Brad Rawlins of Bringham Young University, published a study with the intent of creating an instrument to gauge stakeholder perception of transparency. He surveyed employees of a health care organization to see what they thought made an organization trustworthy.

His findings relate to what I have been posting about these past weeks. Transparent organizations should have integrity, respect, and open communication. He also found that organizations could do this in several ways. I will relate a few of them with new social media.

• High participation: Web 2.0 is a wonderful tool when it comes to communication. Whether it’s communicating to your consumers on a social network like Twitter (see the Ford post) or letting employees communicate via podcasts (see the Microsoft post). Participation in dialog with stakeholders shows that you care and that can do wonders for your corporate reputation.
• Substantial information: Are you white-washing the facts, or are you being open? You must provide your stakeholders with the facts they need to know. If you think it is something relevant to them, you can bring it up on your blog (like CEO Paul Levy did about his salary). It also needs to be in clear language that they will be able to understand.
• Accountability: Are you accountable to your stakeholders? By starting a conversation with them online you are. Let their comments go unregulated (within reason) and listen to what they have to say about you. Also of importance is actually following through with results when things do go wrong.

I learned over the course of writing this blog, that transparency and authenticity are crucial elements for any organization. When it comes down to reputation and credibility (as it always will) there is no excuse to not be open and honest. The rules are changing now that more companies are using Web 2.0. There have been some great uses of these new tools and some poor ones. The only way to be successful is to keep trying  and also remember to be truthful while you do it. The truth will always come out, why don’t you use it to your advantage?

Our group researched in the blogosphere to see what people were saying about the company and we found that bloggers were typically positive about Burt’s Bees products. However there were some negative comments about the company being bought by Clorox. According to The New York Times, Clorox does not have the best reputation with environmentalists, who say that bleach is harmful to the environment.

Customers of Burt’s Bees worried that the company was selling out and would lose their signature earth friendly practices by being bought by a corporation.

Burt’s Bees did a good job of squashing these worries by showing that they would stay true to their values. Burt’s Bees blog addressed this issue in a post entitled, “Is Clorox changing Burt’s Bees Products?” that said just because Clorox bought the company, it did not mean they would change.

Burt’s Bees also focused their website on their values of corporate social responsibility and being environmentally conscious. They have a presence on Facebook where you can watch videos about different environmental issues. Burt’s Bees is actively involved with Habitat for Humanity and many other initiatives. Check out this video they created with the co-founder of the company, Burt Shavitz about Colony Collapse Disorder (which results in the death of bees).

Burt’s Bees does a good job of showing that their motives for environmental sustainability are still pure, even though they were bought out by a corporation. Proving you will stay authentic to your brand is key when a company changes hands, otherwise you could lose the original supporters that made you so successful in the first place.

According to Edelman’s “Get ‘Real’,” an authentic company stays true to their philosophy and their brand reflects their customer. Most importantly, they make their authenticity look effortless. Edelman cites Harley as authentic because the brand conveys an attitude and a lifestyle. Harley has a specific kind of consumer and has created a way of life for them to identify with.

Harley’s authenticity has been maintained in several ways. BizTimes reports that Harley stays connected to customers by sending employees out to events and rallies to gather feedback. Harley also puts their primary focus on their motorcycles, despite the other merchandise they sell. Celebration of the brand’s heritage also plays an important role. Every five years, hundreds of thousands of Harley riders and enthusiasts gather in Milwaukee for a multi-day celebration. Check out this video clip of the 105^th Anniversary Parade.

Note the multitude of people that came out to the parade and their overwhelming support and love of the brand. These people really identify the brand as their own. This is the mark of true authenticity.

Harley is using social media in several ways. The Harley Davidson website feels like a haven for motorcycle enthusiasts. You can also watch videos on YouTube, follow them on Twitter, and join their Facebook group. Not to mention the Harley Owners Group’s presence online. H.O.G.’s mission sums it up perfectly: to think of Harley as one big family, from the CEO to the newest owner.

Harley Davidson is a great example for companies looking to become more authentic. It is about focusing on your product and creating a community for those who buy that product. If you can make your consumers feel like a family you have done your job.

According to The New York Times, Obama teamed up with Marc Andreessen, a Netscape founder and Facebook board member, to help him use social networking in his campaign. Through social networking, Obama was able to raise money, organize locally, and get out the vote. After being elected he came into office with a database of supporters, that could be engaged instantly, an excellent source of support to help him govern.

John C. Havens’ “Tactical Transparency and Organized Authenticity” points out that not only did Obama use social media well, he knew how to connect with people through them. The people following him on Twitter or receiving his text messages felt like they were connecting to him on a personal level. Seeing that you have a text message from Obama can make you feel like you are actually a part of his message and mission.

In order to build trust in his campaign among his audience and voters he relied on authentic communication. For an example, check out this podcast of Obama talking about Father’s Day.

Obama is very open and down to earth when talking about his family, but he still ties it to his political messages. By talking openly about something personal, Obama bridges the gap between politician and regular human being. He does a good job of showing that he is just like us, he just happens to be a powerful politician. CEOs trying to be more transparent and authentic should follow Obama’s example. You can be authentic without giving away your strategies (whether in business or politics). People just want to be able to connect with you in some way.

While Dunder Miflin may be fictional and the transparency involved extreme, it is a valuable lesson to businesses. Show your company in a candid way, with the good and the bad, and your stakeholders are more likely to respond in a positive way.

In a real example, that ties transparency and authenticity to new social media, Wired’s “Operation Channel 9,” discusses how Microsoft employees are utilizing podcasts. These employees post interviews of engineers talking about their jobs and new products. These videos are largely unedited, and anyone can see them and comment on them. This shows an open and frank view of Microsoft as a company. It is a great example of how a company can utilize social media to be transparent and get employees involved in the process.

Employees are a great tool for this effort because they give credibility to the messages. The information is coming from the inside of the company and not from the corporate communications department. Not only do employees have the knowledge to talk specifically about what they do, they can give a behind-the-scenes look at what the company does.

See Microsoft’s Channel 9 project here.

New social media (blogs, wikis, podcasts, etc.) provide corporate communicators with excellent tools to build and uphold their company’s reputation. Transparency and authenticity are important in maintaining a company’s reputation. Especially today, where trust in business is waning, it is important for companies to be open with the public.

Merriam-Webster gives good working definitions of the two words:

• Transparent: without pretense or deceit; readily understandable; business practices characterized by visibility or accessibility to information
• Authentic: deserves to be accepted or believed to be based on fact; true to one’s own personality, spirit, or character

On this blog I examine  case studies related to corporate transparency and authenticity in new social media.

Please feel free to comment!