Haris Ahmed Chicago: About “Covfefe” and Other Presidential Blunders

Haris Ahmed, from Chicago, heads Pragmatium Consulting Group, Inc., a Management Firm based in Chicago that handles both corporate and federal/local government accounts. Pragmatium draws upon the vast experience of its workforce, which has decades of cumulative experience in handling crisis communications, promotional campaigns, and client/public engagement. Today, he talks about how a single Twitter post might have repercussions on a public figure’s image – and how engaging an external PR firm could help prevent similar incidents from happening.

By now, everyone in the public relations industry and beyond would have heard of the President’s “covfefe” post on Twitter. The President is well-known for personally using Twitter for fleshing out details of his policies and to engage other public figures, and while the “covfefe” tweet isn’t his first perceived gaffe, it certainly puts him under greater scrutiny from the rest of social media.

While I sincerely believe that public figures get high engagement numbers whenever they take to Twitter, I also think that they need to let go of the social media accounts and have PR agencies handle them. There are three compelling reasons for doing so.

1. Clarity of message. Public figures are expected to be articulate and conscious of the way they put their messages across. While it is widely understood that “covfefe” is a mere misspelling of the word “coverage”, it was not until six hours later that the President realized his mistake and deleted the message. A PR agency will ensure that a public figure’s social media posts are checked for spelling and grammar, thereby reducing the need to clarify them when questioned later on.

2. Consistency of posts. A single tweet has the potential to do much damage to a public figure’s image, whether the said figure is the head of a Fortune 500 company or a politician. People on social media are unrelenting when it comes to detecting contradictory posts and put a premium on consistency. While the “covfefe” tweet, on the surface, is not particularly damning, it certainly served as fodder for those who perceive the said public figure as inconsistent and careless. On the other hand, PR agencies routinely review their clients’ social media strategies and previous posts, therefore making sure that their clients are consistent in their messages.

3. Message filtration. Incoherent posts project an image of a public figure as someone who puts very little thought into what they say and do. The success of PR agencies is measured by the public’s perception of their client, especially on social media. One can easily tell the difference between a Twitter account maintained by a PR firm and one to which a public figure has personal access – the posts on the former tend to avoid controversial topics, and if it does tackle the said issues, the posts tend to be articulate and stand up to the public’s scrutiny. On the other hand, the latter tends to be a bit loose in the way posts are written and timed, which often results in the public figure having to perform damage control later on.

The social media strategies of many of the world’s public figures continues to be a topic of interest for PR practitioners, including Haris Ahmed. A Chicago management firm he heads, Pragmatium Consulting Group, has handled different kinds of clients, and has vast experience in doing social media strategy and execution. He believes that if public figures engaged the services of external PR agencies for their social media engagement, they could communicate their messages more clearly and effectively, increasing their influence and credibility.