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- The Colab Brief: 001 - Silence of the Leaders
Welcome to The Colab Brief - a weekly newsletter where we spend two minutes every Saturday talking about all things comms. We hope you find this valuable; if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, reach out.
[Deep breath]
Here we go…
Read Time: 2 mins
“I’m not sure we have anything to say.”
“We’re still figuring things out.”
“Is there a benefit to us speaking right now?”
“Let’s wait it out and see where everyone lands.”
We like to call this, “Comms cowardice.”
Breaking news. A rising trend. The golden opportunity to step in and speak up.
Finally!
And then, in the glow of newsworthiness… crickets 🦗
“We’ve decided to pass on this one. We’ll get the next opp.”
Sound familiar? We get it!
Comms is all about having a conversation. And one of the key 🗝️ tenets of having a conversation is the willingness to speak up.
Most companies and corporate leaders say they want a larger seat at the media table, but very rarely seize the opportunity when it shows up.
Here are four key reasons WHY staying silent may be shackling your brand awareness (and why you should speak up):
You’re quiet, but your competitors aren’t. What’s even worse than not commenting? Reading about your competitor in an article you could have been a part of. If you won’t be an expert, somebody else will. Every opportunity you let pass gives other industry players a competitive advantage for media share.
The cost of staying silent is greater than the perceived negative impact of saying the wrong thing. You’re too scared to speak up, but you’re also impacted by staying silent. People won’t consider you a thought leader if they never hear from you. They can’t trust that you know what you’re talking about, outside of the four walls of your company, if you never say anything.
Relationship building starts with service. Acting as a (non-promotional) thought leader is a great way to grease the wheels to stronger media relationships. The more journalists see you as an expert, the greater the chances they’ll call on you in the future. Even if you can’t see the direct company-feature correlation, being an objective source for a reporter is always a good strategy.
Getting in the conversation early equals more at-bats later on. Guess who reporters contact when they’re looking for a source? People that have acted as a source before. If you wait too long, you not only risk more voices vying for the same attention, but you may miss your window of opportunity, which will make it harder to insert yourself in the conversation later on.
Will these truths convince a wary CEO to dish details to the press? Maybe not, and there is an art to evaluating media opportunities (that’s for a later newsletter). Still, you’re going to have these conversations sooner or later, so hopefully, these copy-and-pastable tips help your leaders find their voice.
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