If you do there are some things I’d recommend you thinking about first. Or if you’re too impatient you can skip to the end.

Content is King

We all understand that content is king but we also need to understand the important differences in how different types of content flow through the Web and are consumed by different audiences.

Not all content is created equal and what’s good content to one person is noise to another.

In the very early days of Communication research social scientists quickly realized that you couldn’t have influence without measurement. Without the work up front to establish a base line, identify target audiences and then measure the delta on that group you are just wasting your time. This is where the industry of Public Relations was born from. It’s time to get back to our roots.

Listen and Engage

How often when in a conversation with someone can you sense that they are only listening for their opportunity to jump in and say what they have to say? As communicators how often do we do this with our customers?

We need to be active listeners, engaged in the process. Every interaction doesn’t have to have KPI’s attached to it. We don’t have to insert our messages into every conversation. Public Relations needs to get back to building relationships.

We are used to building relationships with the media. Now that everyone is the media we need to broaden the scope of our relationship building.

Influence has never been more important. The greatest effects of influence will be felt inside your company. For those of us at agencies the greatest damage we can do to our clients is by not insisting they serve an active role in their social media efforts. If they aren’t you are robbing them of the greatest benefits of social media and that’s the change that will happen inside their company.

Pushing Social Media to the Front Ranks

In PR we’re used to acting behind the scenes. We have to step out and join the conversation. It is no longer a two way engagement between our brand (or clients brand) and their customers. We are now facilitators of conversation. It is now a many to many dialogue.

Insurgency’s are almost impossible to beat because every single insurgent knows the strategy and is empowered to act on their own. We need to fuel the insurgence within our own companies. Every member of our company down to the front line needs to know the strategy and be empowered to act on it.

This does not mean that everyone has to have highly ranked blogs and thousands of followers on Twitter. It does mean everyone had to know how to use the tools and be strategic with them.

Where to Start

Start by putting your own house in order. Use the various tools out there to monitor Twitter (shameless plug for Twendz).

Look around at your team. Who gets it? Who’s using it, personally or professionally.

Who are you and your team connected to? Who’s in your sphere of influence?

Who should be? Build those relationships.

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