Given that we’ve now started to talk in print media about “social communication”, we should really explain what we mean by it.
As we see it, social communication is just ‘public relations’, revitalised.
PR was largely an attempt to control relationships with the public on a ‘one to many’ basis - which was fine when all we had were broadcast channels.
But social media now enables ‘many to one’ communication too - the crowd suddenly got empowered. Finally, we have the potential for dialogue…
Initially the role of social communications is to facilitate these emerging “many-to-one-to-many” conversations - listening to stakeholders, understanding their needs, and crafting new opportunities for collaboration and change.
Crucially, today’s social communicators understand that brands increasingly need to act as brokers of ideas, and facilitators of conversation between different stakeholders. They need to be much less intrusive than in the days of PR.
Over time, the best and most successful brand stewards will step out of their stakeholders’ way entirely, allowing many-to-many conversations to take place with minimal intrusion or intervention. The best brands will behave like the ultimate party hostess - setting the tone, checking everything is on hand; making great introductions, ejecting disuptive elements and becoming largely invisi……