You can recount the number of high profile people who once had very high public opinion approval ratings only to see all of it come crashing down. It was 38 years ago that President Richard Nixon resigned the presidency over the Watergate cover up. This happened after winning one of the most lopsided presidential elections in our nation’s history. Watergate is often cited as the beginning point of a cynicism of public scrutiny towards anyone who rises to the top of the heap – whatever heap that may be. One day you can be flying high and pretty in public opinion, but beware of tomorrow. The same people who approve of you one day may be trying to find any little piece of dirt they can the next day. Add to the mix that with the internet, the good and bad word about you can travel quite quickly. Just last week, when a gunman named James Holmes shot into a Colorado cinema crowd, an ABC reporter hinted that he was a Tea Party activist. The only problem was, there is more than one James Holmes in Aurora, Colorado, and the reporter implicated the wrong one. But the story went viral and the Tea Party’s James Holmes found himself in the midst of a firestorm and death threats. He had to disconnect his telephone and begin dispelling rumors that he was a murderer.

So what do you do in the world of fickle public opinion? First, don’t be afraid to put your news into the public arena. If you are handling public relations, you will want to get the facts to news sources as early in the day as you can. If you know that something is going to be announced by your company in the form of a press release, it is not a bad idea to tell your news sources that something will be forthcoming the day before it officially hits the streets. Everyone likes a little heads up. Understand that good PR can give you a positive bounce for 24-48 hours. It has a very short life. There simply is too much news being made for people to pay attention to your story much beyond that.

Secondly, I would encourage you to send out news on a regular basis. Post it on your web site and talk about it with your social media connections. Look for positive things that are happening and let the world know. At the same time, be careful with what you say and make sure it has substance to it. You should always ask if your bit of info is newsworthy. For instance, I am not a fan of tweeting what the CEO of the company had to eat for breakfast. Nobody really cares what you are eating.

On the side of caution, don’t mistake PR for marketing. As I mentioned, a good piece of PR is great for the morale of your customers and your employees. It can make you look good for a day or two. Beyond that, you will not get much bounce. Marketing is there for the long haul.

Have a plan in case someone takes a shot at your company to knock you off your perch. What would you do if public sentiment turns against you? Fix what you can. Understand that small things can become big things when they go viral. Move quickly to put out a statement of truth to correct any falsehoods that are being spread about you. Don’t get too defensive, but stand up for yourself and your company. At the same time, realize that all news has a very short shelf life. Sometimes you just have to weather the bad news the best you can and move on. Fickle works both ways. She loves you, she hates you. Maybe tomorrow she will want to play kickball once again.