In the previous blog, I mentioned that a lot of FMCG and fashion companies leverage social media to communicate with consumers and listen to them, engage them. I have been wondering how other industries to embrace this web2.0 trend. But think about it --- social media, which we are using these days, which is expanding our social circle to connect or reconnect with new/old friends, etc.; providing a platform for ordinary audience to freely confront any issue or body, in a way strengthening the social collected power. Hmmm, you might want to argue that social media is in the end a tool, the difference between social media and traditional media lies mainly on the openness to normal people.

Ok, here we go: consumers have power in hand & kinda of free speech. What will all the corporation do? They of course will also leverage the power which is, of course good for them to use as well to counteract the effect that normal people might force on them. “War” again. Just you can’t decide who will win so easily these days.

Consumers won the battle last time with Nestle its about palm oil operations via Youtub, Facebook & Twitter. Look at the hot controversial case at the moment – BP’s oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Although the company is well-known for its high-profile advertising campaigns on environmental aspects of its operations, this time the reputation was ruined just overnight. When the company woke up, it already faced a few ‘boycotts BP’ groups on Facebook to deal with.

But BP was not too late. It soon started buying key words on Google, Ging and Yahoo’s search engines in an attempt to ensure prominent placement of a link to a company web page touting the company’s cleanup efforts, setting up a Facebook page and tweeting while it also makes the traditional old media moves.

Apparently, social media is a powerful tool for company’s CSR effort. I assure you now after all these incidents, most corporations will take social media as their regular CSR programs, seriously.