Two stories caught my eye today. Firstly, SAS has axed its sponsorship deal of the Royal Opera House in Stockholm; and secondly, DN’s experts are predicting gloomy times ahead for the Swedish economy with warnings of increased unemployment.
The story both these events are telling is one of troubled times for Sweden and Swedish business; but it is also a sign that businesses need to find new ways of getting their story across to an international audience.
Now is not the time to lie low and hope things improve. Now is the time for action. For businesses to keep talking, and getting their message out.
Of course, this is far easier said than done. Especially when advertising budgets are often the first to suffer when the economy hits the fan. Still, unlike the downturn at the start of the century, this time around we have social media like blogging, vlogging and tweating to generate new conversations and tell new kinds of stories about the services we have to offer.
The biggest challenge for Swedes is not just adopting and implementing social media in business culture though; it’s using it in a language that allows you to talk internationally.
A good example of a Swedish organization using the Net to talk to an international audience is Stockholm University. I wrote a number of articles for the new international website the university is launching (it’s currently in Beta so no link) in the spring. Clearly, the university is going to raise its profile and marketability by talking specifically to the international community.
If the site is a success, and I am sure it will be, one of the consequences of launching the initiative is that here in Stockholm people will benefit on the local level. Classes will be filled, courses will have students from abroad, teachers will have jobs, important connections will be made. There are so many possible positive outcomes.
Now that’s good news even on a day when the national press are telling stories of economic troubles ahead.
What other ways are Swedish companies using the Net to take the conversation to the global audience?
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