Video Blogs: Additional Transparency and Authenticity?

April 6, 2009 in Authenticity, Corporate Blogging, Transparency, Video Blogs | Tags: , , , , , | Leave a comment

I recently produced a short video blog to further discuss transparent consumer relations. I’m hoping my readers can get a better idea of who I am through my authentic voice and the atmosphere of the video—in the School of Media Arts and Design hallway (my second home).

After days of dubbing tapes, re-shooting footage, saving and re-saving for video and sound, and the usual video production frustrations, I now have a completed “vlog post.”

Video blogs and webcasts can potentially cost between $5,000 and $7,000, not to mention the cost of production hours. Are video blogs really worth the time, money and effort that companies pour into them to enhance the relationships with their key publics? Do these videos make the company more transparent to consumers, employees and shareholders? Or are they just a form of entertainment to add to the hype of the corporate website, blog or newsroom?

Southwest Airlines hosts a video blog on its corporate blog, Nuts about Southwest. Video blog posts range anywhere from new Southwest TV commercials and scripted humor videos to footage from promotional events. While these videos meet the fun cultural standards at Southwest, they may not add to the overall transparency of the organization—they just function as entertainment for the Southwest online audience. However, these videos do exemplify Southwest’s ability to break down the corporate marketing voice and use down-to-earth, humorous authenticity.

Check out this video posted on Nuts about Southwest around St. Patrick’s Day. Two Southwest employees give viewers a glimpse into their exciting day. Could they be showing hints of authenticity and transparency?

Accenture also has a video blog. Though the videos are less entertaining than Southwest, Accenture uses them to build transparency.

In the video below, for instance, an Accenture employee describes how she balances her life at work and life outside of the office. The folks at Accenture have given her the freedom to talk about recent vacations complete with personal anecdotes. This employee can be completely transparent and authentic, even in as serious an environment as an IT consulting firm.

Check out the video post on Accenture’s video blog site.

 

Facebook: The Virtual Water Cooler

April 2, 2009 in Facebook, Internal Communication, Transparency | Tags: , , , , | 2 comments

 

 While some companies embrace the use of Facebook, even for  work-related collaboration purposes, other companies are  setting  up firewalls to ban the use of Facebook in the workplace.

 In an episode of, “For Immediate Release,” Shel Holtz  speaks with  CEO and President of Serena Software, Jeremy Burton about  Serena “Facebook Fridays.”

Every Friday, the company allots an hour of time for employees to spend solely on Facebook. Before the company implemented the program, about 30% of employees already had active Facebook accounts. Virtual attendance of “Facebook Friday” isn’t required, though employees are encouraged to take advantage of this social media usage time. 

Burton believes Facebook brings people together and makes up for the “human” communication that’s lost through channels such as email, text messaging and content management systems lack. However, Facebook also allows employees to interact with people on all levels of the company, breaking down hierarchal barriers to upper level management.

Facebook brings the subculture that exists within any organization offline to the virtual realm. Burton compares Facebook to sitting at Starbucks; we watch people go by and interact with others. Based on watching conversations between people in this subculture, we learn something about them or are, therefore, more inclined to strike up conversations.

Facebook is comparable to the “water cooler” within the organization where corporate gossip and personal or professional anecdotes are passed along. Facebook just takes water cooler relationships and cements them online.

However, critics of corporate Facebook argue that it reduces productivity, slows down bandwidth, compromises corporate professionalism and causes danger to security. Do employees share too much about their personal lives on Facebook? Will they spend too much time and money people-watching on this “cyber Starbucks?”

Organizations need to realize that no matter if they ban or embrace Facebook, employees will find a way to use it, and it will ultimately affect the organization in some way. The same information that gets passed through the grapevine at the water cooler, and then home to the dinner table or to happy hour, now has the possibility to circulate on Facebook as well.

Twitter: Authentic or Aloof?

March 29, 2009 in Authenticity, Twitter | Tags: , , , , | 4 comments

 With constant updates and 140-character messages, Twitter is the environment to create the authentic voice of an organization.

Twitter has received a lot of popularity lately, with “tweets” from mega-corporations such as Comcast, Zappos, and Jetblue. Even President Barack Obama twitters.  

Twitter is a great way to reach a mobile audience. Followers might receive tweets on their cell phones and comment back in seconds. No matter where the audience is, followers can find out what’s going on at the company.

 

With only 140 characters to update followers on corporate news, links or events, many corporate twitterers have adopted an authentic, short-hand tone of voice. 

 

Southwest, for example, tweets about weather, flight delays, and most recently, live updates aboard the new wi-fi equipped aircraft. SouthwestAir uses a light-hearted tone to chat with followers on Twitter. Employees post tweets using phrases such as “super cool” and “bummer.” Followers also exchange jokes with employees frequently. With its high customer satisfaction ratings, Southwest can interact with customers in a casual manner, similar to how Southwest flight attendants talk with travelers on-board.

 

Comcast twitterer, Comcastcares, answers customer service questions and concerns. Comcast doesn’t have as high customer satisfaction marks as Southwest, and therefore utilizes Twitter to gain customer trust.

Comcastcares, maintained by Frank Eliason, director of digital care at Comcast, has done a remarkable job revamping the frustrated relationship between Comcast and its customers. Comcastcares has a slightly serious tone because customers need their questions answered quickly and accurately.Wachovia uses a very formal tone to interact with customers on Twitter. Twittering Wachovia employees don’t introduce themselves with photos and professional information like those at Comcast. In fact, Wachovia doesn’t provide as much corporate information or links to other corporate social media as Southwest does either. 

 Wachovia sends out tweets with a formal, marketing tone. Check out the tweet from @greenbanking on March 27th. Greenbanking promotes paperless billpay, in a commercial voice, which is much less authentic than the voice of SouthwestAir.

 

But is a casual, joking tone too aloof? Or is a marketing voice too distant? Jokes may decrease credibility, but formalities may take away from the authentic relationships built on Twitter.

 

 Tone of voice on Twitter depends on corporate culture. Southwest uses an authentic, jovial voice because employees are encouraged to act that way in real-time. Wachovia employees naturally use a formal tone because of the rigid structure of the banking industry.

Interactive Financial Reporting

March 25, 2009 in Investor Relations | Tags: , , , | 3 comments

A huge step organizations have taken in the direction of openness is posting financial information online (government agencies are even required to post financial reports online now). What better way to be transparent to current and potential shareholders than post the financial strategies and reports online?

 

In the days of Web 1.0, organizations just posted the print version of their annual reports on their websites. With the advent of Web 2.0, industries need to take their investor relations a step further and create interactive annual reports.

 

An interactive annual report doesn’t just include financial information in new, digital formats, but also includes the traditional print materials as well. IBM’s 2008 annual report is a great example of an interactive annual report, complete with multimedia.

 

The Interactive Annual Report Company, based out of the U.K., is a company devoted to building annual reports in multimedia formats for other organizations. An annual report developed by the Interactive Annual Report Company includes a video letter to shareholders from the CEO or Chairman, video case studies, interactive click-through financial charts, as well as downloadable print formats.

 

However, the annual report also includes a small, pocketsize booklet of the annual report in print format. The booklet has colorful graphics and investors can carry it around anywhere.

 

Take a look at the video below. Dave Werner has created a multimedia annual report for Brinker International.

 

 

Many companies have only taken the first step to transparent investor relations with key publics. Posting annual reports in PDF format on corporate websites won’t foster the trusting relationship that an interactive report may. Current and potential shareholders might trust a company more if they’ve seen a video statement from the CEO, have easy access to a decade worth of financials all on one page, or can link to the corporate investors’ blog from the annual report (check out Dell’s investor blog to see an example).

 

Though interactive financial reports require extra time and money, the resulting investor relationship could make up for the funds taken from the bottom line anyways.

Building a Transparent Government Through the Use of New Social Media

March 21, 2009 in Transparency | Tags: , | 2 comments

 

Courtesy of Miller & Smith

Courtesy of Miller & Smith

After his recent entry into the White House, President Barack Obama devised a plan for an open federal government. This “open government” will be more transparent, participative, and collaberative.

 

The new social media platform is a prime place to start building an “open government” because of the interactive nature of the internet. Not only can citizens interact with government agencies and officials via blogs and social networks, but citizens can interact with each other.

President Obama isn’t the only government official working for a more “open government” though. Local governments utilize social media forums to reach citizens as well. I recently met with Harrisonburg City Mayor, Kai Degner, to discuss his plans for the city. Degner believes listening to Harrisonburg residents is the most important aspect of his job as mayor. He discusses issues important to residents with them online and offline.

Degner writes a blog to discuss why he voted on a public issue or put a program in place the way he did. He’s explicit about his decisions and uses his own voice in the posts to connect with concerned residents. Degner told me face-to-face interactions are that much more rewarding after he’s begun a conversation with someone online.

In order for social media in government to succeed, agencies and officials need to be open and interactive. Due to the Public Information Act, government agencies have a responsibility to make government records available to the public. Most government agencies post information online, however, this isn’t enough to foster an “open government.”

In order for social media to contribute to a more open government, blogs, for example, need to be written by individuals in their own personal voices and readers need a space to comment on topics of interest. So many Americans distrust government because they feel information is hidden and they can’t be heard. To change the distrusting dynamic of this relationship, government agencies should make themselves transparent through social media forms and engage citizens in online conversations.

Below are a few examples of government blogs that post open, interesting information, and leave comment space to engage readers in conversation:

Greenversations

U.S. Air Force Live

Homeland Security Leadership Journal

Ghostwriting

March 18, 2009 in Authenticity | Tags: , | 1 comment

Courtesy of Life 123 Alpha

Courtesy of Life 123 Alpha

After beginning a discussion on authenticity in the previous post, I decided to delve deeper into the subject. A major issue in regards to authentic social media is ghostwriting.

A study published in the Public Relations Journal found that readers prefer to read a corporate blog written by the CEO or another executive with equal star appeal in the organization. Most readers prefer a CEO blog that covers personal as well as business-related topics.

However, CEO blogs can pose problems for the CEO as well as the organization. For instance, blogging takes time, research, and effort. Can a CEO or another top exec cram another task onto his or her plate? If blogs are too personal, they may become inappropriate or boring. Blogging CEOs must have the communication skills necessary to interact online with organizational publics. Finally, CEOs who blog about the internal logistics of the company may become too transparent and (as discussed in previous posts) may disclose too much information, resulting in legal issues.

Therefore, ghostwriting has entered the blogosphere just as CEOs and organizations have. Simply defined, a “ghostwriter” writes a corporate blog and acts as if he or she is the CEO or top executive who is the supposed author.

Dave Fleet, a marketing and communications consultant from Ontario, believes ghostwriting is unethical. Whether the writer acts as another individual on a blog or a microblog, such as Twitter, he believes readers have a right to know whose personal ideas and words they are reading. If the actual author or the blog is not a CEO, but rather a communications department employee for example, that knowledge should be shared with readers, says Fleet. Without this vital information, readers won’t know who they’re interacting with and his or her trust in the organization may be compromised.

However, a reader of Fleet’s blog on social media and marketing communication begs to differ. “Ghost Blogger,” a reader of Davefleet.com, spends so much time studying how the CEO whom [he] writes for reacts to situations, reading the CEO’s emails, and editing blog post drafts with the CEO face-to-face that [he] believes [his] ghostwriting duties are completely ethical.

The issue still remains undecided. But will ghostwriting become more or less ethical as more people and organizations adapt to blogging and microblogging in the near future?

Authentic Podcasts and Videos

March 16, 2009 in Authenticity | Tags: , | 4 comments

 Podcasts and online videos can be a great way for organizations to connect to their publics through the all important use of voice and sight. Podcasts create a personality for an organization or individual to present to an audience. However, podcasts and videos can very well backfire just as they can succeed in building a relationship with publics. In order for a podcast or online video to succeed, the producer needs to develop an authentic—or one-of-a-kind—voice. 

To develop an authentic voice, the producer needs to follow a few simple rules:

1.    Don’t just read from a script. Though it’s important to stick to a script so that you don’t get off topic and bore your audience, reading directly from a script can be equally as boring to audience members.

2.    Don’t use a corporate tone, but rather a fun, casual tone. A number of producers use a voice similar to radio talk show hosts’. A casual voice will engage the audience and won’t compromise credibility. After all, you’ve created a podcast to build a personality for your message or organization—don’t make the message sound like a corporate advertisement.

3.    Don’t read press releases! If audience members are really concerned about news updates, they can visit the organization’s online newsroom.

4.    Remain professional. Casual doesn’t mean sloppy. No inappropriate personal stories. Make sure there is no distracting background noise in a podcast or video. Make sure the lighting is good and there are no distractions in the background of your online video.

Below are two examples of online videos. Both exemplify the do’s and don’ts listed above. Listen to the speaker’s voice to critique the podcast voice. Pay attention to the ways in which the speaker tries to engage the audience visually through the use of video production.

This video was written and produced by the folks at Marketwire, an organization that assists companies in press release distribution through new social media tools. Watch a few seconds of it and look for the do’s and don’ts.

 

Now, watch a little of this video by Christopher Penn, producer of the Financial Aid Podcast. You can watch the video below, but it might be more beneficial to watch it on the Financial Aid Podcast site to understand his interactive navigation. “His what?” you’re asking. Check it out—you’ll see!

Between the two, who do you think has a better grasp on authenticity?

Building Consumer Relationships through Transparency

March 6, 2009 in Corporate Blogging, Transparency | Tags: , , , | 3 comments

In the video, Shel Holtz, author of Tactical Transparency, defines transparency. He says organizations shouldn’t expose every internal secret (particularly for legal reasons) in order to be transparent to their audiences, but they should disclose information about business goals and practices, and allow audience members to have access to all of the internal employees. 

The key to fostering positive consumer relations is constant interaction between the customers and the employees.

Many companies are being forced into transparency. Consumers no longer call up a company’s customer service department if they’re unhappy–that message would only reach one person. They are instead going online to blast the company in front of thousands of other consumers. How should companies respond? Companies should join in on the conversation and explain to consumers why the service or product was less than mediocre, and work to rebuild a connection with angry consumers.

Dan Rather, formerly of 60 Minutes, made the mistake of closing the doors on his audience during the investigation on Former President Bush’s military service. If he had opened up lines of communication and updated viewers on the investigation, he could’ve kept from angering so many people. His lack of transparency cost him his job.

Dell on the other hand was forced into transparency after its outraged consumers created an angry network of blogs. Dell joined in on the conversation and created Direct2Dell and Ideastorm, which have been a huge success in rebuilding postive customer relations.

I found Holtz’s own personal story the most interesting. After a neglectful customer service experience with Park ‘n Fly, he wrote a blog post to complain to his readers. An administrative assistant from the company joined in on his conversation to apologize. What’s most important is that the Park ‘n Fly employee sent the message directly to Holtz, without checking the message with management first. By opening up free lines of communication between employees (lower and higher level) and consumers, Park ‘n Fly managed to uphold its relationship with Holtz.

The video’s central message is that companies should give their consumers a glimpse inside the organization to build a trustworthy relationship with them.

Corporate Blogging

February 28, 2009 in Corporate Blogging, Transparency | Tags: , | 4 comments

Scott Beale / Laughing Squid
Scott Beale / Laughing Squid

Why have so many corporations entered the blogosphere? They’re just joining everyone else.

A corporate blog can enhance a company’s reputation—if the company follows the blogger code of ethics. Corporations shouldn’t participate in “blog-spin” or create a fake blog, which Angelo Fernando terms a “flog,” in his article about unethical blogging practices: “Transparency Under Attack.”

Wal-mart’s corporate blog back in 2006 was an example of a “flog.” Two PR agents wrote the blog from the comfort of their offices, while acting as a couple inside their RV, as they stayed overnight in Wal-mart parking lots on their nationwide road trip. Readers discovered the fraudulent postings and were outraged. Bottom line: corporations cannot fake transparency.

Jeanette Weisschuh, who runs Hewlitt-Packard’s social responsibility blog, stresses the importance of openness to reader feedback on a corporate blog. Why have a blog if there’s no room for dialogue between the company and its key publics? A blog without feedback is just an online newsroom where corporate communicators post press releases.

Vincent Potier, of Vonage, however, doesn’t see the point in corporate blogging. He argues that corporate blogs are boring because lower level employees won’t share their honest opinions about the company in fear of losing their jobs. He believes company blogs naturally have a corporate, authoritative voice.

Corporate communicators need to draw the lines on corporate openness through blogs by asking questions such as, “Why are the legal implications of this post/comment?” “How will I react to negative reader comments?” or “Does this post share too many transparent details, making it a dull read?”

Jeff Jarvis lays out rules for his blogging practices. He will not accept money for his opinions, no ads can appear in his posting space, all information will have proper sources, and he will open up to readers about his business relationships as long as details aren’t libelous or confidential.

Corporate blogs can build trusting relationships between companies and their publics as long as boundaries for openness are drawn prior to the first post and bloggers are actual corporate stakeholders.

For more information on corporate blogs see: “Corporate Blogging” featured in New Media Age.

A Head Start on Transparency and Authenticity

February 25, 2009 in Authenticity, Transparency | Tags: , | 5 comments

Courtesy of Life Multimedia
Courtesy of Life Multimedia
 

For starters, let’s define authenticity and transparency. Joel Postman lists transparency and authenticity as two of the six attributes a blog should have in his book, Social Corp.

An authentic blogger posts voluntary, unfiltered information that will lead to two-way, open communication. A transparent blogger is open about the goals that he or she hopes to accomplish or the goals that his or her organization hopes to accomplish. An authentic blog also shares the strategies used to achieve those goals.

So, I have  taken Postman’s advice and stay authentic and transparent on this blog as well. How will I do it though?

Before starting this blog, I began reading other public relations and advertising blogs—most of which have been top ranked in recent years. Each blogger defines who he or she is in the first post or somewhere on the blog, such as the “About” page or in the sidebar. Communications gurus such as Shel Holtz, B.L. Ochman, and Joel Postman introduce themselves to their readers. For readers to trust the opinions of these professionals, they’ll first need to ask themselves: “Why the heck should I listen to yet another blogger?”

Once social media creators have established their backgrounds in order to prove to readers: listen in on their conversations, they’ll need to establish a voice. Not just a consistent voice for podcasts or vodcasts, but a voice to use in blog posts and comments, Twitter updates, and Facebook information. Creators shouldn’t shy away from using the first person tense either. It can help build a stronger transparent relationship with audience members if they can see how exactly “I” or “we” plan to accomplish a goal, handle an issue, or feel about a current event. Shel Holtz, B.L. Ochman, and Advergirl aren’t afraid to expose their bare opinions to readers through use of the first person tense.