-assessment and examines communication strategy, content and tactics both from an external and an internal point of view.

4TC’s Authentic8 tool can be tailored to the specific needs of individual businesses and provides an analysis of communication authenticity and effectiveness, accompanied by recommendations on actions that might be taken to enhance your performance.

For further information, contact us at info@4tc.ie

Photo by Mariah Solomon on Unsplash

 

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Get Real – Thinking About Authenticity

get real - thinking about authenticity

Authenticity is a serious buzzword. You can hardly move in communication – and marketing – without someone going all authentic on you. Authenticity has a significant impact on reputation and propensity of stakeholders to engage.

Highly prized, is authenticity and much admired, in those who are deemed to have it – but what exactly is it? Let’s do a search and see. Right.

  • It is, apparently, ‘the quality of being authentic’
  • It is also about “being true to yourself, maintaining strict coherence between what you feel and what you say and do, (and) making value-based choices”
  • In existentialism, it is “the degree to which a person’s actions are congruent with his or her beliefs and desires, despite external pressures to conformity”

Really, it seems to be all about being what you are, and when you’re being what you are, going about it in the right way. But – quite clearly – authenticity is open to interpretation.

It seems safe enough – however – to say that the impression of authenticity is conveyed and built through communication.

It also seems obvious that if a brand (or business or organisation) communicates inauthentically, then it will be perceived to be inauthentic.

So the question for today is – what makes authentic communication (and what doesn’t)?

The definitions we work with are listed below – and we’d welcome your thoughts.

Authenticity means representing something as it actually is. Without embellishing it, without altering the way it looks and feels, without pretending (or attempting to make others believe) that it is something different.

Authenticity also means talking to the right people. Reaching them through the right channels and in the right language. It means expecting feedback and engaging with it when it is offered.

Authenticity is assessing the situation and planning to deal with it. Being transparent in response, being able to admit fault and to apologise.

Authenticity is bringing your team with you. Showing them what the organisation stands for, keeping them informed, walking the walk as well as talking the talk and listening to what they have to say.

Authenticity is not use of language to create a false impression. It is not inconsistency in communication. It is not greenwashing. It is not avoidance. It is not being unprepared. Authenticity is not fixing gingerbread panels to the outside of your factory and calling it a ‘cottage’.

Agree? Disagree? Use the comments, or talk to us directly at info@4tc.ie

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