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Big Ben/Queen Elizabeth Tower, 2013.
“What you said hurt me very much. I cried all the way to the bank.” — Liberace, 1954
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With Netflix recently coming under fire from the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) in the USA (link), the importance of effective and of course legal corporate and financial communication has come to the fore.
The situation began with the Chief Executive of Netflix sharing information about its strong viewing figures, this led to a rise in the company’s share price. The SEC would have liked the performance figures to have first been published through the more official conventional channels, prior to being shared through social media.
There was no real clear advantage for Netflix of making the announcement through social media first, as the announcement could have been made through official channels (eg: appropriate wire services) and then through social media shortly after, in which case the effect of the good news would have been more or less the same.
Whatever happens with regards to this matter; organisations interested in utilising their digital/social media presence for corporate/financial communication will have to monitor this matter carefully. This case highlights some of the dangers and challenges organisations and communications professionals have to negotiate effectively.
— DS —