It’s always hard to admit to imperfections and perhaps understandably so when ‘goodwill’ is literally at stake, so is it really any wonder that eight out of 10 British firms are yet to embrace social media?
The harsh reality is social media is still a pretty perilous place, where public dressing downs are not uncommon for corporates or politicians alike. Friends and foes, shareholders and competitors are also at liberty to listen in, requiring yet more dimensions to be added to some already complex strategic games.
However, another perspective on this dilemma is that the sooner certain brands and firms get on board, the better equipped they will be in the future, to deal with the inevitable innovations and subsequent uncertainties destined to arise. Lessons learned now, the hard way, will also be invaluable, and are currently likely to have fairly limited repercussions while the pond remains relatively small.
Rather then, the short term question is: which brands and businesses would be most suited to engage with social media right now?
At first glance, one would think those brands and businesses that claim to be customer centric, but that claim has become so widely used, that it is almost meaningless in the context of this article. Similarly, having the social skills to interact effectively, efficiently and elegantly with stakeholders in private, let alone in public, is really quite a rare skill. Yet, the opportunity to shine through actions, rather than just marketing, is there.
A second thought is for those who claim to have honesty and integrity at the very core of their organisational values, and this would indeed be a very natural fit. It might even suggest that Bernhard Warner’s eleventh commandment to corporate tweeting is right on the button:
“We will use our Twitter channel not just to bump out cheery news, but to keep customers informed in the event of bad news (i.e., a product recall, a hostile take-over, a PR crisis), too.”
The real measure of whether we have reached enlightenment in society will therefore be when the shareholder value actually increases as a result of such open, honest communication.
Perhaps it is not the foolish who might rush in, but the very wise and courageous instead?
the silver trumpet 