Writing

Social Credibility can be seen as the extent of a company, individual or organisation’s “trustworthiness and expertise” (Alcañiz, Caceres, & Pérez 2010, p. 169). Kim (2016) asserts that one gains credibility in the following ways: building expertise and trustworthiness, personable interaction and the ability to invite conversation. These are how you gain credibility, and they are important for brands in online communities for the following reasons:

Newell and Goldsmith (2011) describe expertise as being the measure of a company’s competency and reliability in delivering a product and service advertised. Therefore when you are displaying expertise, you are also building trustworthiness, and these help “build positive perception of the brand” (Heinze et al. 2017, p. 144). For example, a customer is likely able to trust a web host that has 99.99% uptime and fast speeds than one with less uptime and longer loading times.

One also gains credibility by personable interaction. When you are personable and relatable, this helps build stronger relationships with customers and brand influencers. Your actions communicate brand behaviour. Customers and brand influencers will therefore be able to identify with the brand “and will associate it with the value that you deliver” (Heinze et al. 2017, p. 139). When you engage with your customers in a personable way, you are in a better position to understand your target audience, meaning that you are in a better position to serve your markets’ needs (Heinze et al. 2017, p. 47). For example, when an organisation is active in answering questions in social media, the customer or influencer is able to perceive that the company has empathy and respect for its target market.

To conclude, social credibility is vital in building brands. Heinze et al. ( 2017, p. 138) highlights that brands are no longer “engineered”, but in nature of the two-way conversation of online communities, they are “co-created”.