Building Trust: Transparency is No Longer Negotiable

 

One of the biggest lessons in this week's readings has to do with the value of transparency. In recent years a power shift has occurred thanks to the social media revolution. No longer can a company hide within the safe confines of its corporate walls while it relies on a PR firm and a strong legal team to handle the rare issues that warrant such involvement. In today's marketplace a company must be prepared to engage with consumers  on a daily basis at their level, openly, and honestly or risk serious damage to their reputations (and potentially their bottom lines). The power now lies with the people.

As Dave Kerpen puts it in his book Likeable Social Media,

"Honesty and transparency build a direct relationship between you and the customer, and any deviation from these values can erode brand trust forever."

Considering what we've learned about the importance of honesty and transparency, in your blog post this week please...

Provide an example of an organization/business/company that does a great job being honest, trustworthy and transparent in their social media interactions with their fans and/or critics.

• Is their honesty and transparency something their social media fans notice and comment on?
• Do you feel it provides them with a competitive edge?
• Can you provide a specific example where they've had a positive impact in a social media setting through their honesty/transparency? Perhaps even turned a negative situation into a positive one (such as the "From Foe of FiOS to a Fan of FiOS" example on p.81)

Provide an example of an organization/business/company that has NOT done a great a job being honest, trustworthy, and transparent in their social media interactions with their fans and/or critics.

• What potential impact(s) does a lack of honesty and/or transparency have on an organization?
• Can you provide a specific example where the organization you've chosen has had a negative impact in a social media setting through a lack of honesty/transparency? What could they have done differently?
• In order to regain the trust of their consumers, what should they do going forward?
• Is it possible for companies that have lost brand trust to regain it OR is it truly lost forever?

 *Please cite your sources and incorporate pictures, videos, hyperlinks, tags, etc.