The power of the press in influencing your community on issues pertinent to your industry can be negative. And listed companies can feel powerless. Unless they get out their cheque book and pay for content to be published in the hard copy press to counter the negative press or at least correct it.
Actively building an online community of online media enables you to distribute your message at any time as often as you want at no additional cost.
For example when a bank is accused of fraud in the hardcopy press, they may feel obliged to respond in the hardcopy press at a cost. The press then has the luxury of continuing publication of whatever material that they want without having to get out their cheque books. On the other hand the listed company and its cheque book is forever beholden to the hardcopy press. It eventually ends up where there is no communication from the listed company and people are left with their perceptions. Which are typically negative. Everyone thinks the fraud is larger than it actually is.
Having a targeted online community of online stakeholders levels the playing field for you. Being able to send out whatever information you need to respond to the market at any time, as often as you want, for no additional cost is a powerful tool especially where listed companies have a wide base of stakeholders, a politically important profile and a pan African presence.