How prevalent is the use of social media within companies? Can it drain employee productivity? According to a study done by Russell Herder and Ethos Business Law, 51 percent of executives have this fear. What about the other 49 percent? Well they think that the use of social media has the ability to damage a company’s reputation.
What about enhancing relationships and interacting with customers for personalized customer service and the ability to build brand reputation? Besides, if it weren’t for the social networking sites, how could senior management read what customers are saying about their brand in the blogosphere (52% admit they do read what’s being said) or monitor competitors’ use of social networking (47% do this, too)?
The most used social media outlets among respondents, starting with majority were Facebook, followed by Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn.
The national survey also found that fewer than one in three respondents’ organization has set policies on the use of social media, which would most likely explain why many organizations have considered prohibiting the use altogether or have at least restricted the use. Furthermore, 26 percent of companies surveyed had the right idea – that social media should be encouraged to enhance corporate objectives and embrace new opportunities.
We should welcome constructive social media into the workplace considering it’s probable benefits. Connect with the people, learn their business needs, and be able to give a flexible, personified response.
Not saying that employees should be tweeting about everything and anything at any time – some guidelines are a good idea – but the use of social media can be proactive and quite advantageous to any company in a competitive market. And oh, let’s not forget how social media encourages customer retention.
