BUSINESS RESPONSIBILITY DURING COVID-19

As a brand you have a responsibility to act responsibly and ethically, fundamental to business success for so many reasons. However, in wake of the COVID-19 crisis, this is now an urgent requirement in aid of public interest for all businesses alike.

That seems a little melodramatic?

It may seem that way, but consider this: businesses have major influence over their audiences, both in how they think and how they act. This means that the spreading of disinformation, misinformation or inaccurate content regarding Coronavirus could have detrimental effects.

This is incredibly concerning considering how easy it is to upload content on heavily saturated platforms like Instagram. While social media platforms are trying to regulate this content to remove inaccurate or misleading information, in the space of just minutes content can reach hundreds of people - if not thousands, depending on the size of your brand and following.

You have a duty as a brand to ensure you are not part of the problem.

Why else will this benefit your business?

If this is not enough reason for you to ensure all internal and external communication is taken seriously, we will now consider some of the additional benefits.

• You will earn yourself a reputation as a trusted brand

If the content you produce is continuously accurate and backed by credible sources, customers will recognise you as a brand that can be trusted. Trustworthiness has become an essential factor for consumers to consider when deciding whether or not to purchase a brand’s products and/or services. So put bluntly, if you want to get - and retain - customers, you need to build this reputation.

• Improve SEO

Search engine algorithms favour content that includes outbound links to credible sources, for example in your site’s blog posts, consequently improving SEO. Articles with information and advice to customers should be taken directly from authoritative sources like the World Health Organisation (WHO) or the Australian Government website, with links included to take readers directly to their page. Strong SEO is necessary as it helps your website maximise exposure, thus increasing conversion rates.

How you can make sure all your information is accurate

Now that we’ve established why you need to distribute accurate information, let’s consider how.

1. Only distribute information from authoritative, official and credible sources

We’ve already touched on this a little above, but it’s worth mentioning again that information regarding COVID-19 should be sourced from WHO and the Australian Government. Include links to these sources whenever you do so to allow your audience easy and quick access to the whole material.

2. Don’t re-share without thinking

Everything you re share needs to be considered with a critical eye. First of all, look at the source. Is it legitimate? Is the source who they say they are? Do their comments add up and make sense? To be safe, don’t re share content from an account you are not completely familiar with, and if you are not certain they are credible.

3. Criticise everything repeatedly

Even top journalists and politicians make mistakes, whether they misread data or misunderstand a statement. This is why you should also critique authoritative sources before you make the decision to circulate it across social media and expose it to hundreds, or potentially thousands of users. If what they say turns out to be incorrect, their mistake could reflect poorly on your brand for your role in distributing it amongst an even larger audience.

4. Report misinformation and disinformation

As mentioned above, regulating content online is difficult, so as a user you have a duty to alert the platform to users spreading misinformation or disinformation.

For more information on business responsibility, during COVID-19 and otherwise, please contact POPCOM Director Amanda Lacey at amanda@popcom.com.au.