A stakeholder is any person or group with an interest or concern in an organisation. This means they are affected by what the organisation does, or they can affect it.
Every organisation has stakeholders. Common examples include:
Other stakeholders might include the local community, the government or the owners of the organisation.
Because stakeholders have an interest, organisations need to keep them informed. For example, a customer needs to know when a new product is available, an employee needs to know about a change in working hours, and a supplier needs to know how many items to deliver. If stakeholders are not kept informed, they may make poor decisions or lose trust in the organisation.
Modern technologies are widely used to communicate with stakeholders. They are communication platforms: websites, social media, email and voice communication (such as phone calls or online meetings). Using them means information can be shared quickly, cheaply and with many people at the same time. For instance, a company might post a product update on its website, send an email to suppliers about a delivery change, or use social media to answer customer questions.
By choosing the right platform for the right stakeholder, an organisation can make sure everyone who needs to know is kept up to date.
A communication platform is the system or service an organisation uses to communicate, such as a website, social media, email or voice communication (VoIP). A communication channel is a specific method of communication within a platform, for example a direct/private message or a public status update.
Platforms are the overall tools, while channels are the different ways you use them. For example, a youth orchestra might use its website as a platform to share concert dates. Within that website, a live chat channel lets parents ask about ticket availability in real time. The orchestra could also use a social media platform, where it can post a public status update to announce a rehearsal change, or send a direct message to a musician about a missing instrument.
It is important not to confuse the two. Instant messaging, text/SMS and live chat are channels, not platforms. They are specific methods of communication, often within a larger platform.
Channels are used for sharing information, data and media. For instance, a direct message can include a photo (media), a status update can share a link to information, and a live chat can exchange data like order numbers.
When an organisation chooses how to communicate, it decides whether a message should be private or public. Private communication is only for the people involved, while public communication can be seen by anyone. Choosing the wrong type can expose customer details or hide useful information from the people who need it.
Use private channels when the message contains personal or confidential details. This suits customer queries about payments or orders, a customer's card or bank information, phone numbers or email addresses customers have given, messages between employees, and confidential business conversations. For example, if a customer of a small online plant shop asks whether their card has been charged twice for order 4812, that should go through email, voice communication or live chat, not a public post.
Use public channels when you want lots of people to see the same information. This suits product information, promoting sales, advertising price reductions and product advice. For example, a games shop could post that all board games are 20% off this weekend on social media so every follower sees it. Websites and social media are public, so anything posted there should be treated as visible to everyone, including competitors.
Email, voice communication and live chat are private channels, and so is a direct message. A public status update is a public channel. Email is useful for sending order confirmations or staff instructions, but it can be forwarded, so sensitive information still needs care. Do not email full payment details if a forwarded copy could reach the wrong person. Voice calls and live chats are private too, but live chat may keep a written record. Match the channel to the audience: private for individuals and confidential matters, public for information meant to persuade or inform a wide audience.
A website is a public communication platform that lets an organisation share information with anyone who visits it. The organisation chooses what appears on its pages, and visitors do not need an invitation to read them.
Websites usually give customers the details they need before they buy, such as:
Many websites also let customers buy online, adding items to a basket and paying at a checkout. This turns the website from a page of information into a place to shop, which is useful because a customer can move straight from reading about a product to ordering it.
Because a website is public, it suits information the organisation is happy for anyone to see. That does not mean it is only for advertising. The same public pages are used for practical details like prices and stock, and for selling, so the website can inform customers and take orders at the same time.
For example, a small plant nursery might use its website to list the bedding plants it sells, the price per tray, which varieties are in stock this week, a "20% off spring bedding" offer, and a checkout for ordering a collection slot. A customer can check the stock and price before travelling, and the nursery only has to publish what it wants everyone to know.
Social media is a communication platform that lets an organisation and its customers talk to each other. Instead of the organisation only sending out information, customers can post questions and the organisation can reply.
A customer might ask for advice on a social media page. For example, a family-run bakery posts about a cupcake decorating class for teenagers, and a parent comments to ask whether a 12-year-old can take part. A member of staff replies with details. The customer gets an answer, and the organisation learns what customers want to know.
The tone is usually more relaxed and less formal than a letter or an email, so customers feel comfortable asking questions and the organisation can answer in a friendly, everyday voice.
These conversations usually happen in public. Anyone who visits the page can read the question and the reply. That means other customers with the same question can see the advice too, without asking again. It also shows that the organisation is willing to help, because people can see the replies. This is different from a website, where the organisation mainly publishes information and visitors just read it.
| Feature | Website | Social media |
|---|---|---|
| Main direction of communication | Organisation to visitor (one-way) | Both ways: customers and organisation can start and reply |
| Can customers ask for advice? | Not usually on the page itself | Yes, by commenting or messaging |
| Who can see the conversation? | Anyone visiting the page sees the published information | Other customers can see questions and replies, so advice is shared |
Voice communication is a communication platform that uses spoken conversation to share information. It can be over a traditional telephone network or over the internet using VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol), where your voice is carried as data across the internet.
Voice communication also includes online meetings, which are becoming more popular. An online meeting happens live over the internet, so people in different places can speak to each other at the same time. They are often used for training because the presenter can show slides to everyone taking part while they talk.
For example, a dog rescue charity might run a training session for its volunteers across the country. The trainer speaks through the online meeting and shares slides about first aid for dogs. Volunteers can ask questions out loud, and everyone sees the same slide at the same time.
A telephone meeting is when an organisation talks to a customer over the phone instead of meeting face to face. It is a simple way to hold a meeting because all you need is a phone – no camera, computer or special software.
For example, a bike repair shop might phone a customer to say the repair is finished and the bike is ready to collect. The call is quick and cheap, but the shop cannot send a photo of the repair, and if the customer later thinks the price was different, there is no written record of what was agreed.
Promoting an organisation online means using a website and social media to raise awareness of what it sells and build a relationship with customers. Both are public platforms, so your promotion is visible to anyone at any time, and it works 24/7 even when your shop is closed. A professional-looking site makes a small business seem as trustworthy as a large one, and it reaches a wider, even global, audience, attracting customers who would never have walked past.
Online promotion is also cheap and cost-effective, because a page or post costs far less than printing leaflets. Analytics show how many people visited, which posts they liked and which paid promotions led to a sale, so you can see what works. You can post updates and announcements, upload images and videos, collect reviews and feedback, and give out vouchers or special offers to bring customers back.
On social media you can post images and videos so customers see the quality and range of your work, share offers, news and positive reviews, and run polls, surveys or questionnaires to find out what customers want. You can pay for targeted advertisements that appear only to people matching certain demographic data and interests — a skate shop might target 13- to 18-year-olds in its town. A content creator or influencer with a large audience builds brand awareness, because their followers trust them. Responding to comments, messages and reviews keeps the conversation going, and when people share or like an advert it reaches even more people.
Costs stay low because most platforms use pay-per-click: you only pay when someone clicks your advert. Analytics then reveal trends, such as which age group engages most or which advert gets the most shares.
Remember that promotion is advertising, so naming 'advertising' is not a valid reason for promoting an organisation — you must give a specific benefit or method, such as reaching a global audience or using pay-per-click. It is also rarely free: paid adverts, influencers and boosted posts cost money.
Social media advertising is when an organisation pays a platform to show its adverts and promoted posts to that platform's users. It can reach a huge number of people at once, but it brings real drawbacks that an organisation should weigh up before spending its money.
Comments under an advert are public, so negative comments are read by everyone browsing the post, not just the person who wrote them. One complaint about a faulty product, or a rude reply from the organisation, can put other customers off, and an angry response makes things worse — people screenshot it and share it. An inappropriate advert causes harm on its own too: clumsy wording that upsets a group of people, or an advert appearing next to unsuitable content, makes customers think less of the organisation and many will take their money elsewhere.
Competitors can also watch what your organisation posts. A clever offer or a popular video can be copied within a day, with a rival undercutting the price before the original campaign has finished. The organisation has paid for the idea and the exposure, but the extra customers and income go to the competitor instead.
Running an account takes time. Staff have to post regularly to stay visible, answer questions and deal with complaints, and that is paid working time taken away from other jobs. A slow reply looks like the organisation does not care, which is just as damaging as saying nothing.
Even a well-made advert may not be seen. There is a huge amount of content competing for attention, so a post can be scrolled past in seconds, and plenty of customers do not use social media at all. The algorithm — the rules the platform uses to decide what to show each person — controls who sees the advert, so it may reach people outside the target audience or hardly anyone, while the organisation pays for the campaign either way.