Sarah Sanders Set Spokesperson Standard

(Originally published at CommPRO.biz, 6/15/19)

You may neither have liked what she said or how she said it, nor for or to whom. But on the eve of her departure, it’s difficult to deny Sarah Sanders’ effectiveness as President Trump’s trumpet.

Whether out of Divine ordinance (“God wanted Donald Trump to be President”) or human obstinance, Sander’s relentless—often disingenuous—advocacy of the President’s policies and her dogged defense of her boss certainly deserves his praise and affection… as well as the grudging admiration of fellow Spokespeople.

In 23 months as White House Spokesperson, Sanders, 36, gained prominence as one of Trump’s most loyal and longest-serving top officials.

While many people (including this author) will have difficulty separating her performance from her politics and her loyalty from her likeability, an objective look at what she did and how she did it—instead of for whom—can reveal a lot about Spokesperson “do’s” and “don’ts”.

Beyond the community of professional communicators, there’s some confusion regarding Spokesperson duties and responsibilities. Indeed, the title itself has many variations: Media Relations Officer, Public Affairs Officer, Press Secretary, Chief Communicator, etc. Regardless of title and detailed duties, the position requires a suitably qualified professional to:

• Serve as “the voice” of an organization
• Clearly communicate and represent the organization’s priorities
• Defend and uphold the organization’s policies and/or programs
• Reflect the organization’s and/or leader’s philosophy

By these standards, Sanders’ performance wins a Gold Medal: She consistently reinforced the President’s messages; she tenaciously deflected criticism of his policies; she unfailingly promoted his priorities. And as we witnessed in her infrequent press conferences, she enthusiastically reflected his disdain for, and mistrust of, the media.

During her tenure (taking cues from her boss), Sanders successfully squelched media engagement with, and access to, the White House. According to The Washington Post, “In January, the White House set a record for the longest stretch in modern history without a news briefing, 41 days. It set another record, 42 days, in March, followed by a third streak that reached 94 days on June 13th.” 

Under Sanders, The Post opined, “The principal function of a press secretary—representing the White House in media briefings—all but ceased to exist.”

Led by her boss’ example, Sanders energetically eschewed formal media interaction, preferring brief “gaggles” that happened when and where she wanted. When compelled to engage, Sanders played a savvy shell game, shrewdly redirecting reporters’ attention by pushing back on their questions, publicly embarrassing them, and threatening to revoke their access.

Sanders’ lack of accessibility and controlled interactions generated a smokescreen within which POTUS operated. Deftly diverting, distracting and discounting the media whom she was supposed to serve, the smooth-talking Southern storyteller defined the narrative and dictated the pace of White House media relations.

If you have the stomach to strip away her dissembling, her smugness, her sarcasm, and her self-righteousness, you could concede that Sarah Sanders had a virtuoso performance as White House Spokesperson. She did precisely what the President required: Engaged in media machinations to alleviate his tribulations.

Hired Pens: In the Web 2.0 World, The Pen Truly is Mightier!

One of my New Year's resolutions was to spend less time blogging and more time in personal and professional development. In the past six weeks I've done a lot of both and in the process picked up a lot of interesting tips. One such tip is indicated in the discussion stream below, which I've conducted with my friend Pete Caputa who writes a blog called PC4Media.

After he ran in his blog a piece I wrote (http://www.pc4media.net/Blog/bid/3630/Marketing-the-Environment), we began a fascinating discussion on blogging and communications in our Web 2.0 world.

Pete writes: One particular challenge that I foresee happening is... I'm signing on all of these companies to start blogging. The reasons they're starting to blog include:
1) to improve their rankings in the search engines since more content = more chances to be found; and
2) engage their customers and their prospects in a conversation... which gets more prospects to convert into "signups" or "leads" sooner and gets your clients to "sell you for you".

However, I think I'm going to need to come up with a "package" for the business owners that need help writing or totally need to outsource it. I'm going to need someone like you that can understand their business, write and engage. I will have 200+ customers by end of 2008. This could be a full time freelance opportunity. I could see it morphing into more of a project manager that manages writers and maybe even other hands on services. Any interest?

My response below is, I believe, a relevant and timely commentary on what business owners need to consider when blogging. It also fleshes out an idea I've been considering for a while: "Writers for Hire" (or, "The Hired Pens")... Like hired guns, and just as effective and powerful.

My thoughts on your proposal follow: There are A LOT of blogs out there, and many (in fact, most) are poorly written, rambling, off subject and add little (if any) value that relates back to the product, service, or business someone is trying to promote.

After all, it's challenging to compose relevant, compelling content on a regular basis--after a few dismal attempts most business owners move on to something else. It's not that they don't have the desire; they don't have the time or the discipline to devote to a labor-intensive product like a blog.

The key is to help your clients understand how a blog (or a podcast, RSS feed, widget, etc.) should and must be integrated within a broader marketing and communications plan. For example, if they have a product in R&D or coming to market, they'll want to use the blog to build interest in and excitement about the product or service. They'll want to create a dialogue with consumers in which consumers can share their thoughts about the product or service.

When it comes to blogging in our Web 2.0 world, it's all about the 5 C's: Collaboration, Content, Converged services, Community, and Conversation. Your job is not only to help business owners understand the important of blogging, but also to invest the necessary resources (time and money) to creating a well-written, interactive online dialogue through their blog.

This is where talented communicators like me enter the equation: You need to have a posse of writers who know how to interview and, more importantly, write for the web. You need your posse of writers to establish relationships with the business owners so the latter truly trust that the former will convey their thoughts clearly, effectively and accurately.

Each has to have a level of trust and comfort with the other--a mutually beneficial relationship that is built over time--which you would facilitate and monitor at first, and then gradually let go of. At first you (or someone you know and trust) will have to carefully and frequently monitor the blog posts and client satisfaction.

As for morphing into other services, I see that as the next step in the process of building relationships with your clients. First it's the blog, and once your clients start realizing value (CTR, interactivity, dialogue--however you measure it, you're going to have to demonstrate value before you propose a next step) from the blog (and the great writing they're getting) you can propose other services like enewsletters, print/online brochures, feature articles, PR, etc.

There is certainly a need for good writing on the web and a definite lack of good writers. I'd be happy to discuss this with you further, I believe you could benefit from someone with my experience and expertise, and I am intrigued by your idea.