Why Social Media Is Essential

At The Marketing Guy, we believe that companies should strive to create value effect positive change in their communities, countries and for humanity. We believe that good marketing accelerates that vital transformation and we want to support businesses as they embark on an always-on journey of value creation.

My eyebrows were certainly raised when The Straits Times published an article highlighting that social media managers were deemed non-essential by the majority of the Singapore population during this pandemic. However, the sad reality is that non-essential is just how local businesses have thought of social media for a very long time, treating it as an afterthought. The result is brands setting up their pages as “free marketing” before abandoning these channels almost immediately because they did not see instantaneous results.

Ironically, the pandemic has revealed the strengths of social media: A valuable touchpoint that is home to where most conversation happens in society nowadays, it has been the go-to channel in which governments and brands alike have chosen to disseminate crucial information to the public over the past three months.

I’m heartened to have seen many businesses realise how important social media can be during this pandemic, but am afraid that many would abandon these platforms (yet again) when they see lesser interactions online as we enter Phase 2 of the post-circuit breaker period.

After all, social media platforms are not designed for short-term success and it’s simply not good enough to have a revolving door strategy; consumers are savvy enough to realise when a brand is “faking it”. If brands looked at social media as a way to cultivate a long-term relationship with their customers, I believe that the perceptions of such channels would be much improved.

Truth be told, it isn’t easy to do social media right, which brings us back to why social media managers should be considered essential to any business’ success today. They serve as the moderators for your brand and are the foundation behind managing communication channels to the masses. They are the face of your brand to the nation, the one who articulates what your brand stands for, time and time again. They are the ones who earn trust and equity from your audience such that in a world of misformation and unanswered confusion, your brand’s message is still communicated clearly and accurately.

For now, social media remains a relatively untapped opportunity for many businesses to communicate their values and shape how they are perceived. But I believe that it is a too-important communication medium for businesses to miss out on.

As they say, the best time to start your social media presence was a decade ago. The next best time is today.