I just had an interesting conversation with David Alston when I was visiting Radian6‘s office this last week, and it’s something that’s been on my mind for a long time. So I’m going to try and put it into words, just in case someone else is feeling the same thing (because I’d like to know).

I’ve been in marketing and communications for nigh on 12 years or so now, in one form or another. And I can say without reservation that social media is the first communiations approach I’ve worked within on a professional basis that finally clicked with me. Why?

customer contact

As a corporate marketer, I was always stashed in an office somewhere and given little real contact with the customers and clients to whom I was being expected to communicate. I made lots of educated assumptions for what they wanted – based on surveys, feedback forms, “brand attributes” – but I was missing the key component of real contact and honest feedback that would have let me hear about our company in our customers words.

honesty

I can’t think of another word. I feel like social media compels honesty, from both businesses and customers alike. The very act of communicating more openly strips down pretense and starts getting at the real reasons why customers and clients love or hate a company. Companies have to face their shortcomings, and likewise (gasp) customers must be accountable when they drag a brand through the mud lest that brand be paying attention and more than willing to engage and correct misconceptions.

humanity

Not in the kumbaya sense, but how I can finally stop talking in “messages” or “attributes” and start speaking like a real human being to the people that are interested in knowing about my company, helping us improve, or complimenting us. I don’t feel like a set of guidelines and bullet points, but a real person who is empowered to do what *she* does best, which is to find the right words and the right means to communicate with people on their terms. Seems simple, but it often isn’t.

broader company understanding

Especially in my role now, I feel like I have better touchpoints throughout my *own* company that help me understand what we do and why we do it. Because social media avenues encourage me to provide information on everything from customer service opportunities to business development to product improvement, we all communicate better. We’re more open and intertwined internally, and that’s something I’ve never quite felt before sitting in the marketing director’s office.

accomplishment

I’ve learned that when I’m focused on communicating and stewarding my brand with all of the above approaches, I don’t feel like anything I do is a waste of time. I’m not mired in the logistics of yet another mediocre mailing. I’m not left wondering if what I’m saying or doing is being accepted or rejected. I *see* it, every day, when I talk to people. Even the emails I go through each day make me feel like I’m moving something forward, opening another avenue for communication with someone. It feels remarkably like progress, even the little things.

I’m not even sure I’m articulating this well, but the point is that as a “marketer” this is one of the first times in my career that I felt like I had purpose, direction, and a real connection with the impact I’m having. Marketing can sometimes feel like you live inside your own brand fishbowl, and now, I’m far more organic about my approaches to things, and I feel so much less….forced.

I know this didn’t necessarily give you tactics, but for me, it shines a light on the morale aspect of making your communications, customer support, and management folks the feeling that they’re really connecting with the people they come to work for every day.

Should that part matter? What’s your take?

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