Diane Hessan, CEO of Communispace Podcast

In April, 2009, we were fortunate to welcome BIF research advisor Diane Hessan to our office for a memorable event with more than 50 friends of BIF to talk about the role of community in the social media landscape. As president and CEO of Communispace—Diane helps global organizations build, manage, and facilitate private, online customer communities.

Leveraging social media for marketing is not for the faint of heart. There are real complexities to creating a meaningful online experience. And no matter what you hear, it’s not simply a matter of adopting the latest cool tool.

In this edited audio podcast, Diane draws upon her own experiences. Since 1999 her company has created and managed more than 300 private communities for clients such as Hallmark, GlaxoSmithKlein and Hewlett-Packard. Diane purposefully sidesteps the technology platform questions and instead provides us with unexpected insights into the development of Communispace. How do you build purposeful networks that foster strong relationships and long-term engagement? Some of her advice might just surprise you.

Podcasts are made available for listening here via the embedded Flash player. This recording is also available as a downloadable MP3 file. Comments are below. .