Corporate blogs rate downright low on the scale of consumer trust, even among bloggers, according to the recently released findings of Forrester's North American Technographics Media and Marketing Online Survey performed in the second quarter of 2008.

"Not only do blogs rank below newspapers and portals, they rank below wikis, direct mail, company email, and message board posts. Only 16% of online consumers who read corporate blogs say they trust them," Forrester Research analyst Josh Bernoff explained on the organization's Groundswell blog.

But that's not to say that companies should swear off blogging; on the contrary, a blog can serve as a valuable addition to the marketing mix by providing a unique means for directly interacting with customers in a casual setting, generating candid feedback, building customer relationships, and helping a company appear more personable. Plus, it's one of the more cost-effective mediums available.

The key therefore lies in the company's ability to earn the trust of its readers, and a well-thought-out blogging policy can provide the necessary foundation for realizing that goal.

The following are some of the factors that any organization should consider—along with some of the policy deliberations it should make—to institute credibility into a company blog and work to build trust.

1. Instill Reader Value

One "cure," Bernoff offered, is to make the blog interesting and valuable to the consumer, not just about the corporation.

"Most people start blogging from the company's perspective, but nobody wants to read that," he said in an interview with MarketingProfs. "It won't fail because of backlash; it will fail because it's boring. If you start thinking from the customer's perspective, it is much more likely to be successful."

For example, Dell—which has established multiple blogs aimed at specific audiences such as cloud-computing enthusiasts or small business owners, as well as companion blogs in several languages, including Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, and Norwegian—is diligent about researching each blog's market to understand nuances and distinct customer interests to ensure it is offering value before initiating the conversation.

Another blog that has paid heed to this decree is that Goodwill of Greater Washington, a nonprofit located in the District of Columbia, which strives to help readers get the look of high fashion on a Goodwill budget through the guidance and advice of an eloquent fashionista.

By integrating some of its more quality merchandise into real, value-added content without blatantly promoting its stores, Goodwill of Greater Washington has actually managed to increase store traffic, especially among a younger, hipper audience who trust the fashionista's tips and are inclined to act on her recommendations.

Intel Corporation also aims to provide value through "unfiltered" access to subject matter experts who can offer personal insight into the company's programs and global outlooks, explained Bryan Rhoads, the company's digital marketing strategist. Since these experts may be scattered throughout the organization, the company uses policy, along with a special training program, to prepare its bloggers for meeting reader needs and expectations. It even specifically states in its policy that all content posted "should help our customers, partners, and co-workers.... It should be thought-provoking and build a sense of community."

"If you want to be a thought leader and helper for your customers, and you blog frequently about those customers' problems and solutions, then you can generate trust. This takes time and effort, but it will enhance your company's reputation and it's worth it," Bernoff further noted on the Groundswell blog.

2. Foster Transparency

As in the case of any other medium, customers don't want to feel duped into believing the person on the other end is anyone other than who they claim to be.

Some large corporations have come under enormous fire after being exposed for blogging under false pretenses. Accordingly, Intel's policy explicitly states that its bloggers should be up front with readers about who they are as authors—including their backgrounds, their roles within Intel, whether they have vested interests in the topics of discussion, and whether they're writing from an insider-expert or end-user perspective. This level of transparency has helped to establish integrity and credibility for its blog, while continuing to provide value for the reader.

Transparency has also been a prime consideration for Dell, which aims to inject it into all aspects of its social media activities. It insists that company bloggers communicate both who they are and that they are operating on behalf of Dell, and it encourages the same approach for employees who blog independently of the company.

Furthermore, although it's not mandated, Dell urges employees on networking sites such as Twitter to always use their real names in association with Dell, such as Richard@Dell or Lionel@Dell so that there is never a question of representation. (Lionel Menchaca, chief blogger for Dell, noted that it was actually Twitter users who prompted him to change his Twitter handle and follow Richard Binhammer's lead, demonstrating the positive impression this maneuver has made on other users.)

In addition to engendering transparency, these actions have helped to fortify customer connections, said Menchaca, by allowing users to get to know the people of Dell on a first-name basis.

Menchaca went on to stress the importance of candor and transparency in handling negative press and in openly admitting on the blog to any wrongdoing, in order to institute trust in trying times. "Don't try to sugarcoat it or spin it in any way.... Be honest, fix the issue, and move on," he advised. "This has helped build credibility [for Dell]."

Intel's policy also addresses the subject: "If you make a mistake, admit it. Be upfront and be quick with your correction. If you're posting to a blog, you may choose to modify an earlier post—just make it clear that you have done so," it reads.

At the same time, a company should not discount the fine line between being transparent and infringing on proprietary information or other confidentiality matters, and a comprehensive policy is an organization's best instrument for ensuring that it continues to meet customer expectations for the blog without giving away the farm.

Many organizations, including Intel and Dell, tightly align their blogging policies with their employee codes of conduct, affirming that just as an employee has agreed not to divulge sensitive financial information or company secrets through other mediums or at tradeshows and conferences, so should they refrain from doing so in the blogosphere.

In this way, a corporate blogging policy should always include guidelines on what information can be shared publicly, as well as what information is considered off-limits. Legal/approval channels should also be clearly established so that employees know what to do and where to go if there is any question about the appropriateness of content.

(Note that Dell's approval procedures include an agreement from its legal team to furnish feedback within four hours of any request; this type of system encourages its employees to openly participate, with the understanding that Legal is there to assist, and not delay, the process.)

3. Set the Tone

In addition to remaining transparent, company blogs should abstain from taking on the formal, solemn tone of other corporate communications.

"Messaging is more well received when it's coming from an individual, someone you can relate to…as opposed to an institutional voice," said Intel's Rhoads.

Once again, his company doesn't take anything for granted and plainly relays this message to bloggers in its policy: "Talk to your readers like you would talk to real people in professional situations. In other words, avoid overly pedantic or 'composed' language. Don't be afraid to bring in your own personality and say what's on your mind."

Companies should also consider whether to permit irrelevant, personal-interest posts, as opposed to allowing only information that's directly related to the company's core business.

Menchaca, for example, has found that he can make a stronger connection with some readers by sharing his personal passions, such as music preferences or a favorite sports team, and noted that this often subsequently translates into even more open interaction with customers when it comes time to discuss a Dell issue sometime later.

Other companies are not be as open, instead seeing that approach as more difficult to govern and a possible deterrent to reader value.

4. Allow Readers to Participate in the Conversation

One of the virtues of a corporate blog is the capacity for direct, two-way interaction with customers, but this is only achievable if the company is willing to surrender some control and allow for a balanced dialogue.

"You have to make that shift from the old command-control model with everything going through corporate communications to, 'hey, have questions? Come talk to us about it, and otherwise feel free to weigh in on the conversation,'" explained Menchaca.

This, of course, carries some risk, since customer opinions may not always parallel those of the organization, but that in and of itself is not necessarily contrary to a company's best interests. If the company is dedicated to transparency in its communications, the blog can provide an effective vehicle for gathering and understanding customer perspectives and attitudes; it can also be a direct medium for candidly responding to differences of opinion in the public space.

"The decision to print feedback, whether positive or negative, has helped to infuse transparency and credibility," recognizes Brendan Hurley, senior vice-president of marketing and communications for Goodwill of Greater Washington.

That is not to say that all customer comments are constructive. If a company does opt to allow external commenting, it should also implement a moderation policy that authorizes the company to repeal any interaction that does not add value to the conversation.

"When creating a blog comment policy, it should be clearly stated what is expected of the commenter, as far as they should be polite and respectful of others, and they should know that their comment can be deleted if they are not, and their commenting privileges revoked," explained Mack Collier, social-media consultant and writer for The Viral Garden as well as MarketingProfs Daily Fix.

"We do have some restrictions on feedback," Goodwill of Greater Washington's Hurley continued, "but only in certain situations such as replies that use foul language, are clearly self-promotional, or personally attack individuals unrelated to the blog posting."

Bryan Rhoads stated that Intel takes a similar approach. "We go by the old adage of 'the good, the bad, but not the ugly,'" he said. "If it's positive or negative, even related to Intel, we will publish it, but if it's degrading, offensive, fraudulent ,or just plain 'nutball,' we're going to reject that comment."

Additional considerations to take into account when constructing a comment moderation policy include the following:

• Who: Who will moderate the blog and determine whether comments comply with policy? Who can respond to comments—anyone, or only an appointed few? A working policy should designate such roles and clearly explain any restrictions or limitations.
• When: Next, the company should determine whether it will moderate comments before or after they are posted to the blog. "If you moderate everything coming in, the perception is that blog is slow," said Josh Bernoff. "It's the safest thing to do, but it slows down the conversation and contributes to the distrust of blog." This is the preferred approach for Goodwill of Greater Washington, which has a number of stakeholders to protect and would rather take the time to discuss any questionable reader replies before they are made public. Intel and Dell, on the other hand, allow those comments to be immediately posted and instead go through and moderate them after the fact. In the latter case, Bernoff notes, you risk having "unpleasantries" posted for an amount of time; the solution is to check comments frequently and respond promptly.
• How: Communicating how negative comments should be handled is also a necessary inclusion in any moderation policy, to ensure that the company continues to properly represent itself. To protect a company's interests, Collier suggests, a blogging policy should "spell out that anyone that replies to a comment be polite and thankful for the comment, and address the issues raised, not the person raising the issues." As mentioned previously, openness and transparency should also prevail.

"In general, the policy should stress clearly identifying the company you work for, creating value for others, and being respectful of the people you are interacting with," Collier continued. "Simple civility goes a long way."

5. Make It Official

Last, but not least, in the effort to establish trust, it is important that readers be able to see for themselves what the company is trying to achieve. Actions speak clearly, but the company should also consider posting its blogging policy in an accessible spot, connected to the blog, for all to read and review.

To be sure, customer trust-building is not something that materializes overnight; however, by emphatically choosing to be forthright, transparent, and incessantly customer-focused, over time a company can make a clear statement about its integrity.

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