It may say something about me (the voyeur/research geek) that I’ve been eagerly awaiting the 2010 Edelman Trust Barometer results to see how the recession has impacted trust in business. I have to admit, I was surprised at how quickly trust seems to be bouncing back from the gutter that was 2009 (caveat: 70% of respondents think companies will go back to “business as usual” once conditions improve). For Comms, the most important finding may be the last one, focused on how companies can really earn that trust.  Long story short: engage with everyone, all the time.

This conclusion would probably bring even the most superhuman communicators to their knees. Something has got to give. In my humble opinion, Comms needs to stop trying to push more messages into more channels in an outdated hub-and-spoke model.  Instead, Comms needs to motivate stakeholders to share information about the company with their peers. This not only makes universal, 24/7 engagement more physically possible; it also happens to be a more effective way to generate trust and support for your organization.

Here are a couple of things we’re seeing from leading Communications teams that reflect this line of thinking:

• Designing all messages to “flow” by focusing on relevant, shared interests with the audience, and making them simple, engaging, and clear enough for stakeholders to easily share
• Actively managing advocates to connect with others on behalf of the organization (CEC members: register for our Feb 9 webinar on this topic, featuring the Red Cross)
• Structuring the function for an integrated, coordinated approach to communication across stakeholder groups (CEC members: see how Ford has fully integrated Communications and Marketing and achieved a 40% increase in Comms budget)

We’re actively investigating these ideas as part of CEC’s major research initiative for 2010.  I’d love to hear from you if you have any examples of adapting your function and activities for the networked environment (or don’t believe you should).  Contact me directly to arrange an interview, or leave your comments here to kick off an open conversation with your peers.