Do the events unfolding across the Middle East over the past couple of months have any implications for financial communications professionals here in Asia? Josh Nova, vice president-corporate practice, Ketchum Hong Kong, tells us how.

It may seem like an obvious question and the answer fairly straight forward. Yes, political instability in a region that holds more than 60% of global oil reserves is once again sowing doubt and fear across capital markets. The spike in oil prices is upsetting the delicate recovery and stoking fears of inflation in emerging markets.

However, beyond the macroeconomic dynamics at play, there is a far more interesting insight that communication professionals, especially those responsible for investor communications, should take note of.

Digital social networks have played an important role in rapidly channeling years of dissatisfaction into organized (at least in Egypt’s case) condemnation of sitting regimes in the Middle East. The same tools and platforms have the potential to disrupt your corporation on any number of fronts, from executive compensation reform to opposition to a proposed merger, acquisition or new product innovation, all the way to board independence.

This very issue took center stage in March, when one of the world’s most successful Private Equity Fund’s key executives predicted to an audience at the SuperReturn conference in Berlin that “social media activism will change the industry — I just don’t know how.”

Actually, you don’t have to dig too deep to know how. Take for example the structure of Asia’s 1,000 biggest companies. Two-thirds of them are family controlled and of Hong Kong’s listed companies, more than 70% are controlled by either the founders or members of the founding families. This dynamic has increasingly raised the concern of investors who spotlight the corporate governance issues of family controlled firms.

One such firm, SJM Holdings, has grabbed headlines for the internecine family drama that has enraptured readers in Hong Kong. Unfortunately, the family drama highlighted once again the murky governance issues that concern investors, many of which are beginning to view SJM as a risky bet.

At the same time, the firm’s ham-fisted use of social media to tell its story through video backfired and provided thousands of investors in the city with a good reason to punish the company – SJM shares dropped by as much as 9% shortly after the videos went viral.

On the other end of the spectrum is the rise of shareholder activism here in Asia. David Webb of the “Webb-site” is one of the region’s most prominent and articulate voices in this camp. His campaigns against corporate malfeasance and poor corporate governance provide the tool-kit and formula for a new generation of more engaged and active shareholders and investors in the market.

To add complexity to an already complex landscape, activism is not only fomenting from the outside, it also lies within your organization. A session at Davos this year, entitled “The Wikileaks Dilemma”, discussed the implications of a massive leak of internal e-mails from a major corporation.

This all of course bears the question of what you, as a financial communications professional, should be doing in an era of increased transparency and instant mobilization of opinion.

For starters, it’s critically important to be acutely aware of the pulse and sentiment that your stakeholders are sharing about your corporation online. This might be just one simple step at first: monitor your company’s name and stock symbol within the multitude of blogs, financial discussion boards and other relevant social media channels.

But don’t just listen with a tin ear. Be attentive to the emerging viewpoints that are boiling over and work to set a plan in motion to effectively engage and communicate with these audiences on their turf.

This is also an opportunity for communications to take a seat at the executive table as a clear voice on the implications and opportunities that social media brings.