Social media for giants: A roller-coaster of change

Multinational corporations are now defrosting their marketing guidelines to keep pace with social media everchanging landscape. 

Well matured multinational corporations which have been in the market for over 50 years and more are bidding goodbye to their old marketing ways as the definition of brand identity shifts into a different meaning today than it had 50 or even five years ago.

A new way of thinking has unlocked for this type of corporations: It is about time to let go of the strings pulling them back from achieving their top reach potential, such as ancient brand guidelines, do’s and don’ts and the halo generated around traditional brand image. Instead, cultivating elastic marketing strategies that enable them to do fun TikToks, be organic, upload Instagram stories and innovate, some of them are even starting their own social media trend waves, after being put on a pedestal for so long.

The region is still somehow steeped in conservative social media approaches, while multinational organisations have kept up with the ever-speeding pace of social media.

Take the big four accounting and auditing firms for instance, they are becoming challengers in global social media strategies and market approach. Considering that these firms may already benefit from historical brand name recognition. But social media allows them to increase awareness for specific messages, create an improved brand image and achieve the desired shift.

Third party service providers have never been stars of the creative marketing show, constrained by the B2B landscape. Today, none of that matters, they are using these channels in promoting a healthy work environment, brand credibility and trust in whichever way the online trend stream takes them. These firms have innovated their own approach towards social media presence, for example, while informative article campaigns, surveys and annual reports have remained a steady element for the social media presence for these firms, they are also tip toeing in Instagram Reels, targeting a bigger audience than they ever dreamed of, perhaps they are building on the thought that even the platform's youngest users will eventually become working adults with investment accounts; these firms have no choice but to enter the TikTok and Instagram worlds. 

On a separate note, brand humanizing is the new mantra for many multinational organizations around the world, which advocates making meaningful and memorable connections with your target audience, hence, cultivating a personalised brand identity. 

This by far, has been the social media roller coaster ride going upward for multinational corporations. On the other hand, social media could pose a significant threat to these corporations whenever it isn’t managed well on a global scale, especially the ones functioning simultaneously in several countries around the world, a unified marketing strategy for several countries could kill the brand stone dead.

Saja Qattan is a digital marketer and content writer