SMEs yet to embrace the social media

The social media is yet to be embraced by small and medium enterprises (SMEs), who are still to develop a sense of comfort in the use of information technology (IT).

This is despite the fact that the social media is considered an effective tool for engaging customers in innovative ways and making them stakeholders in the value-creation process.

Experts say factors like low awareness and fear of losing information is the root cause of this.

Hemant Seth, additional director, MSME at Ficci (Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry), says the social media is still in a nascent stage in India and it will take time for Indian companies to take to it. Creating awareness of the uses of social media is the biggest challenge, he adds.

To help SMEs leverage the use of social media as a potent business tool, Ficci has launched a campaign with Facebook called ‘Technology and Technology Financing for MSMEs’.

Two cities have been covered under this programme, says Seth, and the drive will be taken to other cities across India.

Sirjaan Preet, assistant director at Ficci, says Indian SMEs’ fear of losing control over information is also holding them back from embracing social media. Cost is another factor.

Shahnawaz Khan, business development head at Pensa Media, which is in the business of social media marketing, says social media as a tool is a little expensive, which explains the conservative approach of SMEs.

Siddharth S Singh, associate professor of marketing at the Indian School of Business (ISB), says social media is a double-edged sword. While it can provide quick benefits, it can also do quick and significant damage if not handled carefully. A company needs to employ significant resources to use social media effectively. These resources take the form of dedicated employees and use of analytics, and finding these resources is a challenging task, said Singh.