It should be obvious, at this point, that we live in a time where consumers and audiences expect brands to be transparent. The idea of transparency, and authenticity, for communications, is at the core of establishing and fostering, relationships that keep your business or brand strong.
What does being transparent mean and how does it apply to your business?
In a business setting, transparency is defined as a âlack of hidden agendas or conditions, accompanied by the availability of full information required of collaboration, cooperation and collective decision-making.â
Thatâs a lot of, somewhat, ambiguous words all piled together, so letâs break this down a little.
We all remember the five Ws from elementary school: Who, what, when, where and why.
Answer all five of these and youâve laid a good foundation for successfully understanding the idea.
What: First, letâs talk about what itâs not. Transparency is not divulging every hidden secret of your company or publicly admitting to every transgression. Think of it more conceptually, or strategically, than tactically.
Transparency is an idea that people need to feel a connection with. They need to believe that you are a good company that is not hiding things from them.
People naturally put barriers up against things they donât trust. And just like with interactions with other people, admitting to one offense doesnât create a relationship.
But, a common understanding of each other, built out of trust, respect and openness creates the foundation for a meaningful relationship.
Who: Who needs to be transparent in an organization? A lot of people will say âeveryoneâ needs to be transparent. And while I agree, Iâm going to dive a bit deeper. The entire organization needs to foster the idea of transparency across all operations and activities.
Everyone has a role to play in your brand transparency, but itâs a culture that needs to be fostered from the top. Itâs an expectation that needs to be addressed, at every level, with accountability checkpoints established to ensure compliance.
If you donât communicate your transparency, are you really even transparent? The short answer is no.
When: When does your company need to be transparent? Well, if you have to answer this with specific moments, you need to rethink how youâre looking at transparency.
Transparency is an ongoing activity. As we said before, itâs a culture thatâs created internally without starting or stopping points.
The one important thing to call out here is transparency during a crisis.
Once youâre in the middle of a crisis, transparency through consistent communication is crucial to successfully surviving that crisis.
Where: This is a great time to bring up something that is often overlooked when it comes to transparencyâinternal audiences.
Being transparent with your employees is just as important, if not more so, than being transparent with your external audiences. Iâve seen many businesses lose control of situations because there isnât transparency with their internal teams.
For external audiences you need to bring transparency to life with everything you do.
From in-person interactions and website content to digital and social channels, your brand needs to convey transparency. The best way to do this is through meaningful engagement.
Why: Transparency is expected, and demanded, from all of your audiences. Consumers no longer allow things to âslideâ when it comes to brands that (in return) expect their support, money and loyalty.
Employees want to work for a company that they trust and donât mind putting their name alongside to their family, colleagues and friends.
Since the solution is different for each business and brand, Iâm going to provide tips on how you can be transparent as a business:
Embrace transparency as essential: If you think of transparency as a ânice to have,â but not essential, youâre not being transparent. Engage and answer questions: People want to be communicated with, not at. This means having a dialogue and creating open lines of communication with internal and external audiences. If youâre engaged on social media channels, take the time, and allocate the resources, to engage with those audiences. If they post a comment, respond and engage with them. If they ask a question, provide the answer.
âNo commentâ is not acceptable: There are a hundred ways to answer a question, even if you donât have all of the information. If thereâs an accusation or question, engage and answer the question. If you donât have the answer, let them know youâre finding the answer.
Travis Claytor is president and owner of TC Strategic Communications. He has led teams that have developed, and executed, nationally, and internationally, integrated strategic communications plans around some of the worldâs top events, including the Super Bowl and the Republican National Convention.