When asked how they determine whether or not a negative comment or post is worth paying attention to (in other words, can it potentially escalate into a crisis), most organizations will respond “we look at the influence of the individual or company responsible for the post”. But what does this really mean?
In most cases, it means they look to see how many followers, fans and the klout score of the person or organization responsible. This always presents a red flag to me. Why? Because numbers can be deceiving.
The deception of numbers when determining influence
I often conduct an issues management workshop and, while presenting case studies, I ask attendees whether or not a particular situation is an issue or a crisis and why. I always receive many answers along the lines of “it’s a crisis because it uses the hashtag #NBCpolitics (for example) which means that the reach is insurmountable”. This is a common response and thought process – and one that I would like to change.
Influence isn’t all about numbers – AND – just because something goes viral, doesn’t necessarily make it a crisis. Issues can go viral as well, and yet not present long-term repercussions to the organization’s reputation or bottom line (which is the definition of a crisis). Influence definitely needs to be considered, but influence goes further than just the number of followers someone has.
For example, someone with a few thousand followers can have way more influence than someone with tens of thousands. We have to take into account the credibility and reputation of the individual within their community, as well as the loyalty of and the relationship they share with their community – not to mention the influencers that may be following them. We also have to take into account the relatable negative emotion that’s attached to the particular situation.
Why?
Because a scenario that is highly relatable and inflicts a strong negative emotion (be it grief, fear, disgust, etc.), posted or shared by someone with a limited following doesn’t mean that it won’t go viral in a matter of moments. However, whether that same scenario will result in long-term negative repercussions on the organization needs to be determined before labelling it as a crisis.
All this is to say that influence goes far beyond number of followers and issues can go viral without developing into crises. As a result, nothing and no one should be underestimated, and your criteria for defining an issue should be more substantial than simply looking at numbers.
Here’s something that may help you along the way: An issues management response flow chart (free)
Author of Crisis Ready: Building an Invincible Brand in an Uncertain World, Melissa Agnes is a leading authority on crisis preparedness, reputation management, and brand protection. Agnes is a coveted keynote speaker, commentator, and advisor to some of today’s leading organizations faced with the greatest risks. Learn more about Melissa and her work here.
Hey Melissa,
Number of followers is a good metric but there is so much more to it. How engaged are those followers? What platform are those followers on, and how important is that to you and your business. Bottom line, you want people who can drive revenue for your business, so if the audience is not engaged and not relevant – then the person’s “influence” is overrated.
Cheers!
Dave at NinjaOutreach
Good points. I was referring to looking at influence in a crisis, but you're right. Organizations need a realistic way to measure influence during marketing and non-crisis times as well.
Thanks for weighing in, Dave!