Howdy fellas,

Did you miss me? Remember me? Sorry for the lenghty absece. These have been busy weeks for the good old Arrotino.

Don’t be fooled though, I have been busy teaching, attending conferences, coming up with new ideas and last but not least “Blogging”.

Some of you are already familiar with Pernicolo, where I tell the story of a clumsy father to be, writing to his (yet) unborn child. The story progresses as much as my own excitement (in italian, my kid doesn’t speak english yet!)

Blogging is indeed a personal tool, however it is undeniable that in Social world even companies must get personal. This is something I came to realize not only through my ow experiences, but also by talking to and sharing with good professionals such as Minter Dial @ The Myndset last week in Florence.

Thus I was attending the first Experience Tour 2010 organised by [ comfort zone ], one of the company I work with. Minter was the guest-star Social Media guru, and his presentation was superb! It was a priviledge sharing ideas with him. Mind you, we didn’t agree on everything; actually we do have different perspectives on some issues, however it was great questioning my beliefs thanks to his precious feedback. I wish I would be surrounded by more people like Minter, and sincerely hope we can carry on talking.

How important is it sharing your beliefs and ideas with others? Well, I guess we all agree on that! However both Minter and myself agreed on one concept: Brands must get personal! Here’s a great article written by Minter “How to make a sustainable, succesful brand”

Dunno about you… I’m sick and tired of the stupid TV commercial 80′s style, the ones that communicate idiot to idiots, the ones where fake clients dance and sing praises to companies like life would be impossible without. It’s a fake, even my GrandMother can tell, she would never dance to celebrate a bank! In my speach I said “Our stories tell who we really are better than any TV Commercial” and everyone agreed. It’s a cultural evolution that is already occurring in big corporations and Small enterprises alike, smart people in smart companies are complying accordingly favouring participation, transparency, listening and making communication personal rather than branded. They will be the winner.

Real Success will come to those who can generate the best stories, and those who will be able to co-create amazing stories with their clients.

Minter writes: …people is what drives the “social”… For some people, Facebook and the internet in general remain foreign, or at best, a waste of time. And it is not just the ‘older’ generations that say this. Last night I was presenting to a group of 100 or so people from around the world. The technical staff were wonderful and helpful, but one 20+ year old came up to me to say that it was a great presentation but he still didn’t want to get into Facebook. I said that he just had not yet found the good reason to go. Without understanding the ‘why,’ people will not necessarily just show up or jump in. They need to be shown the light in a language that agress with them!

Minter is absolutely right, companies have to find out “why and how people would engage” however I’m an extremist and do not agree that companies have necessarily to adapt to people and Social Media aproach. I believe in Listening, dialogue and asking questions, but companies (made by people) have to find their own genuine mean to express themselves according to the priciples of transparency, honesty and providing values with what they own (competence, know how and stories).

Firms must find their own language, chosing carefully where to engage and the people better suited for that engaging (possibly within their ranks, rather than external). Marketing cannot carry the bucket alone as we were used to. Asking “why” in my opinion is not enough; better ask “why not” upon the basis of the personal stories of both brand, clients and personnel.

It’s a cultural shift, moving away from an old approach and moving into a new world of possibilities. Whether it is true that each company must chose carefully which Social tools and network engaging, the paradox is simply solved according to one single variable: Stories!

Do you have emotional, experiencial, inspirational or even funny stories to tell? Don’t think twice, open yourself a Blog and start telling your stories, using Twitter, Facebook, Youtube & Co to find the right places to spread word of mouth. It is not only about what you sell, but also about who is selling and who is buying, their motivation, their beliefs, their experiences.

There are hundreds of stories there, happening while most companies are too busy spamming inboxes with unwanted push promotional offers. How long will it take before we understand it?!

Just create different stages, onto different platform, with different micriphones… and let your clients choose the ones that suit them best. Their Stories shall be instrumental in supporting your activities and increasing your sales.

Don’t you think?

Share this:

Related posts:

1. Hunting Stories for Social Media Business – Part 2
2. Social Media – sustainable engagement
3. Social Media questions and answers. Part 2
4. Social Media questions and answers. Part 1
5. Business re-think Strategies