Communication 2.0: keep the babble in the closet

Let’s face it. Sun Tzu’s advice – “Do not climb heights in order to fight”  – in his ‘Art of War’ has never been so pertinent.

Especially at an age when it is clear that things in general will never be the same again. Days of kneeling down in the rain to do honour to a dirty procession are gone. Consumers have stepped out of the traditional profiles and now mashing their way through the thick mud of information, even if it implies some stumbling and floundering along the way.

Also at stake is the panting assumption of last century’s theories and books that the one at the top of the pyramid has all the information and controls the rest. Information = power. A mantra that has been oiled and oiled and oiled…

The truth is that even the best of love stories sometimes end up in tears... The question is whether the one at the top of the pyramid is really the one who has all the information and power. The answer to this one lies in the quite pause of usually expressive internauts.

There is not much left of our profound secrets and mysteries that we all used to hold close to the chest in the pre-Facebook era. The difference of passion expressed today by business stakeholders (pride, anger, frustration, stubbornness, loose tongues, …) has become an important fact to reflect upon, and fast. It’s always been too late, it will always be too late.

Global players that have steered clear of the ripples of the financial crisis, did so, not through remodeling the world with words, but through dainty remedies to root out the distracting babble in people’s minds.

May be, what we commonly call ‘social media’ should be red믭 as ‘information network’ – if this can help convince skeptic managements of its value. Especially, when the majority of local information network users – clients – access their preferred channel, namely Facebook, almost all day long.

And even if these users do not usually obey social media “rules of the road” – which make things tougher – digital strategy is essential and not merely a “nice to have” option.

A recent research from Google which showed that 90% of all media consumption and interaction is now done via a screen (TV, desktop, laptop, tablet, smartphone). 66% of all social media activity starts life on a smartphone. Of the 10% of non-screen based media consumption, radio constitutes more than print newspapers or magazines.

Is it still possible to continue to believe that the role of corporate image management lies in print-based platforms?

Here’s the bad news: commercial media is in the eye of a storm the like of which has never been seen before. Ad spending is plunging, and media owners are wielding the axe to their services and laying off staff to try and balance the books. It wouldn’t be a worse time for companies to be trying to get their messages across.

But there’s also good news: Amid all the doom and gloom, there are many chinks of light. In a recession, people go out less and consume more media. This is case almost everywhere across the globe. So your message is likely to be reaching a growing audience.

Now, if your action still didn’t achieve much, it shows that there are smarter organisations out there putting in place alternative frameworks and approaches that embrace the reality of the screen and mobile phone.

Ways to talk to consumers are evolving. Consumers want to know what companies are doing. Worse, they are fast moving away from strategy lexicon communications try to find the meaning for them in any communication – authentic and which translates into everyday language.

Gazing into a crystal ball in such volatile times is a dangerous thing to do but it’s fair to say there are more (torrid) changes coming. They might not offer any instant solutions but could call for more attention to ideas and a look at new communication models.

Nobody likes show-off, including those who “like” you…

*Javed Bolah is the current President of the Public Relations and Communication Professionals Association of Mauritius (PRCPA). He is the Vice President – Media & Communications at British American Investment Group , a Founder Board member of the African Association of Communication Directors (AACD) as well as a Member of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (UK).