Where does your business stand on the adoption of social media? Has your organisation commenced the journey of becoming a social business? Do you know how to embrace social media to achieve social success?
The social media landscape in SA and the world is maturing in demographics and purpose - it is time for business to stop playing and get on top of their social strategy.
This is according to Kelvin Jonck, MD of youKnow, a local company which helps businesses to generate return on investment from their social media operations. He notes there is still a perception among many C-suite decision-makers that participating in social media is more of a hygiene factor, and an extension to marketing and PR, than a legitimate channel for success.
Jonck says South African business in general still approaches social media with caution. "Incredibly, there is still a fear by many corporate marketers that opening themselves up for public debate will leave them vulnerable. This paradigm has to change soon for them to realise the opportunity within the noise."
The long-term financial implications of going social are often not considered either, says Jonck, adding there is also a misconception that social media is cheap, and therefore appropriate budgets and tools are not always allocated to this sector.
He believes there are tremendous benefits for companies if they choose to drive the transformation journey to become social in today's connected world. When there is an enterprise-wide understanding of how the underlying principles of social media speak to most business end-goals, many firms will realise this medium can, and should, be used to leverage the masses for mutual gain, says Jonck.
"Tap into massive amounts of public opinion; mobilise super-fans to work for you; use it as a cheaper customer service channel than inbound call centres; and enable your customers to guide your product roadmap through transparent group discussion."
Jonck will be among international and local industry experts to participate in the ITWeb Social Business Summit 2015 conference and workshop, to be held in Johannesburg in October.
Click here to find out more and to indicate your interest in registering to attend.
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