Not only is social media a great way to communicate your brand, but more often, the real value gets bestowed upon us through our listening and trust building.  

We often hear that social media is about building communities.  One of the best ways for us to have people voice their concerns to us is via our communities.  We can start conversations to understand what is important to our best customers.  We can strengthen our offerings which attract more customers who fit the profile of our best customers.  And, we can reduce the barriers to these customers seeking our services.

Interestingly, it seems that our listening efforts is one of those appreciated activities.  The recent article Building Trust Through Brand Monitoring shows us some statistics about how we can increase trust levels through micro-blogging.

And, more than that, people are often glad that we were listening and made some adjustments to our product or service delivery.  We aren't always appreciated for our listening.  But, often, this is also true in real life.  More often than not, people were glad we were listening even if we don't get the huge standing ovations that go along with our innovative solutions. 

And, note that when we aren't really focused on serving our customers, people notice the difference.  The statistics show that people feel that the listening is just for show.  How often have we heard that?  So, its not just a realm where we pay lip service to say we are involved with social media.   The conversations are real and what people say here is also real.

Some of best ways for listening and active responses to happen is via our most loyal customers or advocates within the community.  They will often share experiences or insights that may contradict someone's poor experience or indicate to them that their personal experience may not have been a typical experience.  This will offer a company another opportunity or it may offer the person some clarity as to the difference in their expectations vis-a-vis their peers as to what the service may entail.  From time-to-time, haven't you encountered someone who may have had quite a different expectation and experience from what everyone expected?

Lastly, I took notice that privacy is very important.  Evaluate your social etiquette, privacy policy and procedures around acquiring permission for both social media and email marketing.  In general, the rule of thumb is to give before you'll receive the permission you seek.

Reference to a comment someone made, may be important when thanking them for their suggestion.  Sometimes, it can be odd being thanked.  It's rare when people openly tell you that they have changed their thoughts because of comments you have made. 

Listening is a gift we don't often receive.  And, change is even more difficult to accomplish.  When we get thanked for thoughts that lead to real changes, it's going to be a little bit of a pleasant surprise! 

So, whether you're listening or communicating, we all have some personal and pleasant rewards ahead for participating in the community.