LinkedIn hosts first edition of Comms Connect for India

LinkedIn, the world’s largest professional network, hosted its inaugural edition of Comms Connect in Mumbai on December 3, 2015.  The event saw representation from communication professionals of companies across sectors. The conversations at the event were centered on building and strengthening your company’s narrative.

The evening was hosted by Deepa Sapatnekar, Head of Communications, LinkedIn India & Hong Kong who spoke about how LinkedIn can be leveraged for professional brand building. Ramya Venugopal, India Editor of LinkedIn, conducted a session on how corporate communication professionals can help in shaping the narrative of their company.

Following this was a dynamic discussion on communication professionals earning a seat on the leadership table. The panel included Shravani Dang, VP & Head of Corp Comms, Avantha Group, APACD Founder member, Paroma Roy Chowdhury, VP Public Affairs, SoftBank International and Roger Pua, Senior Director, Corporate Communications, Asia Pacific, LinkedIn. It was moderated by Carson Dalton, Head of Corporate Communications, Facebook India. The conversations ranged from understanding the business need of the brand, leveraging influencers outside the organization and the transition of communication professionals from the backroom to a frontline function.

“If you don’t know the business, you can’t earn a seat the table. It is important for every communication professional to understand the need of the brand, be good at what they do consistently and build credibility. In my view these are three prerequisites in our profession, irrespective of the brand we work for. ” said Paroma Roy Chowdhury, VP Public Affairs, SoftBank International.

Shravani Dang, VP Communications, Avantha Group added, “To earn a seat at the leadership table, communications professionals should have an ambition to combine insight, intellectual capability and the ability to work with people. One of the ideal ways for individuals in this domain to earn that place, is to have frank conversations to meet business objectives, conversations that make you smarter and better.”

Post the panel discussion Roger Pua, Senior Director, Corporate Communications, Asia Pacific, LinkedIn shared interesting insights on evolving skill sets of communications professionals. 

“With digital disruptions and communications taking a seat at the table, we as professionals need to increasingly adapt. The digital revolution is something we can’t avoid anymore. Social has become an enabler for us to tell our story and engage with an audience that speaks ‘social’. People want to hear news from their peers, who they know and trust. One great way organizations can cope with this revolution is by leveraging their employees and humanizing the content they want to share.” said Roger Pua, Senior Director, Corporate Communications, Asia Pacific, LinkedIn.

“Communication professionals have to do much more than maintaining an organization’s reputation. Through our first Comms Connect we hope to stir in bigger conversations on how communications professionals can leverage social media as publishing platforms. The idea is to talk to your audience in an authentic and relatable voice,” said Deepa Sapatnekar, Head of Communications, LinkedIn India & Hong.