Sonal Singh
Head – Corporate Communications
Jindal Stainless Limited
It was few years ago, much before Instagram became the rage, that I had concluded for myself that everything happens in life twice. Once, for real. And twice, for social media. Until the second follows (or even precedes) the first, the loop isn’t complete. Such is the truth of social media, that truth doesn’t find validation if it’s not out there.
While we can still ignore this unbalanced importance of social media in our private lives, we can’t afford to overlook it if we, as institutions, have our skin in the game. Whether it’s corporate reputation, thought leadership, or even cause advocacy, the target audience for almost every group is addicted to social media to a fault. Considering how promotional budgets are increasingly being diverted to digital marketing, we won’t be surprised if eventually, all big launches will be done through this media. Social media has already transformed societal and inter-personal equations. Future of people, products and companies belongs to their ratings and review on social media. It’s the only medium that combines the power of word-of-mouth with ATL, OOH and BTL.
It therefore becomes morally incumbent on practitioners of social media to propagate responsible usage of this medium. SM4E stands out in this endeavour. As a focused award for those who are amplifying causes using social media, SM4E is able to cull out some of the most outstanding work done in this space. The exemplary usage of social media done by award winners will serve as a beacon of hope to those who are struggling to broad-base their cause.
As a Jury member, the evaluation of SM4E nominations was an enriching experience, sprinkled with a fair share of eye openers. Personally, it was relieving to experience meaningful content and deep causes on social media, for a change.