May 2019

By Sandra Macleod, Group CEO

With the author of the latest FT Guide on Social Media Strategy, Martin Thomas, the OECD’s director of Public Affairs, Anthony Gooch and the President of the Page Society, Roger Bolton, the light and the dark side of the social world were explored.

Some of the key take-aways from this high protein content and rich exchange:

• Put that megaphone down – it all starts with active and careful listening
• As most boards are digitally illiterate, it’s time to think more purposefully and strategically about how and why you are engaging on social platforms
• Insight and evidence are useful in real-time feedback, issues management, and stakeholder mapping
• Know the 90% who follow, the 9% who share and the 1% who create
• Fake news travels 6x faster than fact
• Moral-emotional language increases diffusion
• Bots generate ~52% of all online traffic
• Communication leaders should follow the commtech progress path – from practitioner focusing on content engagement to pacesetter driving culture
• Don’t hand it over to the ‘youngest members of the team’ – train your experienced customer service executives to manage social conversations with tact, judgement and empathy
• Get the right culture, and the tweets look after themselves
• Refresh skills and retrain to be relevant in this changing world
• It’s not about the digital, it’s about the social - become a societal compass by connecting with citizens purposefully and with humanity

“Having wrestled with this topic, my own conclusion is that social media presents more opportunities than threats. But it can be a close run thing. The threats are real and need to be confronted: a point Anthony made very clearly.” – Peter Morgan, Echo Chamber participant

Know what you’re dealing with.  And aim for better.

Please contact us if you would like a copy of the presentation slides.