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Social media has caused a massive shift in the way we communicate, and that shift is extremely important when it comes to giving your company exposure to potential customers and partners. TMC CEO Rich Tehrani (News - Alert) spoke to marketing communications agency Comunicano, Inc. about the changes in media communications as part of the recent On the Road series in San Jose, Ca.

Andy Abramson (News - Alert), CEO of Comunicano, said the first thing his company does is to look at the story positioning and messaging needs of their clients, and then take things forward from there. The company, which serves a variety of private and public clients, focuses on the telecom/mobile/collaboration/video sector but has also branched out to serve customers in the sports, automotive and consumer products arenas.

“We're able to bring value into the executive suite and help them drive shareholder value or investor value,” said Abramson. He cited Mitek Systems (News - Alert), a public company that has been trying to create interest from customers and investors. When Comunicano began working with them in February of 2010, their stock was trading in the 50-cent range, at an all time low. They began an outreach plan in March, and the company's stock recently traded in the $9 range.

According to Abramson, Mitek is producing breakthrough technology and also rolled out a mobile payment program for customers, all of which make them an appealing customer for Comunicano. “They've done a great job at selling into the integrators and into the banks across America. We like that, and they didn't have to worry so much about investor relations like some companies try to. They just told their story well.”

When it comes to social media, Abramson notes a number of trends. He describes the rise of reality reflectors, those who take a story and articulate it so it may be told and retold. Then he mentions what he calls “social mediologists,” a term he prefers to bloggers. This describes those who share information via Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn (News - Alert) and other social networks.

He also mentions the “reality benders,” those organizations who make seek to use blogs for financial gain or to hurt or slander competitors. He added that mediating among those groups is the key to getting a client's story told successfully.

Comunicano describes itself as a full-service asymmetrical marketing communications agency. The company offers marketing strategy, advertising, public relations, social media, promotion, events and reputation management for everyone from start-ups to companies in transition to established brands.

The company's perspective in reference to marketing, blogging and analyst, media, conference and public relations is that traditional methods are still viable. But to be effective in the “always on” environment of today, an organization's communications with its audience must be “bi-directional” and “asymmetrical” so as not to be easily duplicated by others.

Comunicano has initiated successful blogger-relations strategies for a number of technology companies including Nokia (News - Alert), Covad, GrandCentral and SightSpeed.