Social Media in the Office
The digital age has created a whole new world known as social media. This platform allows people to connect digitally through several different medias. From Facebook to Twitter to LinkedIn, social media has a place in the business world, but to what extent? Social media can be used to help drive sales and name brand recognition but can also be used to provide distractions while at work.
Recognition
Almost every company has some sort of social media presence in today’s digital economy. Companies use platforms like Facebook and Twitter to talk about promotions and use platforms like LinkedIn to promote corporate achievements and even to post job openings. Companies ask clients and customers to follow them on social media to hear about upcoming promotions and to create an online community to support their business agenda. There is huge benefit to any company who has a large social media following. They can spend less money on traditional advertisements and use this platform to talk about issues relevant to their client base and keep their client based engaged. Companies with large numbers of followers or likes on a social media are typically thought of as reputable from outsiders researching the company for the first time.
Search Engine Benefits
Companies like Google and Yahoo provide a tool for people researching or seeking out companies for a particular job. People will use these search engines to help find online companies to compare prices with local quotes or to make online purchases without ever having to shop at local stores. These online companies use social media to help increase their world wide web footprint to help these search engines identify their company as a match for as many relevant searches as possible. The term SEO or search engine optimization has become common in the world economy. Having your company’s webpage properly optimized for online searches helps ensure your businesses website shows up as often as possible to maximize exposure and sales opportunities. A quality social media footprint for any company has an impact on search engine results. This has resulted in the necessity for any company trying to do business online to have a strong social media presence.
Alternative Advertisement
Radio, newsprint, and television advertising can be expensive and very general. These medians are often widely distributed to a large number of people. While it is possible to be more specific to a certain audience when advertising through these traditional means, often people who are not potential customers will witness the ads at an inflated cost to a company. Social media allows companies to advertise freely to customers who follow their social media posts. In addition, there are also many forums on social media to pay for advertisement. Facebook, for example, offers ads for a price and these ads can be specific to ones interests. It is true that social media advertising is not as proven as traditional means; however, it is growing every day and appears to be the best way to advertise going forward.
Plenty of Distractions
Social media cannot simply be allowed everywhere in the work place. People can easily be distracted through the constant posts from friends or companies that the employee follows. This can result in poor productivity due to distractions. Furthermore, many social media platforms offer the ability to chat in live time to friends or people in their network. This can be beneficial if the employee is chatting with a contractor for a job but this tends to be the minority, more often someone is chatting with a friend. In addition, social media can often cause harm to a company through means of an individual’s posts. There are now countless incidents of when a company employee posts about their place of work through social media causing harm to the company’s reputation and image. As a result many companies have a social media policy limiting what can be said online. Having a clear social media policy is crucial for the modern day business to protect both the company and its employees. A company does not want internal numbers to end up on a social media post and employees disagreeing with company policy online can often cause problems in the work place.
Delicate Balance
Social media has become a major component in the business world. Companies need a major social media presence for brand recognition, inexpensive advertisement, and to stay in touch with clients. It is a simple way to update information about products and services available without having to run major advertisement campaigns that can be very costly. Social media also offers a new way to advertise. The downside is employees can be distracted by constant use of social media at work and can post opinions about companies online. As the internet continues to evolve, so will social media. A clear social media policy is becoming a must for companies. Setting a guideline of how social media can be used and what information is for internal use only is crucial to protecting both a company and its employees. In conclusion, social media is a must for a company, but rules and expectations must be set and communicated clearly to everyone to ensure it remains beneficial and does not become harmful to an individual or a company’s image.
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