In a previous post, “Social Business 101: Brands,” I talk about the first area of Social Business, brands, specifically the difference between brand identity and brand experience. The truth is that brands are for and to be experienced by people.
With that, let’s unpack what makes a business social: the people that make up a business and the consumers that interact with that business.
Where Would We Be Without Each Other?
People, as a label, is broad and far-reaching. However, without people, business deals would not be made; products would not be invented, produced or sold; services would not be purchased and used; customer service would be non-existent; and stories, ad campaigns and promotions would have no audience.
In order for something to be labeled “social,” a person-to-person transaction must take place. This implies two things:
1.) Social Businesses, and businesses in general, are not faceless entities that consumers attempt to connect with. They are a collective of individual people working within a specific corporate culture for the direct purpose of meeting goals and objectives strategically and efficiently.
2.) Consumers define the face of a Social Business by the identification and communication with a specific name and face of the actual human being that they connect with.
Internal or External Social Business is Dependent Upon People
Whether you are implementing Social Business Strategies internally between team members or externally between specific corporate departments and consumers, focusing upon the people involved on both sides of the communication divide will improve the effectiveness of your social attempts.
It also leads us into the third area of Social Business, which I will talk about in greater detail in a future post, trusted relationships. Without trust among people, Social Businesses will gradually lose their appeal, overall effectiveness and market share.
Never forgot. Life and business is all about people and how we treat them. As Luis Suarez affirms, “Don’t stop being social, it’s who we are.”