Lobbying and Reputation Management

Lobbying is a professional activity used to tell ideas, advances and benefits to community of institutions and firms to the business world and politicians, and constitutes a crucial circle of democratic decision-making.

To look at the story of lobbying, according to the story, the U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant, in the 1870s, uses "lobbyist" as a nickname for people who tell their story to him while spending their time in the lobby of the Willard Hotel next to the White House. “Lobbyist” notion takes its place in the dictionary, later on giving birth to the verb “to make lobby,” with the following definition:  “effort of people make some requests from deputies and senators in congress chairs.” Lobbying activities have been turned into institutionalized bodies that are regulated by law in the homeland of lobbying, USA.

Lobby, lobbying and lobbyist are the basic elements of lobbying. Lobbying is an organization formed by people, business groups, institutions or similar foreign countries, who want to inform their people about the political and decision-making mechanism. Lobbying activities, on the other hand, are the sum of strategies and practices used to achieve desired results. Lobbyist is the person who carries out and executes these practices, namely lobbying and reputation management. Lobby, on the other hand, is the people or groups that have a common interest around a purpose and benefit. In our country, international lobby activities are focused on the USA and the EU because of the strong groups who have voice in commercial, economic, military and political activities in these countries. Although lobbying and reputation management activities within our country are not as institutionalized as in the USA, they are carried out by the TGNA and various ministries. Even though there is no direct legal regulation in our country in particular, lobbying has been made with the indirect laws that limit the lobbying activities with the Constitution and laws, and regulate the areas and rules of action, and for the healthy progress of the process.

The general perception of people about a person or a subject, the extent to which it is appreciated and liked is called reputation. The term corporate reputation emerged in the 20th century. Corporate reputation refers to the impact the organization has on its internal and external stakeholders. For example, how the institution should act in a given a situation, how it should react to social and environmental events, etc. All questions fall under the framework of corporate reputation management.

Reputation is not a possibility. It is about how an individual or organization in the community is observed by individuals. These observations are the sum of reflection of the values ​​promised to internal and external stakeholders with past actions. Individuals' future expectations and perceptual movements of the institution are shaped accordingly. Whether it is an institution or a person, being in a respectful and predictable relationship with stakeholders is very important in terms of conveying the transition of emotions and expectations to the other party.

Along with the diversification of products and the desire of institutions to come to the fore, the desire of institutions to create difference has increased accordingly. Here, public relations management, which aims to create and maintain an image that fit person or organization, comes into play. Public relations and reputation management, which started to take its modern form since the 1950s, today includes blogs, publications, celebrities, exhibitions, media kits, media tours, bulletins, brochures, press releases, from art, furniture, famous shares, exhibitions, media kits, media tours, have extended to different channels such as special events, sponsorships, social media accounts and websites. The methods used by public relations, whose main goal is to inform, persuade and unite people on an idea, are as diverse as they seem. Fame, which is used to travel orally, has found new ways to travel with the development of web 4.0 today. For example, today millions of customers can share their feedback on brand experiences on blogs, e-commerce sites and search engines, and offer consumer information and experience about the brand. It is evident that institutions have become more visible and transparent with the globalization, digitalization of communication tools and the expansion of the Internet. Therefore, lobbying and reputation management have become an unthinkable pair apart from public relations.

Although we mention some of the methods used by the PR department in reputation management, it is possible to diversify them and see that they are involved in all parts of our lives. Concerts, festivals, trips, openings and entertainments organized by the institution are all part of reputation management. For example; it is known that a good explanation of an event to the audience in conferences, seminars, open sessions, etc. is a useful method to create public opinion. Because, meeting with the target audience with such meetings, benefiting from their experiences by exchanging information, conveying the work and benefits of the institution and making them feel that they are part of the team increase the trust of the community in the institution. Radio and television broadcasts are still important as a mass communication tool that appeals to ear and eyes in the formation of public opinion and consumer preferences in all developed and less developed countries. Although it seems that the value of printed press and brochures is decreasing today, it can be stated that it is an effective method to bring books to the fore about the movement to be credited or the subject to be lobbied. Which of these options is needed, which methods are to be followed when and under which conditions depend entirely on the knowledge, skills and experience of public relations professionals.

It is possible to support public relations campaigns positively by planning lobbying and reputation management activities with right strategic moves. It is important to measure the initiatives, activities and campaigns in this process. Questions such as which communication medium should be used while interacting with target audience, which method is supported more by the public, should be followed up and reported regularly. Reporting individually for the campaign and publication will play a supportive role in determining the methods in the future. Negative results are as important as reporting. Because it is possible to prevent the attempts made to gain reputation from causing loss of reputation only by monitoring the data. Most of the data, used to be tracked through media organizations, can be monitored instantly with the rise of digital applications.

In lobbying and reputation management activities, it is necessary to work with a team of experts for each field, and the management of these areas should be planned and carried out by a professional team. It is important to actively participate in these areas and respond to events and comments immediately. In case institution or person is not present in these areas, there will be others who will answer on their behalf. Such a situation may lead to information pollution and a negative perception about the institution. It should be kept in mind that creating positive perception and reputation is a difficult process that requires time and effort.

Lobbying and reputation management is an area that is constantly growing, developing and transforming through public relations and digital platforms. It is important to set up every move with the right strategy in order to successfully manage and maintain the process. You can use lobbying and reputation management consultancy to maintain existing reputation, increase and successfully continue lobbying activities.