GEETHU RANGAN
MTECH TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT
DEPT OF FUTURES STUDIES
UNIVERSITY OF KERALA
ROLE OF SOCIAL MEDIA
IN
BUSINESS
ORGANIZATIONS
AND
GOVERNANCE

Impacts of Social Media
• Gone are the days of recommendations to keep social media usage out of
the enterprise.
• Businesses today find that social media use is no longer the exception, but
rather the rule.
• Business units such as research and development, marketing,
human resources, sales, and customer service are realizing the potential
for utilizing social media tools to stimulate innovation, create brand
recognition, hire and retain employees, generate revenue, and improve
customer satisfaction.
• Social media use is no longer just an option for enterprises that want to
lead in today’s business environment

What Is Considered “Social Media”?
• Social media technology involves the creation
and dissemination of content through social
networks using the Internet.
• The differences between traditional and social
media are defined by the level of interaction and
interactivity available to the consumer.
• For example, a viewer can watch a news
broadcast on television with no interactive
feedback mechanisms,while social media tools
allow consumers to comment, discuss and even
distribute the news.

• Use of social media has created highly effective
communication platforms where any user, virtually
anywhere in the world, can freely create content
and disseminate this information in real time to a
global audience ranging in size from a handful to
literally millions—in less time than it takes to read
this document.

Social Media Tools
• Blogs such as WordPress and TypePad
• Microblogs such as Twitter and Tumblr
• Image and video sharing sites such as Flickr and YouTube
• Social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace
• Professional networking sites such as LinkedIn
• The common link among all forms of social media is
that the content is supplied and managed by individual
users who leverage the tools and platforms provided by
social media sites.

Role of Social Media in Business
Organizations
1. Social media is an easy way to learn
about your audience
• For businesses in any industry, the key to success is knowing
your audience.
• Social media makes this possible, and easier to accomplish
than ever.
• With tools like Facebook Insights you can learn the dominant
languages spoken among your social media audience, as well
as their age and gender. This knowledge can help you cater
campaigns and product offers to your target audience, which
will provide you a better return on investment.

2. Social media helps target audiences
more effectively
• Geo-targeting is an effective way to send your message
out to a specific audience or demographic based on their
location.
• Social networks like Facebook and Twitter have tools
that allow you to communicate the right kind of content
to your audience.
• For example, you can target by ‘Location’, ‘Language’,
‘Age’, ‘Gender’, ‘Relationship status’, ‘Interested in’, and
‘Education’ on Facebook, and ‘Country(s)’ on Twitter.
• For example, if you want to send out a post to people
who speak Spanish, geo-targeting is an easy and
effective way to do it

3. Social media helps find new customers
and expand your audience
• Social networks like Twitter allow small businesses
to locate their current customers or seek out potential
customers.
• For example, if you open a new coffee shop in the
neighbourhood, you can create a geo search to locate
anyone tweeting about needing a morning cup of coffee
within your area. After locating those tweeting about
coffee, you can start reaching out to them, and invite
them to come try a hot beverage at your new coffee
shop.

4. Social media allows you to receive
instant feedback from your customers’
perspective
• Social media for business gives you instant access to
positive or negative feedback, which provides you with
valuable insights on the customer perspective.
• For example, if you launch a new product and share it on
social media, you’ll instantly learn what your customers
think of it. Another way to gain customer perspective
with social media is by learning how they use your
product; brands often base new products or services on
their customers’ original ideas.

5. Improve market intelligence and get
ahead of your competitors with social
media
• With social media monitoring you can gain key
information on your competitors, therefore
improving your market intelligence.
• This kind of intelligence will allow you to make
strategic business decisions in order to stay ahead
of your competition.
• For example, you can create search streams to
monitor mentions of your competitor’s name or
product. Based on your search results, you can
improve your business to offer something your
competitors are missing

6. Social media can help increase website
traffic and search ranking
• One of the best benefits of social media for business is
using it to increase your website traffic.
• Not only does social media help you direct people to
your website, but the more social media shares you
receive, the higher your search ranking will be.
• For example, if every person who
follows Twitter retweets this post, it’s more likely to
rank higher in Google’s search engine results page for
variations of “social media for business.”

7. Share content easier and faster with
social media
• In the past, marketers faced the challenge of ensuring
their content reaches their customers in the shortest
possible time.
• With the help of social media, sharing content got easier
and faster. When you use social media for business,
specifically for sharing content about your business all
you need to do is simply share it on your brand’s social
network accounts.
• But keep in mind that getting your customers to share
your content with their followers means you need to
make sure your social media content aligns to your
brand and interests your audience.

8. Create meaningful relationships with
customers through social media
• Social media is great for creating meaningful
relationships with your customers.
• For example, social media allows tourism brands to
create dialogue with travellers, therefore creating
relationships with customers before, during, and after
they have booked a trip with the company.
• This kind of social media dialogue between brands and
customers is something traditional advertising will never
achieve.

9. Social media lets you increase brand
awareness and reach with little to no
budget
• Social media for business has allowed companies to
increase brand awareness and reach of their brand
at little to no cost.
• The costs associated with these strategies are a lot
higher with traditional advertising methods.
• Recently, marketing departments across companies
started hiring community managers to increase
brand awareness and reach through social media.
Community managers foster relationships with
online audiences in different regions.

Role of Social Media in Governance
1. Inclusion & Participation Brings
Governance to The People
❏ Bring government to the people
❏ Civil Engagement - Every Person can contribute
❏ An Open Grievance Redressal Mechanism, which never
was
❏ Ensures that political decisions are adapted to the needs
of the people who affected by them
❏ Direct Participation in Governance is Possible

2. Alternate Dialogue in Governance Beyond
The Commercial Controlled Media
❏ Role of independent and pluralistic media in promoting
participation is very important as the media reports on
various aspects of the decision-making process and give
stakeholders a voice in that process.
❏ Traditional Media can be bought - Social Media is beyond
that
❏ Voices in Social Media can no more be ignored
❏ Today agenda can not be set plainly by controlling the
conventional media - masses decide the alternate
dialogue beyond the control of any one individual
❏ Democracy flourish with multiple voices and alternate
dialogues
❏ Free expression is the backbone of democratic process.
Wide range of debates can take place and a variety of
viewpoints be represented.

3. Countering Misinformation Campaigns
& Rumors
❏ Governments can directly use the Social Media to
counter misinformation campaign.
❏ It can/is be used to control/ dispel rumors and promote
facts/ truth in a fast, effective and credible manner.
❏ Alternative to corruption in the conventional media.
❏ Positivity can be/is reinforced
❏ New activities/ messages/ actions can be activated and
promoted
❏ Opens up access to government and government officials
and create new possibilities for community driven
initiatives.

4. Promotes Fundamental Human Rights
❏ Promotes Human Rights & enhance civic participation.
❏ Beyond Censorship & Control
❏ Freedom of Speech & Expression
❏ Brings Equality - Every person has a voice
❏ Help people group together and form associations
❏ Promotes equal opportunity
❏ All Minorities get a voice
❏ Crime Reporting systems to check violation of human
rights

5. Saves Time and Money
❏ Can speed-up governance and action
❏ A Fast & Cost-Effective Medium/ Channel for Public-
Service Delivery & interactive dialogue.
❏ Providing information through social media channels
offers real efficiencies in creating faster, easier and
cheaper access to information, particularly to youngsters
who use, read and operate in social media spaces.
❏ Social Media strengthens “e-governance” in a cost
effective manner.
❏ Help provides media and citizens with direct access to
administrative information and decision-making
processes

6. Feedback Mechanism
❏ Social Media has the potential to provide minute-to-
minute & regular feedback of governance, government
action, policies and performance.
❏ A cost effective and quick method of systematically
collecting feedbacks
❏ Assists in mid-course correction & to understand the
pulse of the people
❏ Detailed analysis of the data can provide important
understanding of various patterns, behavior and
responses.
❏ New Algorithm’s can be tested to find solutions of any
existing problem.

• In good governance, everything revolves around the people;
it’s about their needs and interests. As a result of Social
Media all the acts of our government functionaries are
immediately brought to the public eye; consequently they
are forced to be more careful, discreet, prudent, responsible,
transparent and accountable for their actions.

THANKYOU