On Sunday night, Reed Hastings, the co-founder and CEO of Netflix, posted this apology letter on the company’s corporate blog. Since the company announced it was separating its streaming video and DVD services and raising prices, customers were both enraged and confused. Netflix’s poor customer communication following the announcement only fueled the fire. Since then,the company’s performance has suffered, and Netflix’s stock price and subscribers have dropped off steadily (as noted in this CNNMoney article).

While the future of Netflix remains uncertain, Hastings’ letter provides some insights on corporate communications in the digital era.

For one, Hastings’ letter illuminates the need for genuine, transparent and straightforward communications. Corporate communications professionals can over think important communiques such as this or muddle the message with corporate-speak. Instead of talking about “solidifying our future,” “accelerating organic growth” or “shoring up our competitive position” (or any number of other overused corporate buzzwords), reconsider the approach.

When Hastings said, “I messed up. I owe everyone an explanation,” it resonated with customers, investors and other key stakeholders more than standard corporate verbiage.  Of course, the message usually isn’t as simple as “I’m sorry.” In fact, outlining what the company is doing to remedy the situation is just as important as acknowledging missteps. For Hastings, it was as simple as, “Here’s what we’re doing and why.”

Secondly, the fact that Hastings delivered this communication through Netflix’s corporate blog is also telling. The vehicle enabled the company to be as conversational as possible and provided a platform for customers, employees, investors and others to comment and provide feedback. To date, there are more than 24,000 comments and more than 32,000 people have “liked” the blog post on their Facebook page. While many customers remain angry and frustrated (understandably so), others applauded Hastings’ letter and supported the new direction of the company. Regardless, their voices are being heard.

Striking the right balance between making CEO communiques conversational and human – yet direct and actionable –  can be a difficult assignment. While Netflix has a long way to go to win back customer  trust and repair its corporate reputation, this letter is a promising step in the right direction.

Each quarter investor relations, finance and corporate communications teams devise a company’s quarterly earnings press release. In an era of heightened corporate accountability and transparency, earnings press releases are examined by a range of key stakeholders, including institutional investors, analysts, media, regulators, NGOs, competitors and other audiences.

As earnings season ramps up this fall, here are ten best practices for strengthening your next earnings press release.

1. First and most importantly, use the earnings release as an opportunity to reinforce corporate key messages. Interweave key points about the company’s strategy, competitive differentiators and investment merits throughout the press release.

2. Remember that there’s always more to the story than just the finances. Were there major customer wins, product launches, geographic expansions or strategic partnerships formed during the quarter? Did the company recently file its IPO? Highlight those in the context of how they are driving financial results and supporting the company’s overall strategy.

Financial stakeholders closely evaluate all components of a quarterly earnings release.

3. Make the CEO/chairman’s quote quotable. This sounds easy enough, right? Unfortunately, many press releases miss the mark on this. Carefully consider the tone and word choice, and remember that the quote may be cherry-picked by reporters and utilized in media coverage (especially if the company doesn’t hold a shareholder conference call or conduct media interviews on earnings day).

4. Be transparent about shortcomings and outline how the company is taking actions to correct any issues. Work closely with finance and operations to fine-tune these important and delicate messages.

5. To the extent it’s possible, go easy on the “legalese.” Lawyers will most certainly need to be involved in finalizing the press release, but opt for clear, concise language versus something that reads like a contract.

6. Use bullet points to highlight key themes and financial metrics from the quarter at the beginning of the release. With stakeholders’ limited attention spans, this approach will prominently position your key points in a succinct manner right from the start.

7. Within the parameters of disclosure rules, articulate the company’s vision and plans for the future. Stakeholders want to know where the company is headed and reinforcing this through multiple channels (including earnings releases) builds confidence.

8. Make it a team effort. Work closely with legal, finance and investor relations teams to ensure the press release meets all stakeholder needs while also leveraging each department’s respective areas of expertise.

9. Leave yourself enough time. Start the press release development process early. With so many departments involved in drafting and finalizing the press release, the review process can become unwieldy. You’ll thank yourself later for having additional time.

10. Start fresh every quarter. Always reflect on the process and content of the press release and examine what can be improved next quarter. In many ways, every quarter is a fresh start.

It seems that now more than ever, journalists are shedding their reporter/editor titles and turning to public relations. At Reputation Partners, we have a handful of team members who are former journalists hailing from some of the country’s best journalism schools, including Northwestern University’s Medill School and Boston University’s College of Communications.

We’ve spent time in noisy newsrooms, met production deadlines, attended news conferences and even been on the receiving end of a PR person’s pitch or press release. And, we’re all the better for it.

Certainly, majoring in PR will give you the strong fundamentals necessary to succeed in our business. However, having a journalism degree and/or having spent time as a journalist equips you with a certain skill set that goes far in PR. A recent report on Ragan’s PR Daily offered this assessment on how a journalism background can be a strong asset for PR professionals.

Here’s my take:

It teaches you to meet deadlines. Virtually all careers have deadlines. However, nowhere are deadlines more prevalent than in the fields of journalism and PR.  In a given day, we’re juggling various deadlines for clients, colleagues and publications/news websites. Journalists are taught early in their careers to be efficient, thorough and on deadline, and these skills are vital in PR.

It makes you skeptical (and this is a good thing). When thinking through a media strategy for a particular client issue or situation, we approach it from as many different angles as possible. Journalists are trained to be skeptical and are well-versed at poking holes in corporate news stories. Armed with the knowledge of how reporters think and question, will make your media strategy rock solid.

It hones your writing muscle. According to a 2010 Journalist Survey on Media Relations Practices conducted by Cision, 60 percent of reporters and editors complained that the materials they receive from PR professionals are written like advertising, not journalism. Writing media materials from the perspective of a journalist will ensure your pitches and press releases more concise, informative and, most importantly, newsworthy.

It improves your media relations skills. Trading war stories about nights spent at the city news desk can take you far when building media relationships. One of my colleagues, a former broadcast news producer, was recently working with a seasoned, hard-nosed business reporter on a feature story. Once the reporter learned that my colleague was a former producer and had been “in her shoes,” their interactions became even more productive.

There’s no questions that a journalism background can be a strong asset in public relations. Given the symbiotic relationship between the journalism and PR professions, PR pros have a lot to teach journalists, as well.  Of course, that’s a topic for another day.

Earlier this week, I had the opportunity to present at the BOMA 2011 International Conference & The Every Building Show at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in Washington, D.C. The topic? Devising and Executing a Social Media Program: A BOMA/Chicago Case Study.

Over the course of two sessions, Edward M. Bury, APR, BOMA/Chicago’s director of marketing and communications, and I shared strategic and tactical advice to commercial real estate executives mulling over the now seemingly “age old” question: can social media work for me and my building/organization/company?

While social media isn’t necessarily appropriate for all industries and companies, it’s at least worth investigating. The following is a step-by-step to getting started. Reputation Partners deployed a similar social media strategy as we helped BOMA/Chicago launch their social networking presence (including the organization’s new blog, The Elevator Speech).

Step 1. Listen
If someone in the marketplace was talking about your company or brand, wouldn’t you want to listen to their conversation? Actively monitoring social networking sites like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube gives you an opportunity to gauge how your industry, competitors and key stakeholders are utilizing these channels. It’s also key to determining how your company can differentiate its voice amid all the social media chatter.

Step 2. Assess Vehicles
There’s a common misconception that you need to be on every social networking channel to be successful. This is far from accurate. For example, if your target audiences aren’t actively using Twitter, it’s probably not the right vehicle for your company. Consider your overarching communications objectives and how these different vehicles can help you meet these goals. Also consider the staff allocation and support needed to manage these vehicles on a daily basis.

Step 3. Launch and Market
Before you formally launch your social network presence, it’s important to populate the vehicles with content (pictures, video, status updates, etc.) before you officially “go-live.”  This will give new followers an immediate opportunity to view and react to content. Once you’ve launched, it’s equally important to market your social networking presence. Emails, newsletters, website and email signatures, as example, are all effective ways you can spread the word.

Step 4. Engage, Monitor & Track Value
This is the final – and most important – step in the process. There’s one catch: this step never ends.

Engage with your followers and create a dialogue about important developments in your industry. Ask questions. Share opinions.  Interact with people/companies that are both familiar and unfamiliar to you. Build goodwill by congratulating/commending others. Hint: if you’re constantly talking about yourself and your company, you’re probably not engaging enough.

Monitor these sites consistently. They are like small children; never leave them alone unattended for an extended period of time.  Effective monitoring will also aid in both reactive and proactive engagement with others.

As you manage and grow your company’s social networking presence, continually track the value it’s bringing. While quantitative measurement is important, we also make sure to evaluate key items such as: are we engaging with the right influencers? Has this increased awareness about the brand? Is this supporting our overarching communications strategy and goals?

While social media isn’t the solution to all of your corporate communications and marketing needs, it’s an effective tool when used thoughtfully. Based on the turnout at BOMA 2011, we’re encouraged to see that the commercial real estate industry is beginning to embrace the power of social media.

Last month marked two high profile corporate events:  the Arcos Dorados IPO and the Zip Car IPO. Understandably, these complex transaction are managed by a team of bankers, lawyers and company executives steeped in SEC filings and seemingly endless road show meetings in the weeks leading up to the big bell ringing on listing day.

For corporate communicators, an IPO is far more than just the thirty-second rush of the bell ringing. IPO communications presents a key corporate positioning opportunity that has lasting impact on a company’s reputation.

Reputation Partners recently led communications and event planning efforts for Arcos Dorados’ IPO on the New York Stock Exchange. As McDonald’s largest and only franchisee in Latin America, the IPO presented a key opportunity to launch the company onto the global stage and introduce it to a wealth of new stakeholders, including investors, analysts, business/financial media and others.

When executing corporate communications and event planning efforts surrounding a high-profile transaction such as an IPO, corporate communicators should consider the following:

• Collaborate with Legal: We’ve talked in the past about the need for PR and legal teams to work together to ensure that a corporation’s strategic communications and legal needs are met. In the case of an IPO, this is crucial. Get in front of internal and external counsel as soon as possible to talk through the communications strategy and get their buy-in.
• Think BIG When it Comes to Corporate Branding: During the GM IPO, the company made a splash with its simple, yet dynamic display of automobiles outside of the NYSE on listing day. Arcos Dorados enticed NYSE traders with breakfast pastries found only in McDonald’s in Latin America and displayed a dramatic banner on the historic building’s facade. Going public is a once in a lifetime corporate branding and reputation building opportunity. Think big. Make it memorable. Make it your own.
• Media Training is Essential: Even for the most seasoned and media-savvy CEO, media training prior to listing day is key. Ensuring the spokesperson is on message, comfortable in front of the camera and refreshed on media interview techniques will make listing day media relations efforts run smooth – and make certain that a media interview doesn’t go awry.
• Don’t Forget About Employee Communications: While it’s easy to get wrapped up in reaching external stakeholders, communicating with employees about this significant and exciting moment is just as important. Make certain the CEO gets face time with employees on listing day – be it through a live webcast or a prerecorded message. Consider assembling employees together to watch the bell ringing and celebrate together. When listing day comes to a close, employees should feel positive and encouraged about the company’s future.

A corporate communications professional will wear a variety of different hats in the days and weeks leading up to the IPO. Following some of these key guidelines will make certain the event is both successful and memorable.