Christian Gartmann interviewed by Engadiner Post
Why is online corporate communication also essential for SMEs today?
A company must communicate where the people it wants to reach are. Everyone is online today, so online communication is part of it.
Is social media an additional new task in an SME's communications portfolio or are there areas as a result in which engagement can be reduced? In traditional advertising, for example?
Social networks already entail new tasks and there are also cases in which they are used as a substitute for traditional advertising. But that is not their main effect. Social media have an impact on traditional communication and corporate management.
Can you explain that more precisely?
Social media requires a new basic approach to communication. Instead of simply publishing announcements, companies today must enter into a dialogue with their stakeholders. And this applies not only to social media itself, but to all communication and essential parts of management work. Customers, employees, suppliers and media today treat companies on equal footing. They want to be taken seriously. Anyone who does not do this risks armoured reactions, sometimes in public.
Which tools or platforms do you recommend to beginners?
Beginners should first look at the subject matter personally, talk to friends or business partners. Then open up profiles for yourself on two or three major platforms and gain experience while playing. Over time, they will find companies in the networks themselves whose presence they like and develop a sense of what suits them best. Facebook, Xing or LinkedIn are certainly good platforms for beginners.
Website maintenance and continuous communication on social media platforms require know-how. There are offers from all sides. What is the best way for beginners to orient themselves?
Various providers offer courses for beginners, and there are also a number of useful textbooks. A conversation with a specialized communications agency can also help a lot. When choosing courses or agencies, I recommend making sure that the programs are designed for long-term thinking and not just short-term actions.
Are there SMEs in Engadin to whom you could give a good certificate of their social media expertise?
Tourism is one of the industries that has been familiar with social media the longest and best. For us, it is primarily hotels, destination organizations, mountain railways and restaurants that are active and successful on social media. But social media concerns every industry.
interview
Urs Dubs. Published in the Engadiner Post dated January 10, 2012.
Christian Gartmann (46)
Grew up in Upper Engadine; the parents ran an SME. Graduate from EMS Samedan, then undergraduate studies in business administration/marketing at the University of St. Gallen.
From 1991 editor and presenter at the regional broadcaster Radio Z (now Energy Zurich). 1996 to 2000 managing director of the radio station.
From 2000 managing director for Switzerland of the German ProSiebenSat.1 Group; responsible for Swiss program and advertising windows, teletext, online and mobile media.
2007 Member of the Executive Committee of the media group PubliGroupe; responsible for TV, online, mobile and cinema in 23 countries. 2008 and 2009 Director of Media Partner Relations, Marketing & Communications at Publicitas; responsible worldwide for marketing, brand, communication and crisis communication of the media marketer in crisis.
Since 2010 gartmann.biz: Management consultancy based in St. Moritz. Advice for companies on how to deal with strategies, business models, communication and media. Development and implementation of seminars and presentations on the topic of “new media literacy in leadership” under the brand medienseminar.com.