No one likes being played for a fool. That’s why it causes such a controversy when someone is revealed as a fake online. The most basic concept in regards to being open and honest in social media is to identify yourself as you truly are. There are many reasons to be truthful online, the first and most obvious being that your deception will inevitably be found out. Trust me, there will be backlash and damage done. Let’s just look at some examples of companies who have tried too hard to control their image and messages.
PR issues are nothing new to Wal-mart, a company that never seems to get it, no matter how many crises they endure. Wal-mart is now infamous for its attempt at “astroturfing” by paying a happy couple to blog and travel the country in their RV to visit Wal-marts. Their interviews and reports with Wal-mart employees seem like carefully constructed commentary designed to shed the company in an angelically favored light. The blog, entitled Wal-Marting Across America, was later revealed to be the work of PR firm Edelman, on behalf of Wal-Mart. This article in Business Week takes an objective stance, but the blogosphere and industry professionals condemned Wal-Mart for such obvious deceptive practices.
Another example is Whole Foods’ CEO, John Mackey who posted comments under a false identity on Yahoo! bulletin boards. He bashed their competitor, Wild Oats, in an attempt to lower the company’s stock prices before purchasing the smaller company. Those who read the posts over a course of seven years became suspicious of his online identity and he was revealed. The scandal led to Mackey being tied up in legal issues with the Federal Trade Commission.
Not only are transparency and authenticity ethic responsibilities, they are legal responsibilities. The FTC has taken steps to insist companies reveal their true intentions in word-of-mouth marketing. That includes online areas like blogs, forums, Twitter, social networking sites, and other social media.
I will discuss the Word of Mouth Marketing Association and their ethical guidelines in an upcoming post.
When I first heard of Wal-mart’s attempt at creating a fake blog I wasn’t surprised. I feel that companies are frequently using schemes like this to get good publicity. Now the company will forever be associated with “astroturfing.” Wal-mart should be used as an example to other companies to be honest when you use new social media. If a company gets caught in a lie, their initial plan will have serious negative results.
Events like this are the reason that many consumers are reluctant to follow company or corporate blogs. I can understand why people might think that blogs are nothing more than a well thought out corporate communications plan (I made this reference from my blog post “CEO: Not Fitting the Mold”).
http://garkaeb.wordpress.com/2009/02/27/ceo-not-fitting-the-mold/
If companies want to gain their public’s trust, they must make efforts to be transparent and honest in their use of social media. When a company does this, they will gain many supporters and followers.
By: Blair Garka on March 6, 2009
at 2:38 am
Walmart is a company that is criticized for its business practices often, so one would think that they would be trying to improve their relations with their audiences rather than harm them even more by faking a blog. I guess though that since they cut corners everywhere else, why not stop just there? This has a lot to do with collaborating with employees and consumers because forming this fake relationship with them, causes them to not trust these companies. These are great examples of how companies are not using social media tools in the proper way. An article from Walmart Watch discusses how much of a Public Relations Disaster it was for Walmart. http://walmartwatch.com/images/uploads/flog_controversy.pdf. Apparently, this example of a ‘flog” is not the first time Walmart has been involved in fake blogs. I never shop at Walmart, and this is going to make me just not want to shop there even more. I can not trust a company who lies about something like a blog. It makes me concerned about what else they are being untruthful about.
By: Jacalyn on March 6, 2009
at 4:32 am
Social media is great and useful…when used the correct way. It is unfortunate that companies such as Walmart and Whole Foods think they have to make up things on the internet to gain publicity and a customer base. Walmart may have gained customers and followers for its brand, however, as soon as people found out the whole thing was a sham, I am positive that they lost many of whom were devoted customers. It was not ethical or professional for John Mackey to bash his competitor on the internet. When people buy your product, they are in a sense buying you–what you stand for. When customers see that you are an untrustworthy, unethical person, they aren’t going to want to buy your products.
By: Veronica Nalbandian on March 6, 2009
at 7:14 am
Companies need to learn from the mistakes of Walmart and Whole foods, among others, that trying to fool their publics won’t work. As you said, their efforts will inevitably be discovered and then their reputation suffers. I think it is very unnecessary to create a fake reality- “Wal-marting Across America”- in order to try to boost your own image. It seems like such a ridiculous idea to pay two people to participate in such a “flog”. Walmart’s mistake caused quite a bit of talk around the country and America is going to take that into consideration the next time they need to go shopping. I assume some former Walmart customers have found another store to shop at because of the store’s deception. I found another article in Business Week about this story as well. http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/content/oct2006/db20061018_445917.htm
It is important for companies to realize the consequences of how they portray themselves online. The online audience is huge and one little mistake could cost the company some damage.
By: Steph Synoracki on March 7, 2009
at 12:48 am