The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
Experts outline potential, and pitfalls, of social media
Never be blind to risks of online resource, businesses told
Social media is a doubleedged sword for north and north-east businesses, the Press and Journal’s inaugural Business Briefings event heard yesterday.
An expert panel shone the spotlight on the good, the bad and the ugly of online communications.
The panel comprised Scotland’s top law officer, Lord Advocate Frank Mulholland, Press and Journal editor- in- chief Damian Bates, DC Thomson head of digital Kirsten Morrison and John Clark Motor Group communications director Clare Clark.
Ms Morrison said businesses could not afford to ignore social media but advised them to be aware of the dangers.
She added: “There’s a massive amount of risk involved in using social media, but there’s probably more risk in not getting involved.
“For companies, it will encompass pretty much every customer you are going after.
“Companies need to channel their focus and decide on what resources they can throw into social media depending on the size of their business.
“It can grow arms and legs, however. As soon as you’re in that space you have to engage, no matter what. You can’t suddenly run away.”
Ms Clark outlined the processes Aberdeen-based John Clark has put in place to respond to any negative comments about the firm online, and potentially turn it into a positive.
“We put ourselves out there so we immediately open ourselves up to criticism,” Ms Clark said, adding: “Whether that is warranted criticism or not, obviously that can have an impact and it can quickly go very wrong.
“Our company has a process to deal with negative comments. We try to depersonalise it very quickly, take it offline and deal with the issue on a one-to-one basis.”
The lord advocate gave a fascinating and, at times, hair- raising account of some of the authorities’ encounters with the dark side of social media, as well as the innovative steps being taken to tackle cybercrime.
While the authorities don’t have manpower to “police the internet”, it doesn’t mean they will leave it untouched, he said, adding that social media
“As soon as you’re in that space you have to engage, no matter what”
was often the first place detectives look when investigating a crime.
“Social media is fantastic but you should never be blind to the dangers,” he said.
Speaking about the event at the Marcliffe Hotel and Spa in Aberdeen, Chris Horrocks, communications director at marketing company Mearns and Gill, said: “The discussion raised awareness of a subject that is quite deep but which more people need to know about it.”
Steve Gibb, public relations manager for Balmoral group, added: “I really enjoyed the discussion, which was very focused on a topic that is close to all contemporary businesses’ hearts. Our job is to maximise the use of social media to attract clients.”