‘Social media does not take well to intervention’

There are brand keepers on social media and they are working to ensure that brands communicate correctly and properly at all times. But as the platforms open up to larger and larger circles, communication will get controversial. There are bound to be issues that will influence people (for or against) a brand and companies must be ready to deal with those.

Do I think that social media needs to be controlled? Well, I don’t think one can do that but one must definitely look at taming it, as it were, in certain cases or within certain areas where an incendiary comment or remark can be used by motivated people. But social media does not take well to intervention. Take AI, people have come out in its favour, but the organisation preferred to keep silent on social media. (The chairman supported his employees and managed to get the support of other airlines and the government over a proposed no-fly list.) Completely opposite was the impact of an intervention that UA did to stem public ire. The problem arises when you try and intervene with the aim of forcing a desired result. Rebuttals are problematic.

Take the problem of Hindustan Unilever and Fair & Lovely. As a keeper of the product and the brand, the company was right to keep quiet, but it does not mean that it should not address the core issues around the use of the product.

How important is social media to a brand’s communication? Based on the research that we have done, social media reach requires a nuanced understanding of the issue. In general social media helps improve brand recall, but message penetration on the medium is minimal. Reading and retention is very poor on social media. Still that does not mean that brands can ignore its growing and vast presence.

I do think there is need for an Advertising Standards Council of India kind of an organisation for social media. However, I am not sure how this can be done or whether it can be done at all. We must however understand that on social media we all have the responsibility to function in the space of ‘service to society’ in addition to incorporating elements of commerce. If it is to turn ‘conscience keeper’, as recent developments indicate it must act responsibly and allow independent thought to flourish.