Points of View is our blog dedicated to exploring the critical corporate communications issues of the day through insights and videos of Fortune 500 business and communications execs, industry insiders and our team.
Leave a Reply
Recent Posts
- What’s Ahead in the New Year: The Expectation of Engagement
- Get Beyond Tasks At Hand When Making Your Next Hire
- Check the Attitude at the Door: The Responsibility of BU Comms Pros
- Part 3: Engagement Breaks Silos
- The Role of “Corporate” in a Comms Organization
- Part 2: The Seven Drivers of Integration are a Little Eclectic
- Part 1: Integration Matters
- The New CEO and the Power of Symbolism
- Brands Can Experiment On Google Plus, But Don’t Go Overboard
- The Evolution of Social Media Monitoring: A Vertical Approach to Listening
Video Posts
- The Weekly Pulse: 3/2/11
- PulsePoint Group Corporate Communication Index Series Part 7: Deeper Focus
- The Weekly Pulse: 2/23/11
- PulsePoint Group Corporate Communication Index Series Part 6: Change
- The Weekly Pulse: 1/26/11
- PulsePoint Group Corporate Communication Index Series Part 5: Managing Talent
- The Weekly Pulse: 1/19/11
- PulsePoint Group Corporate Communication Index Series Part 4: Governance
- PulsePoint Group Corporate Communication Index Series Part 3: Deeper Role
- The Digital Story of the Nativity
Tags
- Social Media
- Commentary
- video
- Leadership
- Reputation
- Tips
- Organizational Design
- Internal Communcations
- Trendspotting
- Crisis & Issues Management
- PR Education
- Talent
- 2010 Index
- Engaged Enterprise
- Professional Development
- Crowdsourcing
- Productivity
- PRWeek
- Compensation
- In the News
- Statistics
- Add new tag
- mobile
- The Weekly Pulse
- Innovation
- Collaboration
- Strategy
- media
- Media Relations
- Page Society
- SXSW '11
- Organization Design
- Resource Allocation
- CEO Counsel
- Influence
- Branding
- Financial Crisis
- Feedback
- Online Communities
- Guidelines & Regulations
- Digital Media
- Trust
- SEO
- Implementation
- Marketing
- Integration
- Managing Agencies
- Activism
- Agency Consolidation
- Ethics
- Grassroots
- FedEx
- Advertising
- Mission
- Apps
- Mashable
- CES
- 2011 Trends
- Foursquare
- Communication
- Search
- Content Creation
- Location
- Listening Center
- Arthur W. Page Society
- Influencer relations
- Communications
Archives
- January 2012
- November 2011
- September 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
- April 2011
- March 2011
- February 2011
- January 2011
- December 2010
- November 2010
- October 2010
- September 2010
- August 2010
- July 2010
- June 2010
- May 2010
- April 2010
- March 2010
- February 2010
- December 2009
- November 2009
- October 2009
- September 2009
- August 2009
- July 2009
- June 2009
- May 2009
- April 2009
- March 2009
- February 2009
- January 2009
- December 2008
- November 2008
- October 2008
- September 2008
- July 2008
- June 2008
- May 2008
- April 2008
- March 2008

The clock is ticking for comms pros to grab leadership of social media
Bob Feldman
September 21st, 2009
Originally published in PR Week
We’ve entered the next phase of social media. The experimenting is over. Social media has transformed our business; how companies communicate will never be the same. And I mean communicate in the broadest sense of the word, including marketing, customer engagement, market engagement for R&D and product development, etc.
From where I sit, many chief communications officers are helping to drive this change and will be at the forefront of this corporate transformation.
But I also see many who aren’t. The clock is ticking and it’s time to do what’s required to provide leadership.
The alternative: Marketing will do it for you.
I don’t believe any one person or function will or should “own” social media but there will be a need for corporate leadership. There will be a person or group seen as defining the future, setting strategy, approving/disapproving proposed approaches.
I desperately believe that the DNA of most public relations professionals is far better suited to drive corporate social media than the DNA of marketers. Why? We grew up understanding every day that our perspective and credibility had to be earned, that we needed to be honest, transparent and forthright all the time. We specialize in bridge-building and engagement. Most marketers grew up in a one-way model of advertising and promotion.
But…
Marketers are smart. They see what communications channels are effective and what are not. They see where they can have a greater impact going forward. Their smarts, creativity, metric orientation and customer-centricity are compelling. Now all they have to do is to learn and develop an appreciation for candor, dialogue and engagement.
It’s really not that hard.
My advice: Be sure you have a social media guru on your staff and by your side. If you don’t now, hire one. Then embed the skill throughout your organization. Develop formal 2010 plans that reflect the new communications reality. Develop metrics that are more closely aligned to business impact than you’ve ever had before. Drive social media thought leadership in your company.
It’s an exciting time. Embrace it! Or…
Bob Feldman is co-founder and principal of PulsePoint Group, a communications management consulting firm. He can be reached at bfeldman@pulsepointgroup.com. Bob’s monthly column focuses on management of the corporate communications function.
Tags: Commentary, Leadership, Social Media