“It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.” — Warren Buffett
Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook COO, recently unleashed her female empowerment book, “Lean In,” which has earned stellar coverage and awareness about women in the workplace. While we can chalk up this positive acclaim to talented publicists and spokespeople for the book, it hasn’t been all golden exposure. In fact, the campaign team learned a valuable lesson last week when Brandee Barker, Sandberg spokeswoman and former Facebook employee, digitally reached out to one negative reviewer of the book, Katherine Losse. Did she reach out through email? No…this was a private Facebook message. With one screen shot, this awful message was immortalized for all time:
Guess what folks? Everything that you do electronically is permanent. If you’re about to write angry, do NOT assume you’re covering tracks by issuing a message “privately.” The same goes for deleting posts. Remember how easy it is to make a digital footprint and consider the consequences of your actions. Always think before you press send.
Soon after Brandee’s post, Katherine Losse took to the Twittersphere to defend herself:
This situation serves as a helpful reminder of how publicists are a direct representative of their clients. It is imperative for publicists to put their best foot forward with all types of feedback. Because Brandee Barker, “Lean In” PR rep, was the one who sent the message, her actions make the entire “Lean In” female empowerment campaign look bad. Worse yet, they appear hypocritical for not supporting fellow women.
