We do a lot of college class presentations – they’re just another fun part of our job. Recently we were at Washburn University when a student asked if we push info out to our personal social media networks, on behalf of clients, and if so, how. We get this question a lot and it’s a valid question. So much so that we’d like to share our thoughts on the importance of transparency in social media engagement and marketing.

Social media is about establishing and maintaining relationships with real people. Healthy relationships are based on trust – consumer-brand relationships are no different. When consumers are interacting with a brand online, they want to know who they’re talking to and what that person’s affiliation is with that brand. For example, if I’m looking for new shoes and I get advice from a guy that manufactures shoes, I have a good idea of what to expect from him and how to merit his advice. If I’m talking to the CEO of that same shoe store, I expect a different perspective and give it different merit.

By being transparent in your posts you are building trust and understanding in the content, the author and the brand. That’s why we feel VERY strongly that in order to build that trust you HAVE to have honest and transparent communication. We feel so strongly, in fact, that the jhP social media policy promotes it for team members regardless of posting on behalf of the company, ourselves or on behalf of our clients. So we’re required to clearly identify ourselves and our affiliation with jhP or the client.

Kohl’s is a great example of why we need to be transparent in social media. It all began with Ed Gawronski posting helpful tips on the Kohl’s page encouraging customers to visit the website where they could provide their email in return for discounts and cash-back opportunities. Unbeknownst to the other users, Ed just so happened to be the vp of marketing at Kohl’s. It didn’t take long for someone to call him out – going so far as to leave the link to his LinkedIn page. The real kicker was the comment, “Masquerade much?” That one question could have potentially been damaging to the brand – check out more about the case HERE.

When you’re posting as a representative, we recommend the following simple steps to prevent public embarrassment and damage to the brand:

1. Identify who you are using your full (real) name.
2. List your affiliation to the brand.
3. Discuss whether you are acting on behalf of a company, client,
   self, etc.

These three steps allow you to be honest and respectful and to engage openly in a conversation with others. Essentially, it’s doing just what you’d want others to do. So tell us what you think. For what other reasons do you feel it’s important to be transparent?