Nate Riggs: Social Business Strategies; communication, social web strategies, & passion in Columbus, Ohio.

Communications is about sending and receiving messages.  Social media tools enable communications.  These are not advertising channels.  Advertising flows one way.  Push.  Push.  Push.

Social mediums create environments of communication.  Communication between people (sending and receiving messages) are the cornerstone of relationships.

Mobilize Your Brand Army
Today, people are talking to a larger number of individuals as a result of better technology.  I believe that we have always wanted to communicate like this.  The only difference is that now, the communication tools to which we have access are MUCH better.  You and I know that, over time, those tools will only keep improving.

Any consumer or employee or business partner sitting in front of a laptop or mobile device has the power to speak on behalf of your brand.  But guess what?  They are NOT going to adhere to your brand standards.  They speak English, or French or Japanese – not brand.

Better technology has given consumers real ownership of your brand.  Scary thought, huh.

There are literally armies of these “brand owners.”

The people who do your marketing are merely “brand generals.”  But unlike the military, they do not command the armies.  Their job is to develop the strategies that help influence each and every soldier in the line.  The armies will march where ever they like, and each solider has their own unique objectives.

When given an experience worth talking about, these armies of soldiers are willing and able to communicate messages within their own personal context.  Word of mouth is, and will always be, more powerful than any message or campaign your marketing department can push to the public.

My Question is This
What are you, as a company leader, doing to make it easy and rewarding for armies to speak about your brand in their own voice?  If the answer is nothing, you may have communications challenges to address.  You may even be working in an opaque company.  In this economy, that’s bad news.

Here’s some free advice.

Address your communication challenges sooner, rather than later.  The world is changing.  The way we do business is changing. The way we communicate is changing.  If you and your company refuse to change, the armies will march right by you and never even give you a second look.