Businesses need to have a confident, well-spoken, professional spokesperson. Someone who understands your business and someone who can represent the values your company holds. Therefore, it is important that your business understands why they need a credible spokesperson.
Alan Joyce, CEO of Qantas is a great example of being a very credible spokesperson. From writing back to a 10-year-old ‘aspiring CEO’, to donating to the same sex marriage campaign, and banning Senator Anning from the exclusive Qantas membership all Parliamentarians enjoy. Mr Joyce has proven that he understands how to display a brands values and make positive headlines.
Nick Molnar, CEO and co-founder of Afterpay has revolutionised go-to payments platform for shoppers. As a millennial, Mr Molnar understands his target audience, uses language that they can easily understand, and has built his entire organisation around their needs. As a credible spokesperson, he is transparent and understands every aspect of the business. So, when he is interviewed, he is able to speak thoroughly and without hesitation about the business.
Your spokesperson is the face everyone will think about when they think of your company. It is important to build a profile and reputation to allow your audience to connect with your company.
Be prepared
A credible spokesperson will go through vigorous training to be able to handle the pressures of being interviewed. You don’t want a spokesperson who will crack when the hard questions hit, this could end in your company looking bad.
You want someone who is prepared to be in that situation. Someone who is up to date with everything happening in your company, and someone who has a lot of knowledge in your company.
Know your stakeholders
Your spokesperson needs to know every group/person with an interest or concern relating to your company. You need to know what affects your stakeholders and what you can do to keep them associated with your company.
An credible spokesperson also needs to know the audience and what is important to them. This can help target your message to that particular group. If the majority of your audience are millennials, the topics such as job security, housing affordability, and technology could be important to know.
Know the media
Knowing which media outlets would be interested in your company, as well as outlets that your stakeholders are interested in is important. To have a good relationship with the media can help you in times when you need some coverage or need a press release covered immediately.
When you know which outlets to target, your spokesperson needs to understand how they work. Your spokesperson needs to know what they want from you while also getting what you want from them. It is important to know how they can be portrayed in the media so you can control how your company is seen to others.
Answer everything
If your spokesperson presents themselves like they are hiding something, this can be detrimental to your company. Your company needs to be open with your stakeholders. A way to do this is by your spokesperson answering every question that gets thrown at them.
In high pressure interviews the worst thing is to look like you’re avoiding answering certain questions as it will start to get people thinking ‘Why didn’t they answer that?’ Your spokesperson needs to present the look of complete transparency on behalf of your company.
Have a good photo
One thing that gets dismissed as important is a photo. Having a professional photo for your company’s spokesperson is essential to get the message across ‘we are professional’. There’s nothing worse than a spokesperson of a company being in the media with a Facebook photo as their picture (yes, this happens).
There’s a lot to consider when appointing a spokesperson, and training is important. Your spokesperson is the face of your company, and you need to consider their reputation and personal brand along with the company’s.
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Sydney Public Relations Agency, CP Communications provides specialist media, traditional and online PR strategies that get amazing results. Contact us today. For more great tips visit our website www.PublicRelationsSydney.com.au.
About the author
Catriona Pollard is the author of From Unknown To Expert, a step by step framework designed to help entrepreneurs develop effective PR and social media strategies to become recognised as influencers in their field. www.unknowntoexpert.com
Catriona is also the director of CP Communications, which merges traditional PR tactics with cutting-edge social media strategies that engage consumers as well as business. www.cpcommunications.com.au
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