Socialmediaworx

More than ever before, your brand is being shaped by your employees and staff. The company blog, social networks and Flickr photos all play an increasingly key role in defining your company story and brand. And on the verge of Rohit’s upcoming book about organizational personality, Josh created a spectrum to identify if you bring a purist or more corporatist approach to social media:

10 = The groundswell is such a powerful force, the people in it will always prevail. All companies can do is watch and listen. Their employees can participate, but only as independent people. Corporate efforts are doomed to fail.

0 = Corporations have power because they have money. This groundswell thing is a flash in the pan and it doesn’t matter. If it gets too far out of hand we’ll buy it and make sure we control it.

I’d say I fall somewhere between 5 and 6. I don’t think every company needs to have an extremely purist or open approach to social media, and likewise, there some companies that would benefit from opening up more.

I think the key is for companies is to understand the expectations of their employees and customers and to work with them to develop appropriate standards. Anything less, and the brand suffers from a jarring disconnect.

Via  Jeremiah