Imagine.

In the last entry, we talked about how Listening is the vital first step when embarking on any strategic communications plan.  Only when we have done a thorough job of listening are we ready to take the next, exciting step – Imagine.

This is the part that creative types love.  We get the chance to imagine how we can provide value and become part of the lives of those we seek to connect with.  Imagining is fun stuff, especially when you possess some good intelligence that guides you on what kind of challenge your imagination is working to solve. 

I originally chose this word because I wanted to help convey the idea that there is life in social media outside of Facebook and Twitter.  See, if every client just needed to create a Facebook page and Twitter account to check off ‘Social Media’ as done on their list, that wouldn’t leave very much room for creative thinking about how to engage people.  Imagine is a word that opens up a world of possibilities and is disruptive to the status quo.

Our imagination allows us to come up with creative solutions that can take our strategy in a totally different direction from where we thought we were going when we started.  This is where we can have the most impact if we really let our minds open up and run wild.  Until we imagine something, it will not manifest.

Once we have gone through the process of imagining how to provide value, how to join the conversations, and how to create mutually beneficial situations for ourselves and others, strategies for meeting these goals are able to emerge. Fun stuff, right?

In the next step, we Connect.  This is where the rubber meets the road.