A few years ago, many companies struggled with the decision of whether to join social networking sites or not. Management often wondered what these services had to offer and what benefit it could provide for the company. Dr. Albert Barreda, assistant professor of hospitality and restaurant administration at Missouri State University, recently completed a theoretical study on how to build trust on social networking sites, which he will present at the Management Studies International Conference Nov. 26-29 in Algarve, Portugal.

“Trust is the most important element in social media. Companies can use trust to help influence behaviors,” said Barreda. “In order for companies to gain trust, they need to… be able to ensure that there is quality information in social media.”

Barreda offers four social media strategies for companies:

• Be transparent in the information you provide.
• Be responsive. You don’t control the information, so be willing to respond to comments and questions from consumers as well as misinformation posted.
• Use brand advocates – people who initiate conversations that change others’ perceptions.
• Show that you care about being involved with your consumers

Barreda also received recognition as the Best Paper submitted to the Association of Hospitality Financial Management Educators Conference in New York. As the best paper, it will be published in the Journal of Hospitality Financial Management.

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