The Network Solutions sponsored Solutions Stars Video Conference (Oct. 29 at 1, don’t miss it!) features nine content themes:

This is the third of nine posts in nine days, offering thoughts on each section.

Start with Listening

One thing was a common theme amongst our Solutions Stars interviewees: The importance of listening as a fundamental pre-cursor to social media success cannot be underestimated. Of course, listening makes sense because it allows you to understand your business community’s preferences and needs. In many ways, this represents market research.

Many businesses are not used to listening. In a mass communications world, they’ve done most of the talking.

Yet new media presents a different set of rules. In social worlds, two-way communication is inherent allowing stakeholders to have equal footing with businesses and organizations. Failure to listen creates situations where stakeholders either act with anger, or simply turn deaf ears on the company.

Listening is not hard. It simply requires a biological sense of proportions: We all have two ears and one mouth. Something to consider.

Naked Conversations Author Shel Israel took time at last Sprind’s SNCR to discuss this important aspect of social media, including Dell’s example. Here is what he had to say:

Marketers who appear in Start with Listening:

In addition to the main site, please visit the Solutions Stars Video Conference event pages on Facebook and Upcoming:

• www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=33854706886
• upcoming.yahoo.com/event/1200021

This was post was modified from an original post that appeared on Now Is Gone last Spring.