Professional Experience #4
Yvonneleewinn
UseofSocialMediaintheWorkPlace.pptxUse of Social Media in the Work Place
Social Media in the Work Place
Yvonne L. Winn
Professor Busby
August 15, 2020
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Use of Social Media in the Work Place
Introduction
The advancement in technology has led to development of social media platforms.
Firms have embraced the use of social media for purposes of communication, advertising, brand management, among others.
Most commonly used platforms are Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Pinterest, LinkedIn, etc.
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Social Media Users in 2020
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Importance of Firms Embracing Social Media
Globally, 3.80 billion people use social media as of January 2020, a 7% increase from January 2019 (Kemp, 1).
Companies use social media to:
Source talent through posting job openings
Enhance connection between employees and management
Respond to customer queries and concerns
Increase the company’s website traffic
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Importance of Firms Embracing Social Media cont’d
Due to the many social media users globally, companies use social media platforms to enhance brand visibility and awareness through targeted campaigns (Kemp, 1).
Social media also brings interconnectedness among company staff and management through easier communication
Besides, it allows firms to respond to customer queries promptly and it’s also a platform to gauge customer satisfaction
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Users of Social Media Platforms in January 2020
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Advertising Through Social Media
Social media helps firms to market their products by:
Creating brand awareness and visibility
Generating leads through adverts
Increasing traffic to a company’s website
Conducting market research through media surveys and polls
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Advertising Through Social Media Cont’d
Social media has become the number one advertisement platform for companies since:
It is cost-effective
Reaches a wider audience with over 3.80 billion users (Kemp, 1).
It improves a company’s brand loyalty
It offers firms an opportunity to engage clients
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Policies Governing the Use of Social Media
In a company, both employees and the firm have their own social media platforms
Firms therefore, set policies governing the use of both individual and the company’s social media platforms
Such policies help to limit inappropriate use of media accounts, which would be detrimental to the company’s brand (Abdipour et al., 2)
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Policies Governing the Use of Social Media Cont’d
Some of the policies firms enforce on use of social media platforms are :
Prohibiting employees from sharing company’s confidential information with the public such as trademarks, strategies, etc.
Restricting employees from communicating/posting on behalf of the company unless when authorized to
Employees should make it clear that the views they communicate through personal accounts do not represent the company’s view (Abdipour et al., 2)
Restricting staff from sharing offensive or derogatory content even on their individual accounts since they represent the company
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Professional Use of a Company’s Social Media Platforms
Despite social media having numerous advantages to organizations, they can be equally detrimental if inappropriately used
Since firms commonly use social media platforms to communicate to stakeholders and the general public, they must ensure whatever they communicate is in line with the company’s values, standards, and ethics (Abdipour et al., 2)
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Professional Use of a Company’s Social Media Platforms Cont’d
Some of the policies that firms enforce to ensure professional use of its social media platforms are:
Requiring its social media administrators to be ethical, courteous, and respectful in engaging clients
Observing confidentiality and data protection policies
Only posting or commenting on matters within the scope of the administrator
Consulting before sharing major-impact content
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Challenges on the Use of Social Media by Companies
Despite social media providing many advantages to firms, it equally exposes them to various risks . If not properly managed, it has the potential to ruin businesses.
Some of the challenges accompanying the use of social media platforms are:
The risk of disclosure of a firm’s confidential information by employees
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Challenges on the Use of Social Media by Companies- Cyber attacks Cont’d
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Challenges on the Use of Social Media by Companies Cont’d
Reduced interpersonal and face-to-face interaction among staff and even the management
Exposing the company to public scrutiny and criticism. Dissatisfied customers can post negative comments on the firm’s accounts and that affects both existing and potential customers (Abdipour et al., 2).
It can also be used to campaign against the firm’s products
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Conclusion
Since the use of social media has become part of people’s daily lives, firms have no choice but to embrace it
Social media helps firms to market their products, interact with clients, increase brand presence and visibility and respond to customer queries
A firm must put policies in place to govern its use of social media and that of its employees
Social media presents challenges to firms such as increased public scrutiny, risk of exposure of confidential information, and negative public campaigns against a firm.
However, social media offers firms many benefits than challenges and every organization must embrace its use
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Sources
Simon, Kemp. 2020. Digital 2020: 3.8 Billion people use social media. https://wearesocial.com/blog/2020/01/digital-2020-3-8-billion-people-use-social-media
Khadije, Abdipour et al. 2019. The impact of social media in business growth and performance: A scientometrics analysis. International Journal of Data and Network Science. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/330990327_The_impact_of_social_media_in_business_growth_and_performance_A_scientometrics_analysis
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