The Kingdom is a leader in the use of social media by the general public. But are Saudi businesses rapid adopters of social media tools, as well? Sanaa Askool, Ph.D., Dean of Student Affairs, Dar Al Hekma University and Assistant Professor of the Management Information Systems Program there, provided some thoughts on the topic. According to Dr Askool, in many parts of the world the use of social media in business is exploding due to the fast growth of these technologies alongside an evolving business environment where customer behavior is changing and competition is increasing. Dr. Askool pointed to the investment by many international brands in what is known as “Enterprise 2.0,” which she explained refers to the use of emergent social media within companies, or between companies and their partners or customers. “In terms of Saudi Arabia, although Saudi Arabia is considered as one of the Middle East's most active countries in social media due to the fact that it has the highest Twitter penetration worldwide, the implementation of social media in business is very slow,” said Dr Askool. “Similar to companies in other countries, Saudi business are mostly using social media in marketing activities and as a channel for customer services. For example, some Saudi banks have created accounts on Facebook and Twitter. These accounts are used to advertise, promote and market their products and to answer their customers' queries and complaints. These tools are also used in branding, public relations and human resources activities. But generally speaking, social media is not yet fully utilized in Saudi businesses, while we can see that it contributes to developing innovation in global businesses.” Dr. Askool remarked that social media tools must be used as part of an overall corporate communication strategy, since these tools have both positive and negative impacts.
For instance, positive business impacts include:
* Reaching current clients or targeted clients for free. * Promoting products and services without paying advertising fees. * Creating trusted relationships with customers by improving communication. * Lowering marketing costs. * Receiving feedback, suggestions and complaints to improve products and/or services * Collaborating with other businesses. * Sourcing business intelligence. * Enhancing relationships across traditional Saudi cultural networks. * Offering innovation in products and services.
Negative impacts include:
* Destroying reputation in the case of negative public feedback. * Losing control of the corporate image.
It is for these reasons both positive and negative, that companies need to approach the use of social media tools with a defined strategy. Just as the benefits of social media can multiply rapidly, so can the negatives. “Companies need to determine in advance how they will respond to criticism offered through social media. They also need to pay attention and respond rapidly and in a positive manner to such negative comments to avoid any damage in their customer acquisition and retention,” said Dr. Askool. She also advised Saudi companies to be careful in the selection of employees tasked with responding through social media tools, cautioning that such employees need to be good writers and also must be skilled in managing customers. Social media tools in the wrong hands can quickly cause damage to a company's reputation that would be hard to overcome. Saudi people and especially young people are fully aware of the rapid improvements in Internet capability and information technology,” said Dr. Askool. “Social media has attracted many of them, giving them opportunities to express themselves, communicate with others and conduct their small businesses. Some small Saudi businesses have a significant presence on Facebook and Instagram. According to a survey I conducted in 2011 as part of my Ph.D. thesis, the largest proportion, around 57 percent of respondents, of social media users in Saudi Arabia were in the less than 30 years old group, but social media users aged between 30 to 50 years old were 39 percent. This indicates that the number of social media users is growing regardless of their age. Consequently, for continued market success, Saudi businesses must learn to engage effectively with customers online.”
