Regular readers of this blog know that we’re big fans of Brian Solis. He is someone for whom we have a huge amount of admiration and respect. He has an in-depth knowledge of social media, understands the human side of it, as well as the business application.

He has an excellent blog post today: The Last Mile: The Socialization of Business. It is most definitely worth a read. In fact, if you only read one thing today (besides the AHA blog), read this post!

We are currently in the process of working with several clients to develop their communications strategy and this blog post will be of great value to these teams. One of the biggest challenges that organizations face when it comes to integrating social media into their overall communications plan is making the shift from pushing out information to engaging in the conversation and understanding that the channels of communication are – at the very least – two way.

When a client has just begun to explore and understand social media, we often counsel them to spend a great deal more time listening than beginning to engage. During the initial stage, we often ask several people in a client’s organization to head out online to find brands that matter to them on a personal level and to engage with those organizations through social media.  We then ask them to report back on how they felt about the approach and the engagement from the consumer perspective. It’s surprising how that small assignment can change how they view social media in their professional role.

Brian is right when he looks at the importance of a brand or organization connecting with consumers in an authentic and relevant manner. It isn’t an easy culture shift for many organizations, but it is crucial that you start to move into this approach and help to weave it throughout your entire organization.

What do you think – is your organization ready to embrace the socialization of business?