Social Media Effects on Stakeholder Magagement

There are different ways in which an organisation can segment its stakeholders and that can depend on the type of the organisation and on the type of campaign. One way to segment an audience is by using the power/interest matrix (see below) which groups stakeholders according to the amount of power they have to influence others and on the level of interest they have on an issue:

This matrix is useful for identifying any blockers or facilitators to the communication efforts and to point out the amount of time and effort that the organisation would need to spend for each group. The power of stakeholders may come from internal or external sources to the organisation and this is where social media come into play.

Social media have given power to people who were not considered so powerful or influential in the past. People on social media monitor organisations and evaluate their behaviour constantly. Using social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Blogger, individuals can publicly address any issue of their concern and easily influence others and gain their support. Social media are also favoured by activists and other organisations that aim to expose organisations, as they provide easy access to a large audience and can be used for mobilising groups of people against an organisation.  

Ultimately the basic theory of stakeholder management has not changed as an organisation still needs to identify and group its key stakeholders. What has changed though is the distribution of power among stakeholders and levels of influence. In order to prevent any issues from arising, organisations need to be proactive; they need to engage with key players through an open dialogue (through social media) and keep them satisfied by providing them relevant information and taking into account their feedback on various issues.