Are the leaders in Sri Lanka’s export sector utilizing social media as much as they should be?
The list of top twenty exporters in Sri Lanka was published by LMD earlier this year. We decided to take a look at their social media presence and whether or not they are in fact, utilizing the advantages of social media to bring in a good audience for their products and services. Here is what we found out.
Here is the original list composed by LMD;
We will be looking at the top ten exporters that have been indicated here.
| Company | Youtube | |||
| Brandix Lanka | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| MAS Holdings | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Virtusa | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| MJF Exports | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| hSenid | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| MillenniumIT | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Hirdaramani | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| Akbar Brothers | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Mlesna | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| WSO2 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Below is a summary of the nature of business of each of these organizations and what the role of social media could potentially be for them;
Brandix Lanka
This group is the largest exporter of apparel in Sri Lanka and is also the holding company of the Brandix Group of Companies. They specialize in developing, manufacturing as well as marketing “end-to-end” apparel solutions to international “super fashion brands”. In this context, Brandix could be maintaining a good relationship on all social media platforms in order to communicate their presence to the international world. They seem to be utilizing Facebook, Twitter and YouTube to keep those interested of their latest accolades, accomplishments, working condition improvements while using LinkedIn for networking and audience building.
MAS Holdings
The organization, today, is one of Asia’s pioneering manufacturers of intimate apparel, sportswear, swimwear and performance wear. They have also been recognized for creating a “green wave” in their field with Thurulie, the world’s first eco-manufacturing plant that is purpose built. In the context of their area of business, the importance of maintaining a sound relationship with their audience could be of importance to the company which is why they could be maintaining their social media pages up to date. They share details about their employees, latest products, technology used and the likes.
Virtusa
The organization is a global information technology services company that provides IT consulting, technology and outsourcing services. They serve about 2000 companies and other leading software vendors in the sectors of Banking and Finance, Insurance, Telecommunications, Technology and Media as well as the Information and Education fields. Because they are a B2B company that does not require too much of a presence on social media, save for highlighting milestones and the likes, their use of social media at the moment could be considered sufficient.
MJF Exports
The holding company for Dilmah Tea utilizes social media well and thoroughly given the nature of their business that has now expanded into a brand of tea that is enjoyed in more than a 100 countries. They post a lot of social media content with regards to the Ceylon Tea industry and the latest developments as well as current issues.
hSenid
This software development company operates from Australia, Singapore, Africa, India and Sri Lanka. They are considered leaders in the provision of high quality software products and services to customers across the globe. They also specialize in HR applications and mobile applications for enterprises and wireless markets. Given the nature of their connection to clientele, which is mostly other large scale businesses, the extent of their usage on social media could be deemed adequate. They do not utilize much of YouTube, which could be improved slightly more to encompass their latest developments etc.
MillenniumIT
This organization is a Sri Lanka based IT firm that delves into electronic trading systems, consultations, IT infrastructure and systems integration. It has also been a fully owned technology business sector of the London Stock Exchange Group since the year 2009. Because they deal mainly with other large scale businesses such as London Metal Exchange, Borsa Italiana, Oslo Bors and London Stock Exchange, their need to maintain a social media presence is limited to sharing anything that is specific and important.
Hirdaramani
The organization is a rather diversified conglomerate that delves into apparel, power and leisure. They too, are a B2B business, meaning that they deal directly with our businesses, who will, in turn, provide the products and services to customers across the world. Their role in social media, therefore, is not one that needs a lot of stressing on all platforms all of the time. However, they do seem to be keeping regular updates when special occasions, developments, employee testimonials and product lines are concerned.
Akbar Brothers
Akbar Tea, to be more exact exports a large variety of luxurious teas to the international market. They maintain a good relationship with the masses via Twitter and Facebook while using LinkedIn to network among contemporaries and build an audience. On YouTube, they do maintain a channel but it is not regularly updated, as they may not have much of a need for this particular platform.
Mlesna
This tea giant is also known for opening up the “tea centre” concept in Sri Lanka that was a general success. There are Mlesna Tea Centres around the island now and the Kandy outlet is a significant one. Given that they directly appeal to the customer, they could be slightly more active on social media and keep it updated regularly, especially with regards to the tea centres.
WSO2
The organization specializes as an open source technology provider that offers the capacity to increase the potential of digital businesses and enterprises that work in the area of digital transformation. They offer APIs, applications as well as web services both locally and internationally. They maintain a good social media presence on Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube and Twitter.