Flickr.com, CCL, Noah Sussman

A few days ago, Zack Brandit made an interesting point on the power of Enterprise 2.0 in organisation on his blog, zackbrandit.com.

In his post, Zack talked about potential problems in collaboration for organisations that go from start-up to established corporation and how social media can provide a (partial) answer to some of those.

It got me to thinking: what is the potential of social media when it comes to branding through people ? One of Zack’s comments really brought it home for me:

“I know this may sound unrealistic and I do not wish to be viewed as pedantic, but before a company can pretend to be customer centric, it should start by focusing on its work environment and employees. This is where Brand Engagement starts, or should we call it Brand Engagement 2.0?

Enterprise2.0 solutions might just be the little push needed to achieve greater effectiveness, productivity and accountability, while at the same time gaining in transparency and include more social values inside the company.”

I can definitely see the potential for social media to add a new dimension to corporate communications, and help organisations create true buy-in:

• Less suspect – where traditional “mainstream” corporate media (e-mail, newsletter) are often viewed as a corporate mouthpiece, social media may – for now – still be viewed as more authentic methods of communicating, provided they are used in the right way;
• Two-way – social media allow for two-way (rather than one-way) communication. As such, they can play an important role in improving not only the distribution but more importantly the understanding and feedback of messages;
• Networked – social media can be used to communicate towards those all-important unofficial communication networks, especially those that people join or create themselves (i.e. opt into). This ensures messages reach the right set of stakeholders, which would in some cases be impossible using regular channels. For an example, think CFOs working across borders;
• Permitted – in line with the principles of permission marketing, as people opt to join a specific network, they are likely to be more open to your messages. Where corporate e-mail may often get deleted, or simply not read, people may be more likely to pay attention with social media;
• Informal – typically, social media allow you to be more informal in your messaging, creating a tone of voice that fosters an atmosphere of inclusion and connection;
• Collaborative - finally, social media allow you to go much further than mere communication, encouraging feedback and collaboration.

 The real question with social media is: how much openness is your organisation ready for ? 

 In corporate environments that are used to honest and straightforward communication, social media could well prove to be a useful extra tool in the communicator’s shed, bringing added benefits that would be difficult to get through other channels.