“Calm seas and favourable winds do not reveal the pilot’s skill: setbacks are necessary for one to test one’s strength.” Seneca
Communication is always a very delicate issue for companies to manage. Being exposed in public carries risks, controlling the message becomes more difficult as the degree of interaction with the press increases, and the media’s narrative may end up being very different from what the company had in mind, causing no small amount of upset and disappointment. However, there are always a number of easy-to-anticipate mistakes which, if we avoid them, will at least allow us to tread on solid ground. Below, we will outline the seven deadly sins that, unfortunately, are committed more often than they should be.
Forgetting that there is a thin line that separates communication from marketing
All executives know the theory, but in daily practice, many succumb to the temptation to approach communication with a “free advertising” approach in the news media. Every press release and every communication action must incorporate objectively interesting content with informational value. If a journalist asks a company spokesperson what they think of the current situation and the answer is “I think consumers should buy my product because it is the best on the market“, the result is counterproductive and contrary to the interests of the company: it creates a bad relationship with the press (which is looking for news, data and facts, not advertising), credibility is lost and the brand’s prestige suffers.
Trying to stop an ocean liner when it is going at full speed
What does this mean? Many firms are eager to communicate transactions that are very relevant to them and set the process in motion; but when it takes effect, they do not like what they see (or it frightens them) and they try to stop it. It is true that it is not the same to imagine yourself on the front pages of newspapers as it is to actually see yourself there: being the centre of attention, even if that was what we initially sought, can generate pressure or unforeseen side effects that are difficult to manage. Therefore, before initiating a communication campaign, companies must assess whether it really benefits them from a strategic point of view and analyse all the possible consequences, because once the game has started, it cannot be stopped.
“If it is very important to me, has to be important to the rest of the world.”
This is an extremely common mistake, despite how obvious it is. There are issues that are crucial for a company, but which are not important enough to be published at a general level. Companies must accept this reality: no matter how important something is to them, that does not mean it should necessarily make the headlines. On the other hand, if a corporate event is not newsworthy in itself, it is probably not as important to appear in the media as was previously thought.
Haste makes waste
Managing communication in a hurry is like buying all the tickets in a lottery where the prize is disaster. The communication management of an issue that is crucial for a company must be commensurate with the strategic importance of that action or decision. Communication must be an integral part of that strategic development from day one. The “I want this out now” approach, as an abrupt order with no room for planning, can only yield satisfactory results by pure chance. Typically, neither the repercussions nor the message will come close to achieving the quality and impact they could have had if careful planning had been done from the outset. Communication is not simply a matter of pressing a button and believing that everything will flow, as is too often thought.
The trees in the short term that prevent us from seeing the forest in the long term
Corporate communication is not limited to a one-day impact. To achieve a good relationship with the media, based on trust and influence, it is necessary to constantly cultivate and nurture that relationship. The desire to achieve short-term results, pushing the media to their limits or betraying their trust, jeopardises the long term, which is the road the company will have to travel throughout its life. Today’s impacts, if achieved at the cost of damaging relationships with journalists, sow the seeds of tomorrow’s failures. Communication, like economic development, must be sustainable and not compromise the resources that will be needed in the future.
Measure quantity and quality by the same yardstick
We really enjoy receiving a clipping from the press with hundreds of hits (if it’s good news). But, be careful, many times, a single impact can be more determining and decisive than 250. An exclusive in the launch of a medium with maximum dissemination and prestige is more valuable than a tonne of briefs to the weight, with all the affection and appreciation for the briefs. In communication, quantity matters, but quality matters much more.
In times of crisis, employ the ostrich technique.
Crisis communication is one of the classic methods that never fails, sooner or later it ends up happening. When a crisis erupts in a company, the technique of the ostrich is one resource that has been used since ancestral times: hiding one’s head under ground and trusting that the storm will pass. It may work, life is full of surprises, but that is a trump card with some cards that are very dangerous. Nor is it advisable to feed trolls by communicating compulsively, because transparency does not consist of that. It is about leading and maintaining control over the discourse of the company, make its message visible, manage the crisis with diligence and decisiveness, without allowing that third parties (media outlets or other sources) take ownership of the company’s discourse the discourse of the company and twist it to their whim.
These sins capital of communication may seem of common sense. However, the truth is that I have seen how for years many companies make one and another mistake after these errors. That is why I have wanted to highlight them. Planning and placing communication at the level of importance that it deserves, companies will have an easier life in the always complex relationship with the media.
