One of the controversies in the marketing communications industry today is the advent of the social media, its upsurge and the implications for the industry.

For instance, opinions  of late, have been divided on whether the advent of social media would enhance the fortunes of marketing communications industry or, in a matter of time, sound its death knell, especially the traditional channels of advertising..

Interestingly, the growing popularity of the social media and the huge potential inherent in the platforms have continued to attract brand owners and advertisers, who have seen such social platforms as veritable channels of pushing their offerings to their target markets.

It is an open secret that the Facebook, Twitter, Linked In and other social platforms, have continued to hold a lot of attractions for the youths and other upwardly mobile, desirous of adventure and change, and these have constituted a potential market for brand owners and advertisers.

Unfortunately, the growing popularity of the social media has constituted another threat to the marketing communications industry. For instance, not a few  have expressed their misgivings on the way the social media is being abused, of late.

It is an open secret that individuals and corporate organisations had at one time or the other fallen victims of such abuse.

A few months ago, the news was rife on Facebook that the legendary politician and strongman of Kwara politics, Dr Olusola Saraki, had passed on. It  was quite an  effort to refute this claim, few hours later.

The popular American movie star, Eddie Murphy, also had his own fair share of the social media onslaught recently when he was pronounced dead on the platform, though the news was later refuted, it temporarily succeeded in demoralising and unsettling the fans of this popular actor.

Besides individuals that have been pronounced dead, while still alive, brands and products have also been casualties. Claims of alleged poisoned fruits being sent from a section of the country to another with the aim of eradicating residents of those areas, have  also never been in short supply. Expectedly, for the period such claims last, such products have continued to suffer rejection in the market place.

Not a few, therefore, believe that the trend, if not checked may rub off negatively on the nation’s marketing communications industry. In an exclusive interview with Brands and Marketing, the Chief Executive Officer of Noah’s Ark, Mr Lanre Adisa believes that the social media platforms have become an integral part of the nation’s marketing communication’s tools.

“The social media platform is increasingly becoming popular today that it can never be wished away. It is not only brands that suffer, even celebrities also get hooked.  I think it behoves on brands to have a presence that would enable them showcase their products and services  and also speak for themselves, on the platform,” he argued.

He added that the tendency of false claims being believed is high, if such claims go un-refuted.

While corroborating the above argument, the Chief Executive Officer of NextMedia, Mr Dada Ajai-Ikhile believes that though the abuse of the social media may erode the credibility of the platform, he however counselled brand owners and advertisers not to rely solely on the platform as a means of pushing their products and services.

“I think what is happening now is a lesson to clients that the platform must not be seen as their only channel of  advertising their products. For instance, since it is obvious that the platform is being abused on a daily basis, with its credibility waning by the hour, there is need to engage other channels, especially the traditional channels, such as the radio, television and the print to complement this,” he argued.

The Chairman of the National Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), Mr Jide Ologun, believes the implication of the abuse of these social platforms is grave for the industry, especially for the public relations practice.

While noting that the social media had brought the society under searchlight, he stressed the need for the society to embrace the corporate governance culture.

“For instance, it would be difficult now for anybody to associate the former South African president and activist, Nelson Mandela, to election rigging because the man has already built a reputation that would make anybody reading such claims to dismiss it with the wave of the hand,” he said.

He argued that public relations practitioners should monitor online activities.

“The advent of the social media is a positive development, but I think PR practitioners should be on their guard. They should come up with the arts and sciences of monitoring the environ-ment and predicting the consequences of events,” he stated.

No doubt, the controversies on the implications of the abuse  on the marketing communications industry would continue to elicit reactions from stakeholders, but a common ground is found in the need to effectively monitor the platforms, and ensure that such false claims and abuse never go unresponded to.