“Ladies and gentlemen, I’m sorry to bother you, but I think you’ll want to know that we have a star among us. Not yet, but it’s certain that one day, this young man will become a well-known artist. Abraham is nine years old and he’s created a superb drawing that shows his exceptional talent. I’m going to display it so that we can all enjoy it!”

Imagine the joy that the child and his parents felt when Becky hung up the drawing with the help of Band-Aids.

This enjoyable anecdote, reported in the book “The Now Revolution” by Jay Baer, is not a happy accident. It is an example of what makes a truly social company.

As IBM describes it, social business isn’t just a company that has a Facebook page and a Twitter handle. A social business is one that embraces and cultivates a spirit of collaboration and community throughout its organization—both internally and externally.

Like any talented chef will tell you, great meals are based on quality ingredients. To become a social business, there are several recipes that principally, but not exclusively, use social media. Here are the five basic ingredients.

Culture. Without a business culture marked by openness, sharing, and experimentation, a social business is unthinkable. Everything comes from this. The rules and values of the business should offer a framework that encourages initiatives like the one by Becky. Does your business have this type of culture? Do your actions really reflect these values? Or do your values simply serve to pad your mission statement?

Recruitment. Today, every employee is a spokesperson, and a business should be happy to have so many messengers. Nevertheless, this is a non-negligible aspect during recruitment: you must find curious, enthusiastic, humble, patient employees with sound judgment. You must also instill in them the business culture, show them the behaviors that they can adopt and embrace, and, above all, trust and empower them.

Organization. Certain businesses think that a Facebook presence is sufficient for being social, and they often entrust this task to an inexperienced employee. The decision should come from management and be the focus of strategic reflection, to put into place the structure that will allow them to broadcast the principles and actions that are at the heart of the business. As with branding, unity and deftness are necessary.

Listening or observation. To be able to talk about Abraham, Becky had to demonstrate a certain sense of observation. This seems simple, but numerous examples lead us to believe that this idea is a difficult one for businesses to master.

Courage. Management should have an ample dose of courage for choosing and maintaining this course, because there will be trials and errors. It also takes courage to demonstrate openness when all is going well—and when things are not going as well.

Certain businesses, like Southwest Airlines, know how to adopt a philosophy inspired by social media. They understand that the advantages of opening themselves up, of sharing, and of engaging with their clients surpass the disadvantages. They do not limit themselves to doing social actions; they are social businesses.

Published on PRDaily

This year marks my own 20-year milestone in public relations and communications, and I remember the days of internships and job-hunting vividly. In those days, we were hungry to put our newly developed skills to work. However, as I answered rapid fire questions from these curious young people, I couldn’t help but notice the shift that has occurred since I started in this profession. The ambition and curiosity is still there. But what’s different is that this new generation wants to work in organizations that respect and value their diverse opinions, lifestyles and personal brands. Now, it’s a two-way street.

Values-oriented firms, like CASACOM, are incredibly appealing because we have aligned ourselves with a new way of working that appreciates the whole person, not just the person you are at work. Passion, joy and humanity come first as core values, and the rest follows. This is a departure from two decades ago, when values and culture wasn’t even part of our decision-making criteria.

As we seek more balance in our lives, and feel more valued in our work, I hope that this next generation will demand – and not settle for anything less – than complete authenticity. Our profession, and our clients, depend on it.

So I ask you: what matters most to you as you seek a fulfilling career?

The title of her talk, “New communication, better organization,” clearly showed her favour of social enterprises. She discussed essential ingredients for any organization that aspires to be social. She identified: company culture, recruiting, organization, courage and listening. Examples cited include: the STM, the CBC, the École de technologie supérieure (ETS), Dell, Southwest Airlines and McDonald’s.

To learn more I invite you to view her presentation or watch the presentation here (in French).

Like many industries, the legal industry is in transition.  While globalization tops the list, marketers at professional services firms are considering how they market and sell services.  The question we asked ourselves was: Is this a time when we should be sharpening our existing tools or embracing non-conventional thinking? For most, the answer was Yes (to both!) We debated analytics, measuring business impact, branding and the impact of social media on customer decision-making – just to name a few topics.

However, one of the most surprising opportunities raised by the panel was not about how to market the “external” brand per se, but about marketing the brand internally, to employees.  It was clear that this is unexplored – and high-potential territory.

As an expert in internal branding and organizational change, I have seen firsthand how important employee behaviour is to build authentic, trusted brands.  Even though we experience brands in many ways, I believe that  the most critical – and credible – touch points are employees.  I’ve worked with many organizations over the years to build internal communications programs, integrate social media, activate brands internally and engage leaders and managers through behavioural change programs.

From my experience, there is one thing I know: when the people in an organization understand their brand, they have the ability to create truly memorable experiences and relationships that ultimately drive loyalty and enhance business performance. This is true in both business-to-business (B2B) and in business-to-consumer (B2C) environments. Without a proper internal brand strategy in place, “culture eats strategy for breakfast.”

I invite you to think about your internal brand, how you are communicating your brand to your employees and engaging them as active participants in your business. Do they know what your brand stands for? Can they tell your story? Maybe it’s time to find out.

Our new marketing communications manager, Valerie Jolivet, has 13 years of experience in public relations. She knows the marketing of consumer product brands and the organization of major events inside and out… Creative, organized and passionate, Valerie brings tons of ideas, a joie de vivre and a lot of energy. In short, she can move mountains! To learn more about our new colleague, read her bio as well as her popular personal blog (in French).

We also had the pleasure to welcome Karine Sauvé, as director, corporate communications. For 10 years, Karen worked in the House of Commons in Ottawa for the Bloc Quebecois. After starting as research assistant, she served for eight years as Gilles Duceppe’s Press Attaché and Media Relations Manager of the parliamentary wing. After so many years of juggling multiple files with such intensity, Karine knows strategic communication and crisis management. An outstanding advisor, Karine impresses through her insight, reliability and commitment. Her career path will certainly interest you.