If your company isn’t on Wikipedia, do you really exist? The huge online collaborative encyclopedia ranks in the top 3 on Google for any keyword, person or place. It’s a must for exposure, leadership profiles, and as a trustworthy source of information about you and your business.
Every company should have its own Wikipedia page, and so should every executive. The catch is that Wikipedia isn’t like looking in a mirror. The reputational value of each entry derives from full authentication of its details. There must always be a published source to back up every fact. Self-serving content is intentionally rejected. In fact, following the sometimes arcane rules of Wikipedia submission is the biggest challenge to gaining entry to the world’s most powerful index of achievement.
- Independent third-party sources only. Pages can be authenticated by articles from top-tier publications such as The New York Times and The Washington Post, as well as from industry trade publications, local daily and weekly news stories. SEC filings and legal judgments also are accepted. Not accepted are blog posts, social media platforms, newsletters, company websites or paid media placements.
- Wikipedia hates adjectives. The site requires crisp, to-the-point citations. Editors reject fluff and are alerted to copyright issues. Plagiarized passages will be identified by bots and taken down. All information on Wikipedia pages must pass the test of objectivity.
- Revision and correction is continuous. After creation, Wikipedia pages must be monitored to ensure information is not changed or deleted, since any reader can challenge with an alternative citation. The site is maintained by thousands of volunteer editors across the world, assisted by “bots” – computer programs that analyze false claims and seek to prevent information vandalism. There are 55 million Wikipedia articles in 312 languages. The vast scope makes every company responsible for staying abreast of changes and to update and preserve its own identity.
- Be in charge of your identity. Control of Wikipedia entries should be centralized in every company. Is the information still relevant? What new developments require addition? A Wikipedia page should be considered an open book subject to ongoing reassessment by the management team. Executive profiles need periodic updating and accompanying photographs examined for relevance.
- The best defense is good offense. Exposure on Wikipedia means competitors take notice, so you must too. Your page is fair game for the inclusion of any public news, not just good news. Inclusion of lawsuits, SEC violations or issues involving senior management, if authenticated by citations, cannot be removed. They must be tempered or put in context by further information provided by you.
As reputation managers, OWC works to create and maintain Wikipedia entries for all its clients. We know the rules and work with clients across the spectrum, editing pages and building them from scratch. We believe that a powerful presence on Wikipedia is mandatory for every company and a key to identity.
Let them know who you are.
