We’ve discussed in class how having a social media presence is not always a good thing. It’s better to not have a social media presence than to have one that is inactive or not credible. The prevalence of blogs has increased among businesses and consumers. Both contribute to the social branding of themselves. Common failures that we have seen include fake blogs (or flogs) of businesses attempting to gain a social presence through blogs, and consumers finding out that these blogs are manifested by businesses themselves and are seeking to gain positive customer reviews. Brands need to reevaluate themselves and how they fit into social platforms. They should be honest, real, and willing to share both good and bad information about their businesses.
What Katie Couric talks about in her foreword about Brian Solis’ new book, ‘The End of Business As Usual’, and is further discussed by Erin Nelson in her blog from exploreB2B, is relevant to those within social media and our global society.
“The good thing about social media is that it gives everyone a voice. The bad thing is… it gives everyone a voice.” – Katie Couric
“Do we actually want to hear what everyone has to say?”
Erin discusses renowned entrepreneur, Jason Calacanis, and his interpretation of web 2.0. There are some people who should be writing and blogging on the web and there are some people who simply should not. He believes that experts will eventually take over the social platforms and will soon weed out the non-credible and “stupid” people. Anyone can create a blog or a website these days. However, unless the person is credible, understands exposure, and has proper influence, then they will probably be ignored. Credibility is a key aspect in professional communications of the business world today.
There are several ways to leverage yourself into social media and the blogosphere which include being aggressive, spamming, posting and re-posting relevant blogs, as well as being heard by already established bloggers who have a prevalent presence in social media and have credibility. Being tied to the proper network of people will benefit ones attempt at inserting themselves into this social business stage.
Adriana M. Bóveda-Lambie, Ph.D. 
It’s funny to think about how many people view social media branding as something that is easy. Truthfully, that’s what I thought myself. Besides the obvious flaws such as wrong tweets or inappropriate commenting, social media personnel have a job that isn’t always intuitive, and is relying on the feedback of an audience. Credibility will take a lifetime to earn, and only a second to break. Those in charge of your business’ social media brand carry a lot of responsibility.
“Credibility will take a lifetime to earn, and only a second to break.” This is very true, as it applies to social branding and even personal relationships. How does a brand build a trustworthy and sturdy platform for people to take part in, while maintaining a credible stream of information? Consistency. Weeding out the ignorance and supporting the professionals is key. Perhaps giving incentives to those who provide credible information could work? For example, on Yahoo! Answers, users can vote for the best answer.