In our previous installment titled How to Lower Your Status in The SAP Community we focused on the topic of plagiarizing, a sure means of making yourself a pariahor unwanted participant in our neighborhood. The fact that the posting created such a surge of positive response encourages me to share another tip for becoming an outcast.
This time the topic is triggered by a blog I read this morning focusing on honesty and integrity in Word of mouth marketing . One could write a series of commentaries around this excellent piece, but I would like to focus on one simple premise which the author, Andy Sernovitzcalls the Honesty ROI.
He includes the following 3 ground rules (I quote):
- Honesty of Relationship: You say who you're speaking for
- Honesty of Opinion: You say what you believe
- Honesty of Identity: You never obscure your identity
He also highlights a behavior to avoid: Posting fake reviews.
So for all of you out there tempted to comment with an "atta boy" or "solved my problem" or "great post" when driven purely by a directive, spoken or implied, to enhance your company name or your colleague's reputation (or even worse your own, by virtue vice of masquerading as someone else), take heed of Andy's warnings, as they apply to individual members as well as companies and agencies:
"It has always been illegal to use false testimonials. Somehow, companies and agencies have used social media as an excuse for new forms of deception. That's disgusting when we have an opportunity to use these tools to promote truth, transparency, and accountability.""The backlash against a company that lies is swift and severe in the age of empowered and connected consumers."
Beware the backlash. It's nigh impossible to repair a faked reputation.
