Why Corporates Need to be Social Media Savvy in a 24/7 World Driven by Technology

Why Social Media is Here to Stay and is the Future for Firms of All Sizes and Scale

We live in a world that is driven by technology and operates in a 24/7 manner. With the preeminent importance of social media in all walks of life and the ability to make content go viral the nomenclature of success in the present times, it is important for corporates to be on Top of the Social Media Game.

Indeed, it is no longer a luxury or for that matter, a necessity, but, being social media savvy is critical and vital to the success and even existence of any firm.

If corporates do not have a Social Media presence, they are as good as Zombies in the Virtual World. Moreover, having a Social Media presence by itself is not enough, and what counts is how savvy and agile they are as far as Social Media Marketing, Social Media Selling, and Social Media driven organizational strategies are concerned.

This is the reason why many SMEs or Small and Medium Enterprises are basing their entire business and communications strategies around Social Media as they unlike Big Firms do not have the resources for multi channel sales and marketing.

The Evolution of Corporate Communications and the Emergence of Direct Marketing

Continuing the point made above, it is clear that Social Media cuts both ways as it is a cost effective and yet, at the same time, needs investment of time and effort in maintaining social media accounts and ensuring up to date updates.

In other words, while anyone can have a Social Media presence on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram, it is only those who are able to master the intricacies and the nuts and bolts of being savvy that succeed.

Indeed, this applies for both individuals and corporates as just about anybody who is somebody has a Social Media Presence and what distinguishes the Winners from Losers is how effective they are on Social Media.

While historically, Corporate Communications Functions were measured by the impact that they had on communicating and liaising with the Media, in the present times, the Middle Layer of mediating between the Firms and Media is redundant.

Corporates can now communicate directly with their customers, suppliers, and other stakeholders instead of relying in Print and TV channels.

Moreover, they can also integrate their marketing functions with the Social Media Teams so as to derive Synergies and attain Scale at the same time, thereby multiplying reach.

How Big and Small Firms are Embracing Social Media and How They Monetize Content

Indeed, being Social Media Savvy has become so important that many Corporates now publish what were hitherto known as Press Releases on Facebook and other sites for Instant Updates as well as for Responses to Ongoing Events.

This cuts both ways as such updates inform the world about latest product launches and the like and at the same time, corporates sometimes have to respond to allegations and charges against them.

So, it is not a One Way Street as far as Social Media Communications are concerned. In addition, even Big Firms are now turning to Social Media for direct sales and marketing.

For instance, right from Luxury Brands such as Coco Chanel to Smartphone Makers such as Samsung, these firms now sell direct to consumers using Social Media.

While these firms use Social Media as one of the Channels for such purposes on the other end of the Value Chain, small firms find that Social Media Selling reduces costs and increases sales through Better Reach and smart Customer Segment Targeting thereby giving them a Double Whammy of Gains.

No wonder Facebook has ambitious plans for monetizing such strategies by its users for its benefit and selling on YouTube is profitable.

Cancel Culture, Fake News, and the Perils of Viral Content That Can Undo Firms

Having said that, there are some perils of excessive reliance on Social Media as the medium is yet to reach the stage where it can be considered as being Credible in Gold Plated Consistency.

In other words, with so much disinformation and misinformation on Social Media, corporates have to be Careful about What They Wish for in terms of leveraging the medium.

Fake News spreads fast on Social Media and the Phenomenon of Cancel Culture means that posts that go viral in minutes have the ability to Damage their Prospects.

Indeed, as can be seen in the way in which Celebrities, Brands, and Firms all have had to face Boycotts and Cancellations on Social Media, there are definite downsides as well.

Zomato, Titan, and Netflix are some of the brands that have faced the ire of social media users in recent months for religious and political reasons and there are lessons to be learnt for others from the experiences of the Cancel Culture Victims.

This is the reason we used the term Social Media Savvy as Suaveness on Social Media means the ability to Push Marketing Messages Effectively as well as React and Respond in Real Time to Negative Posts.

Emerging Digital Age

Last, Social Media is here to stay and with Virtual and Augmented Reality making their presence felt, we are not far from the time when Social Media becomes the Message Rather than the Medium Only.

Therefore, we predict that entire business models would be built around Social Media in the future.

As the saying goes, the Early Bird Catches the Worm and hence, those corporates who start now would have the First Mover Advantage that can help them Vault over the Pole.

To conclude, our Smartphone Driven World needs Corporates to reorient themselves to the emerging Digital Age around us.