Posted by Krista Rogers
Are you the real-deal or a social media wizard behind a curtain?
People are looking to make a real connections with organizations. They jump online and join Facebook fanpages because they want to show support and stay informed. They follow companies on Twitter to track news and conversations. They read and admire your blogs when they are no longer solely about your products, but provide information and insights they take them to a higher level of understanding and knowledge.
Social media provides great tools to instantly bond with your audience, share information and interact with your supporters. However, communicators need to recognize the potential for abuse of assumed blogger-to-audience trust.
During a recent PRSA teleconference, participants debated the ethics of hiring social media mavens, paying for positive comments and employing ghost Tweeters. The unanimous response: it is all about disclosure. Retain authenticity and trust by being transparent about the source of those 140-character updates.
The Blog Council, a group of senior executives in charge of social media at some of the largest corporations in the world, created a “Blogging Disclosure” statement to share the best social media practices with the online community. Points discussed in the disclosure include:
1. Disclosure of Identity
2. Personal/Unofficial Blogging and Outreach
3. Blogger Relations
4. Compensation and Incentives
5. Agency and Contractor Disclosure
6. Creative Flexibility
An Associated Press story exemplified how easy it is to abuse audience trust and the dangers of when they revealed the identity behind a blog that told a story of a woman who chose to carry a terminally ill child to term. She garnered a genuine following online and prompted supporters to promise prayers and send gifts.
“But the story that drew nearly a million hits to her Web site was a lie. The blogger who identified herself online as “April’s Mom” is actually Beccah Beushausen, a 26-year-old social worker from the Chicago suburb of Mokena.”
Reputation can be forever damaged if you don’t protect the authenticity of your online relationships and remain transparent and honest. But unfortunately you have to maintain a high degree of skepticism about others. Look behind the post for possible motives and unauthentic behaviors.
Fraud and phonies are now discovered and revealed faster than ever. The phenomenon of Twitter has knocked down the walls of publicists and spin-meisters, giving the world instant access to the ins and outs of trends in society, celebrity lives, news, disasters and more. Famous for his full-disclosure tweets, Shaq posts tweet-ups, meets with his followers and has closed the big gap between famous to fan communication with his 1,274,280 followers who appreciate his authenticity.
That’s not always the case. According to the New York Times expose on ghost Twitters stars such as Britney Spears, Fifty Cent and Kayne West have admitted to paying for twittering thumbs, blogging and social media management to the disappointment of thousands of followers. To give them some credit, at least they told you. In the end, it’s your choice as to whether or not you want to continue following someone knowing that you may not be hearing the authentic thoughts of your favorite brand or celeb, but rather a social media wizard behind a curtain.
Tags: creative, facebook, positioning, PR, reputation, social media, Twitter
