Marketing is Dead, all hail Corporate Communication

Being social means be social

Companies have to be social beings out there. Sure giving discounts and posting your inventory online is one way. . .

A social being has a character, a face, a story, relations, goals and a heart. That’s what makes people identify themselves with a person, or here: a company. That is what makes people want to belong to you and buy from you. Are these traits better attended to in a Corporate Communication department then in a Marketing department? I think so. 

 

Connecting & Interacting

The whole social nature of the internet makes it possible to connect to audiences in new ways. It makes it vital to even remain in business. Never before has the importance of corporate content been higher in doing business than nowadays. The corporate identity gives depth and richness to the social activity. This goes well beyond product and price offerings. It reveals the heart and purpose of the company. People like to share stuff, so give them something worth sharing.

The online eco system is a network of influencers. They reach each other in every stage of the buying process.

Corporate Communication is part of the sales funnel.

 

 

Challenges for Corporate Communication in Social Media

I see three main challenges for Corporate Communication departments:

1. The publishing firm model

Publishing firms employ domain expert journalists, have the right tools and processes for regular publishing and own a multitude of sites and portals. Corporate Communication departments have to become much more like a publishing firm: firmly embedded into the knowledge centres of the company.

The alternative is to work together with publishers. Perhaps a model might be considered where publishing firms staff and equip corporate communication departments.

 

2. Measure & Optimize

Do what online marketeers have been doing all along: measure and optimize. Set targets on corporate content, e.g.: on reaching key journalists / bloggers, the number of shares, the number of quotes and references. And most importantly: have a feedback loop into your content creation process to actually improve the articles, posts, social activity and videos.

 

3. Connection with the Business

All communication efforts need to have a much clearer connection with the business aspects. This requires a new way of thinking and setting up communication projects: reaching influencers, monitoring and nudging public opinion, targeting the stages in the buying behaviour.

 

Is the social profile of a company best managed by Marketing or by Corporate Communication? What’s your take?