Due to the fast paced nature of social media, gaining the community's trust from the beginning is very important. Chances are if someone does not feel your are worthy of their trust at start-up, they will not be one of your followers during more mature phases. Trust and transparency in social media are valued equal to product quality and functionality; in Europe and the United States these factors are valued over the other two characteristics. Consider what is happening now with television. The credibility of television is slowly diminishing as around 800,000 people "abandon" television sets and look toward the web. This is not because the quality of televisions are deteriorating but because their is more transparency in the virtual community than what's on television.
But what can companies do to be more transparent and increase their trust score? With all of the information we have access to its hard to know who we can trust. Companies that maintain consistency, focus on promotion rather than knocking competitors and follow through with their competitors gain the most trust. Being consistent is important because individuals do not want to build relations with a company that is constantly in flux. Often companies are not transparent and use slanderous techniques to hurt the competition; people are not interested in companies that focus on negativity. Individuals are driven to positive promotions and companies that are transparent, they acknowledge they are not the market leader and do not knock competitions. Lastly, companies that use false advertisements and make promises they are unable to fulfill are less likely to be trusted.
Transparency and trust are complements in social media. As more and more people look towards the Internet over television, it is our job in the virtual community to ensure that we are maintaining honest relationships with those around us.
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