How PR agencies should answer the question, ‘Did they help?’

As communications practitioners, we know the truth of the maxim: “Actions speak louder than words.” Actions—those of our clients or our own agencies—speak much more loudly and authoritatively about who we are than the words that we send out in press releases and over social media channels.

And an entire movement has emerged that holds businesses accountable for their words and their deeds.

As an example, the website Did They Help? tracks how companies engage with the public and their own employees on a variety of issues, from the pandemic to LGBTQ rights. The site awards or deducts points based on a brand’s actions, with positive performers labeled “heroes” and negative performers designated as “zeros.”

With the rise of corporate social responsibility and greater scrutiny of what companies do and how they operate, moral credit and the actions that generate it can be more valuable to a business and its reputation than a line of credit. “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it,” legendary investor Warren Buffett famously said. “If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.”