Why Every Company Should Have A Twitter Tsar

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Businesses Miss Out if They Fail to Embrace Social Media

The Government’s search for a new Executive Director of Digital has hit the headlines this with many of the nationals jovially mocking the position as a ‘twitter tsar’

Whilst the position has been met with contempt by many journalists – partly because of the sky high salary of £142,000, just £500 less than the Prime Minister himself – one paper The Telegraph, took a different view and expressed how the need for a digital leader has never been greater not just for the Government but for any organisation.

With the growth of social networking sites (Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn) as well as the ease at which people can now access the internet on hand held devices such as the iPhone, smart phones and the iPad, digital technology seems to be influencing the way we communicate.

We are now able to communicate with greater immediacy and over a wider geographical area, reaching more and more people than ever before. This has a clear advantage for businesses who can now spread their key messages and prove their brand value in a forum that extends far beyond their immediate community.

Digital communication however still remains a dark art and whilst it has its advantages, things can still go wrong – just look at the nestle green peace social media disaster last year as one example – and this highlights the need for a digital leader, responsible for overseeing a companies digital strategy.

In the case of the Government, this digital leader, will not just be responsible for the companies twitter presence, but will have a much more important role in bringing together and overseeing all website communications, including the new Government site AlphaGov.

The site which will launch in May, will ultimately provide a platform for all of the Governments core services and will bring together 750 sites under one umbrella brand. The creation of the ‘one stop’ site will reduce website spends by £100million, helping the Government run a simple and cheap website.

Digital outputs are therefore essential to the Governments new communications plan and it important that at least one person in the organisation not only has a grasp on these but also has responsibility for their content.

Every business regardless of whether they are selling pizzas or are a part of the public sector should have digital communication as a strategy fore thought. Digital communication should be placed within the top layers of the organisation, showing recognition of the importance of promoting and maintaining clear and consistent messages about your organisation and its values.

So far the Government hasn’t chosen their new digital leader – but one thing is for certain they will have to have a clear understanding and passion for digital communication in order to allow the Government to step forward and reign supreme on the digital highway.