Comments for Advanced Organizational Communication Blog
Heather's blog does diverge from the standard of most of the corporate blogs I've looked at, and I really like it. I would be more likely to trust her blog content just because there is as much information in her posts as there is personality, as opposed to a corporate blogger that posts simply to inform and/or impress the readers. She makes it seem like she's blogging for pleasure instead of work, and it's this honest commentary that people are more likely to read and trust. She also makes the company as a whole come off as less intimidating and cold, since she mentions that they hired her despite all the flaws she listed. I think building credibility on a blog is similar to doing the same in real life, because people aren't going to believe someone who brags constantly and never admits weakness.
Credibility is hard to come by and it requires its due work. I think its a great idea for bloggers looking to pave their way in the blogosphere that they do shed light on their faults and open themselves up for transparency. Its important that viewers or patrons of your blog be able to see the whole you, or in terms of advanced organizational communication, the whole company. Because their are so many PR firms beginning to flood blogs left and right, transparency is one key element that helps to sort out the fakers from the true bloggers.
Along with being transparent, building credibility also requires doing a little blogger outreach. The more familiar a blogger becomes with their surrounding community, the more people will look to what they have to say. This may require doing some extra leg work like sending emails of interest and trackbacks to fellow bloggers, but in the end, it generates respect towards your own published works. Hopefully, responsible and humble blogging will catch on in the B-Sphere.
I agree that blogs need personality...but I'm not sure how that would relate to authenticity. I've been reading through lots of corporate blogs these days and the majority of them don't really have much personality to them...they aren't humorous or sarcastic, etc. Yes, this does make for some dry reading but the post doesn't seem less authentic to me. For many people who participate in corporate blogging...it's just part of their job. They may just want to get the job done and leave their personal lives--and personalities out of it. I think as long as the information is useful and from a credible source, then that's authenticity in itself.
Lots of good points here.
Credibility is built in may ways, but it all comes down to the target audience and the "personality" of that audience, or the personality you want to show to that audience. For instance, in my industry (bicycling), a drier presentation or personality isn't as appealing to the readers I am trying to connect with. I am trying to portray somebody who enjoys their job and their sport/ industry. At the same time I try to give relevant information about the brand and my efforts to resurrect it. Since I am using my own personality to do all of this, I try to utilize my sense of humor and try to convey my "normalcy". Here in Australia, much to my surprise, nearly every retailer I have spoken to is very familiar with the site I have and read it on a regular basis or at minimum know it exists and what it is about. To me, that proves it has become credible.
My approach might not work in other business areas, like the bio-med industry. A corporate blogger there might not be able to build true credibility with an approach similar to mine.
Also, it really depends on the intention of the blog. Again, to site my own, the goal is to get people engaged and interracting with the brand. So far, that has definitely happened. Other blogs might serve just to present infomation and answer questions, rather than create a relationship.
In my humble opinion, the first step has to be in defining the target audience and the message. If you figure those out, the credibility will fall in place.
Successful blogs seem to be ones that can attract an audience, not through false promises or funny jokes, but by being dependable. Blogs that are credible will gain the respect and trust of their audience. I feel that in order to build a strong audience relationship with the blog or blogger, the posts must be trust worthy. Not that they have to be packed with boring facts and information, but they should have a somewhat genuine tone to them. Being able to reach out to your audience, and having them respond to the posts seem to be the backbone to a successful blog. Having personality can draw a larger audience, but if it is condescending or too sarcastic, it is going to turn people off, instead of encouraging their feedback and comments. Blogs can be successful for many reasons, but I feel credibility is a huge piece of the puzzle to blog success.
Great discussion. In addition, the creating credibility for a business blog also includes many of the same elements that create trust on a business website: contact information, About page, email link, etc.
I've thought a lot about this topic. I think the best way to have credibility is to be yourself, but also to exercise common sense. You can only share so much with complete strangers on the internet, particularly where your business is concerned.
Showing an element of vunerability is essential because, as we've talked about, people want to a human element in the blogs they read. They want to believe they can trust what they're reading; that it is real.
That said, I think some people are just more likely to be a success. I don't think there's one type of personality that is best for blogging, but a person needs to have "it"- that little something that draws people towards their writing. Is it their wit? Do they write eloquently?
It can be any number of things, but they need to have something that's worth saying... and most importantly, something that people want to read.
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