Communicating the Social Way – Redefined:

Move around a coffee shop, and you’ll be hard-pressed to find people who don’t have their heads down using their cell phones to text, Tweet, or update their Facebook statuses—all while sharing a coffee with others at their table. Social media’s effect on our ability to interact and communicate is visible throughout all areas of society, so what does this mean for interpersonal communication?

Personal interaction is and has always been an important function of the human experience. Prior to the technological revolution and creation of personal computers and cell phones, relationships were typically developed and maintained by means of face-to-face interaction and verbal or written communication. Social media certainly affects how we engage with one another across ages. There has been a paradigm shift in the way we communicate; “We’d rather e-mail than meet; we’d rather text than talk on the phone. While emails and text messaging are a very convenient way to communicate, we are losing the personal touch as it relates to human interaction. Emails lack emotion and therefore can often be misinterpreted. Text messages resort to acronyms to avoid losing precious space in the limited character box. With technology, anyone can hide behind the text, the e-mail, the Facebook post or the tweet, projecting any image they want and create an illusion of their choice. They can be whoever they want to be.

Everyone is losing the personal touch that they use to get when having a face-to-face conversation. Studies show that only 7% of communication is based on the written or verbal word. A whopping 93% is based on nonverbal body language. Every relevant metric shows that we are interacting at breakneck speed and frequency through social media. But are we really communicating? With 93% of our communication context stripped away, we are now attempting to forge relationships and make decisions based on phrases, abbreviations, Snippets, Emoticons. Which may or may not be accurate representations of the truth.

Indeed, it’s only when we can hear a tone of voice or look into someone’s eyes that we’re able to know when “I’m fine” doesn't mean they’re fine at all…or when “I’m in” doesn't mean they’re bought in at all. With all the powerful social technologies at our fingertips, we are more connected – and potentially more disconnected – than ever before. 

Social Media – Influence on Brands

Social Media is fundamentally

transformative and is rapidly evolving the architecture of business, communications, and the dissemination of information and influence.Today, businesses that engage in social media are at least experimenting with the formidable, yet shifting landscape of intelligence and communication. Business are learning how to adapt and connect in a new world of conversation, networking, and influence.

As markets evolve, consumers gain a greater sense of adeptness and perspective. They too learn and adapt. In the process, individuals and the authoritative communities they form, possess a more sophisticated understanding of media literacy, community support, and prowess in new media communication. Consumers have choices and they’re increasingly practiced through natural selection.

In the new era of influence, those businesses that understand where and how to compete for the future will earn a genuine and advantageous position to shape and steer the perception, prominence, and impact of the brand. It is this idea of competing for attention where it is focused, as it evolves, that will help businesses connect with people and thus set a new, efficient, and effective foundation for advocacy and community.

As you interpret and process this information, it’s important to understand that the networks and adoption numbers aren't necessarily reflective of the strategies you should integrate and pursue. Everything is specific to the behavior, activity, and locations of your community and thus requires an initial listening and observation exercise and audit to uncover the answers to the questions you may have or don’t yet know to ask.

While brand hierarchy isn't necessarily established through social media alone, it is a highly concentrated and relevant amalgamation of integrated services, programs, and values that ultimately establish prominence.

In order to earn a place within online societies, we must first recognize where they’re emerging, flourishing, and thriving, and also how to engage through authentic and attested immersion