Article: From Social Media To Social Business

By Christopher Carfi

Social media, or perhaps we should call it "social business," is a sea change that will affect every aspect of the organization. Nowhere is this more evident than at the intersection between an organization and its customers. Customers, once solely at the "receiving" end of corporate communications, are now not only entering conversations with organizations but are, more importantly, increasingly entering into online conversations with each other around products and brands.

The best social media/social business efforts are pragmatic in nature. They tie to metrics that are relevant to the business. They connect to the fundamentals of communication and story telling. They are rooted in the things that should be of no surprise to business professionals. Yet, at the same time, social can be frightening to organizations that historically have relied up command-and-control based infrastructure.

Ultimately, social means bringing the right people together for the right reasons, and allowing them the freedom to do the right things to enable the business to flourish.

Originally published in IABC's Communication World, November 2009