Back

PM Forum - Birmingham

Making Social Media work for your firm

Ten years in to the age of the World Wide Web, we’ve reached a new and powerful era of blogging and we all need to get in the game and exploit the technology or seriously jeopardise our ability to communicate with our stakeholders.

In his presentation to the Forum in Birmingham Matthew Yeomans, director of Custom Communication, said that people have always wanted to give their opinions for free, and now they can through social media channels – Blogs, Podcasts, RSS, Social Networks and Wiki’s among others.

There are 100 million shared videos on YouTube, 55 million people worldwide have their own blogs, and MySpace is the fifth most visited website in the World. These figures can’t be ignored, people have been given the power to self publish and this volume and ability is changing our world through its huge affect on the media, and therefore on us as communicators.

So how does this translate to our businesses? How do we take advantage of these channels? Why buy in to technology and communication channels that are changing so rapidly that none of us can keep up?

It’s about creating dialogue and connections. Traditionally people’s views and opinions have been ‘controlled’ and their feedback limited but this can no longer be the case.

People’s blogs have managed to change corporate policy and dictate TV scheduling. Other companies have lost millions because they didn’t listen to the voices that they should have. Using social media tells your customers, clients and employees that you’re interested in their views and opinions as this is invaluable.

Matthew stressed that every company should be doing social audits to find out what’s being said about them and their clients, and by whom, and then find the best way to communicate their own messages.

He emphasised that these channels won’t work without engaging the right audience however. Updating blogs is hard work, and you shouldn’t buy in to it if you’re not going to be able to do it properly. You need to identify a set audience that cares about what you do, and provide only information that counts.

Giving a human face to a company has a huge impact on the way that company is viewed. People can be offered a connection and understanding and what you do through social media, and used internally, disenfranchised employees are given the ability to have a voice.

But most importantly, Matthew said the key to having your say is authenticity – to project a voice, it has to be real.

Alison Garrett
PR Account Manager, M Consulting

Back