3.2 Transparency

posted: November 2, 2006 2:06 AM

Having a corporate culture that is worth revealing can only be done if a company is transparent about its activities on a blog.  That is why blogging, according to many bloggers, is by its nature more believable and credible than a traditional website.  The reason for blogs’ enhanced credibility is the openness of bloggers.  Bloggers are open about themselves and thus corporate bloggers especially have a difficult time hiding behind the veneer of a marketing message.  Many bloggers believe being free to express positive or negative ideas about their own company adds tremendous credibility to any organization.

On a blog there are several ways for a corporate blogger to be transparent, both in form and content.  Bloggers can leave comments open for anyone to write a reaction without moderation, while other bloggers consider comment moderation not only acceptable but required management of a company’s brand online. Transparency is not just about commenting, however. Many bloggers believe transparency has more to do with the content of a blog and how open a blogger is about their reasons for writing content, or for a blogger to be willing to discuss criticisms of a company.  For example, as discussed by Jeremy Pepper in the study, Robert Scoble of Microsoft was one of the best-known examples of a corporate blogger.  Robert Scoble was a Microsoft employee who runs his own blog called the Scobleizer, the blog attracted a large audience, and Robert Scoble was the best-known Microsoft blogger because of how he wrote his blog. In part, the success of the Scobleizer was because Robert Scoble regularly criticized his own employer, yet still retained his job at Microsoft.  He left the company for personal reasons in 2006.  However, Robert Scoble's example taught a generation of corporate bloggers what to do in terms of being transparent about their own company on a blog.  Many Microsoft customers were impressed by Robert Scoble’s openness and willingness to discuss delicate company issues openly. Scoble’s blog and others at Microsoft helped to change negative perceptions about Microsoft left over from the court case against Microsoft in the late 1990’s.

Taking risks by giving your opinion of a company’s position may raise a few eyebrows with management, but the effort can establish the legitimacy of a blogger with their audience.  Transparency builds trust; trust builds interest; and interest builds an audience.  Robert Scoble's audience with Microsoft changed their perception of the company from negative to neutral.

Transparency as a blogging strategy is worth considering because rather than losing control, or losing customers, it appears that just the opposite happens: your audience is more likely to believe what you tell them when your blog is more transparent.

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