Media Intelligence: 6 Safeguard Measures to Protect Brand Against Fake News

Fake news is all over the place. While it may cause a chuckle now and then, it may be incredibly damaging to a company. Here’s how you can safeguard your brand.

For years, fake news has been a part of the media landscape. However, in recent years, its spread has affected not only traditional media but also digital channels. 

According to research on the impression of fake news, about 80% of Americans aged 18 to 29 believe it is a big problem. Similarly, 75 percent of 30-to-49-year-olds and 73 percent of 50-to-64-year-olds believe the same thing. 

This means that today’s content contains a significant amount of disinformation.As brands attempt to raise brand awareness, they should also guard against fake news propagating on social media and through traditional media. 

Fake news spread as a result of miscommunication, editorial errors, or poor internal decisions can harm a company’s brand.

This is because it has the potential to harm a brand’s image and undermine consumer trust. Most individuals would contemplate ending their business association with a company that spreads inaccurate information or advertises on a misleading website.

To win the battle against false news, businesses must learn to detect, respond to, and successfully reduce the harm caused by it. We’ve compiled 6 concrete suggestions for brand leaders to use to protect and defend their brands against fake news in this article.

1. Proactively Monitor Social Media Networks

The most important source of public feedback on brands and products is social media platforms. This is where customers may leave positive or negative comments about a firm.

 In rare situations, you may come across phony accounts claiming to be associated with your company. Bogus accounts like this are frequently used to propagate fake news or extort money from your audience. Every brand should implement social monitoring technologies to avoid similar situations.

You can grab essential information for PR crisis management by actively monitoring your brand’s social media profiles, as well as those of key stakeholders. A decent social monitoring tool may help you track brand mentions, track relevant hashtags, analyze keywords, and uncover trending themes linked to your brand. 

When a company’s communication team is aware of what’s going on online in real-time, it can see possible crisis circumstances early on. Instead of reacting to a PR crisis, firms may take control of the situation ahead of time.

2. Create A Quick-Response Team

When it comes to an online PR problem, time is important. In today’s age of fake news, you must reply quickly if a bad discourse about your business arises. Creating a company culture that allows you to respond quickly and spot fake news regarding your brand is the best option here.

Every brand should ideally hire several people who will be actively involved in monitoring and responding to fake news as part of the PR team.

A well-trained and well-informed response team can immediately jump on important brand dialogues before they go viral. They help to control the transmission of misinformation and disinformation that can harm the brand’s image by doing so.

3. Make A Protocol for Communicating During a Crisis

Every brand strategy should include a clear action plan for dealing with public relations disasters like fake news.

You can’t wait to convene all stakeholders to choose an appropriate plan of action in the face of fake news that threatens your brand. It will be too late, and your efforts will likely be in vain. Rather, brands should establish clear communication methods and guidelines for dealing with such incidents. When a problem involving fake news emerges, the most important thing is to determine what should be done and who should do it.

Concentrate on how to reply and which platform to employ. The quality of the return message is solely determined by how it is delivered. As a result, concentrate on selecting the most suited platform. Engaging the source of fake news directly, for example, is generally not a good idea. Instead, brands could explore adopting communication platforms where they have a large following.

4. Investigate The Situation and Tell Your Side of The Story

If you discover that your company is to blame for an occurrence that resulted in fake news, owning up is a fantastic method to deal with the situation. Do not remain mute if your brand is not immediately affected by the news.

It is more harmful than beneficial to keep people in the dark. Inform your internal staff, clients, prospects, and the general public about the efforts your company is taking to deal with the crisis. The most essential thing at this stage is to be open and honest about what happened, what caused it, and what steps you’re taking to rectify the situation.

After you’ve completed your investigation, provide all stakeholders with a clear response to the news. Make a public statement if the fake news got out of hand and expanded beyond your control. This will help the internet community comprehend what happened.

5. Create A Programme for Employee Advocacy

 

Employees are the most precious resource for any company looking to expand its online presence and safeguard its reputation. According to a survey on employee advocacy, most consumers trust normal employees (53 percent) more than the CEO of a company (47 percent). Furthermore, a larger percentage of respondents (65%) have even more faith in the company’s technical specialists.

 These figures show that a company’s internal personnel are in the best position to become its most ardent supporter.

Investing in an effective employee advocacy program establishes your company as a thought leader. However, not every employee can be an active influencer, so start by identifying potential brand ambassadors and providing them with the training and resources they need.

6. Make A Strong Online Presence

Maintaining a positive internet reputation is the best approach to defend your brand. It’s simpler to maintain your brand intact when you have a community of dedicated followers that trust your brand, even if you’re misrepresented or misquoted in the media.

If phony news about your brand begins to circulate, your devoted client base will be skeptical since they are familiar with it. A dedicated group of loyal followers will step in to protect and defend your brand in the event of a controversy.

• The following are some efficient methods for establishing a positive online reputation:

• Tell your brand’s narrative with genuine material.

• Before publishing any story, always double-check the facts.

• Before posting information, identify data sources and properly cite them.

• Inviting customers to leave genuine feedback on social media

Misinformation and disinformation are increasingly becoming a part of online life as the online community increases. Unfortunately, regulating the type of content that people post online is impossible, thus the problem of fake news will persist. 

As a result, brands must ensure that all stakeholders are well-prepared to counteract fake news before their reputation is tarnished. Dealing with fake news aggressively and promptly should be in the company’s best interests.
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