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New face of media redefining acceptable corporate behaviour
Social media like Facebook, Twitter, and personal blogs have democratised public communications, making available information and open discussions about businesses. Photo/FILE
At a recent roundtable discussion, public relations practitioners, business personalities and journalists revealed the extent to which new media are influencing interactions of corporations with their publics.
Social media like Facebook, Twitter, and personal blogs have democratised public communications, making available information and open discussions about businesses that have for long been accustomed to a cloak of secrecy.
“The good old days where businesses had all the power and influence are over. In just 30-40 years, corporations have moved from a comfort zone where they decided what to tell the public through paid advertisements to the current situation where scrutiny comes from every direction,” said Mr David Robinson, CEO of Hill & Hamilton, an international public relations firm.
The user-created internet content has serious implications for Kenyan companies who are yet to appreciate the changing face of communications.
Kenyan bloggers are now posting their bad experiences with products and services from different companies.
The frequently bashed are service firms like telecoms.
The World Wide Web is set to change the practice of public relations.
Apart from good writing skills for traditional media like newspapers and television, PR officers will have to acquaint themselves with the informal and fast nature of online communication platforms.
Current PR scholars are emphasising the need for PR professionals to monitor and make appropriate responses to online news content coming from bloggers’ websites, really simple syndication (RSS) feeds, and online fora like Facebook or Twitter.
As more people access the internet, negative statements about an organisation, true or false, can easily spread and harm its image and bottom-line, especially if the firm does not correct the problem or issue a honest reply.
One blogger, for instance, has written about poor customer service he experienced at a Nairobi branch of a mobile company when he went to register for its money transfer service.
The next day, he wrote a scathing article on the company and its products, while providing evidence to back his claims of poor treatment.
He later wrote that the branch manager called and apologised on behalf of the customer care representatives, promising to “take stern action” and train the staff to “develop customer-centric attitudes.”
The blogger accepted the apology.
A similar incident happened, involving Comcast, a US-based communications service provider and a user.
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