How Facebook Can Improve Its Reputation

When people actively discuss deleting your company, you have a reputation management problem. And Facebook certainly has one. Big time. 

Facebook has endured many threats to its reputation in recent years, but its latest crisis is different: a threat from within. As widely reported, a former Facebook employee-turned-whistleblower has accused the company’s leadership of knowingly allowing its artificial intelligence-based algorithms to spread harmful content. The whistleblower, Frances Haugen, made disclosures to both The Wall Street Journal and Congress. Crucially, she supported her points with internal documents from Facebook. Facebook is now reeling from widespread public shaming and potential loss of investor confidence and advertising revenue.  

Facebook’s reaction, starting with a lengthy written response from CEO Mark Zuckerberg, has made the company come across like it is attacking a former employee for trying to do good – a bad look for a multi-billion dollar giant. (This harsh take by consultant and writer Josh Bernoff says it all: “Why Mark Zuckerberg doesn’t realize Facebook is evil.”)  

What should Facebook do now to improve its reputation? Here are some initial takes: 

Show a Willingness to Improve 

Facebook has come under increasingly intense attack for changing the algorithm in its News Feed to amplify divisive and harmful content that creates user engagement. A number of suggestions have been offered for Facebook to improve, including changing its News Feed to de-emphasize divisive content and being more transparent with its research. Whatever happens next, Facebook would do well to articulate specific actions the company will take to get better. Circling the wagons and attacking critics is not going to help with reputation management. Discussing actionable steps – and then reporting progress made – is crucial at this point.  

Discuss How Facebook Helps Society 

Ironically a recent company outage that took Facebook offline for hours underscored just how much Facebook does to power the world. As reported in Reuters, a significant number of businesses – especially in the developing world – rely on Facebook as a lifeline. Facebook recently launched a campaign to discuss its positive impact on small businesses, an example being this December 2020 post, “Speaking up for Small Businesses.” The problem is that Facebook published the content as a reactive measure (specifically in reaction to a crucial update Apple was making to its operating system, which Facebook correctly feared would harm Facebook’s ad business). Facebook needs to take a more proactive approach to publishing positive content that will counter the negative news floating around in the digital world now. As we discuss in our recently published report, Building Trust through the 4Rs: Responsibility, Reputation, Recruitment, and Reach, businesses too often launch campaigns to counter negative criticism and then stop once the bad news dies down. To create sustained value and optimize positive content for search, all enterprises should create a steady stream of positive content all year-round, not just when a crisis hits.  

Another way Facebook could counter the criticism is to discuss how the company delivers on its fundamental mission to connect people and groups. A recent example: the “Facebook Groups: Building Communities” campaign, a splashy outreach that emphasizes Facebook’s power to connect groups of like-minded people who share common passions and needs. The campaign was especially effective for its use of video to engage its audience.  

Facebook has also positioned itself as a platform for individual creator to succeed, an example being the launch of Facebook Reels, as discussed on Facebook’s blog. Even better: relying on testimonials that showcases creators who flourish on Facebook. 

Facebook has tons of opportunities to amplify what it does to do good. The keys are to: 

• Rely on storytelling – especially authentic case studies from people and groups on Facebook (as opposed to Facebook itself) -- which Facebook needs now more than ever. 
• Publish the content on Facebook, but amplify it, too. Facebook’s own employee base could act as a network of powerful brand ambassadors to share this content, and of course a strategy that incorporates paid media will spread the good word far beyond content. 

Mark Zuckerberg has spoken. Now it’s time for Facebook to empower its community to share their stories.  

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IDX helps businesses build trust with all their audiences through an approach known as Connected Content, in which we align all aspects of a brand’s narrative with its values and culture. To learn more, contact us.