Updating your Communication Style
Ok, so a shareholder meeting must generally remain within the codes of tradition and press releases on serious matters must maintain a certain minimum decorum. However, not all corporate communications must follow the hyper professional and rational standard. For the more evolved companies and brands, it is my belief that one of the more important roles of Corporate Communications is to help personalize and personify the corporate message. As pointed out in this well crafted note on BNET about tips for better customer conversations, is to focus on the individuals, not the company.
Communications must get more personal
Comms Must Get More Personal – ©Myndset
It is my conviction that CEOs and the larger C-suite must ramp up their personal presence online. To the extent that CEO’s of larger companies have still not fully transitioned their mindset to the digital world and, therefore, have decided not to dedicate the necessary time to creating their own personal presence online (i.e., their eReputation), the job will fall to the Corporate Communications team. Their role? Not only to convince the boss, but to mastermind the presence. It is my conviction that the eReputation of a company should include the personal presence of the boss(es) online — at least someone in the C-suite.
Aside from anything, when the boss learns the intricacies of how social media work and how/why engagement happens, the chances are that he/she will have much better insights as to how to drive the overall media strategy. Moreover, being personally present online will expose (in a positive way) the internal culture of the company to potential recruits. Finally, being actively present online could also help in times of an eCrisis, providing a somewhat more “believable” platform from which to communicate.
The question is: does the Corporate Communications team have the right profile to convince and support the upper hierarchy?
One of the most powerful (and age-old) vectors of change comes from the example set by the top brass. As companies lurch forward into social media marketing, having a C-suite penning his/her own blog — replete with personal feelings, insights and responses — is a great way to encourage the employees and open up the social media floodgates.
What is your opinion? Please do share your thoughts!
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