What to Do if Wikipedia Doesn’t Think You’re Notable
Andrew Cross
Every client we work with has a list of home run outlets – the publications, websites or blogs they want to be featured in more than any others, or, as Walker Sands President Mike Santoro refers to them, “the placements you should buy me dinner for.”
Wikipedia should be at or near the top of every client’s list. Besides bringing in gobs of search engine traffic, Wikipedia is a rite of passage for top companies. But most organizations find their entry is taken down or flagged for removal almost as soon as it’s posted.
The number one reason articles are removed from the site is a lack of notability. In other words, there’s a reason Justin Bieber has a Wikipedia page and I don’t. Or so I’m told. And the only way to demonstrate that your organization is notable enough to be included is to earn coverage from news outlets. To quote directly from Wikipedia, “The threshold for inclusion in Wikipedia is verifiability, not truth-whether readers can check that material in Wikipedia has already been published by a reliable source, not whether editors think it is true.”
Public relations plays a key role here by not only ensuring that the proper media coverage exists, but also that it gives your company a fair shake. A Wikipedia article is an ongoing collaboration by different editors, so if the news coverage of your organization is predominantly positive, that sentiment will likely come across on Wikipedia.
By getting your message into the right major media outlets, you’ll secure the notability Wikipedia requires and, more importantly, present the best possible organizational image to your constituents. Whether it’s a prospective client checking out your services or a journalist researching a story, people will read your page, and it’s vital that the entry is as thorough as it is accurate.
When we had a client approach us about a Wikipedia article, we first had to establish the company as notable in the media. Several trade journal and top-tier placements later, there was enough sourcing material to put together a great article.
Companies use PR firms to get media coverage they can use to court investors, attract clients and bring in new customers. Including Wikipedia in the mix is a logical and necessary step.
If you want to learn about how our public relations services can help bring you name recognition and more, contact us today.