Today's world has more things happening online than in real life. Ranging from company performance to social life presence, all of it is present to a wider reach of people online. Understanding the importance of social media, many companies have made it a part of their communication channels.
These days a kid who is not even his or her teenager may be easily found having a social media presence, so come to think of it, it is important for adults. In addition, social media has increased the connectivity of people from all around the world.
Social Media Platforms
A thing as common as social media networks is well-known to the people who have access to the internet in any part of the globe. This access has made it possible for people to connect and interact. It has been a blessing in disguise to the core.
From individuals to any official company, it is seen that social media is unavoidable. So what is social media, and what are the social media platforms that are easily accessible?
Social media is an interactive technology used through digital platforms. You share and develop connections, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through the virtual communities.
Types of Social Media Networks:
There are 3 most common social media networks. But many other smaller platforms are growing rapidly. So we are stating a few that are commonly known to most people :
Facebook: Facebook is an informal platform. This platform is used to make friends and interact with strangers and people that might already be known to you. Over the years, Facebook has grown massively, and now there are many more services provided through it other than only social connections. Things like; finding a job, finding a partner, getting solutions to your problems, etc., all can happen here. It is the most common and easily accessible social media platform. In this network, the connections you make are tagged as friends; you can comment on their posts, share posts with them, and even chat or call them through the Facebook extension called Messenger.
Instagram: Instagram is also an informal platform used for social connectivity. Many people have become celebrities and even millionaires through this platform. So, if used in the right manner and with the right tactics, one can grow through it. Instagram uses posts and pictures as a source of communication. There are followers on Instagram instead of friends. There are several followers, and if you exceed that number, you will start earning through the platform. You can use messages on DM (Direct Message) to chat with your followers or with the people you are following.
Twitter: This is a platform that is most famous among celebrities and politicians worldwide. Many rumors and hot gossip come from here. Twitter is also known as the most common online platform for social news and posts by hotshots.
YouTube: This is a less interactive but very common social media platform. Social networks like YouTube have videos ranging from cooking shows to high-tech-related programs. These videos can be as long as more than a few hours and as short as 10 seconds. There are informative videos and useless ones that depend on what kind of video or genre you prefer to watch. There is a lot of local content from wherever you belong and content from other parts of the world. Social media tools are known for earning handsome amounts by putting in less effort, and YouTube is one such tool.
TikTok: Another tool that uses videos as a form of entertainment.
Netflix: This tool has videos, shows, and movies uploaded daily. This is for the sole purpose of entertainment.
LinkedIn: LinkedIn is fantastic social media tool for most business owners. LinkedIn benefits your business in several ways, one you get to keep in contact with current and past clients. Secondly, most professionals post on LinkedIn about what is happening in their industry. That way you can use LinkedIn marketing strategy for small business.
Most of the stated and other social media sites require making social media profiles. These profiles serve as the home page for the user. These days even company events are posted on social media accounts, making social networks inevitable. Social media users understand the importance of social connectivity through these social networks. It is no secret, how these social media sites have helped grow people as individuals as well as an organization as a whole.
There are many more social media networks emerging and growing with each passing day. There are certain social media policies that work for the safety of the user, but still, there are potential threats. These concerns are for individuals and companies alike.
Benefits Of Social Media In The Corporate World
Apart from individual life, social media sites also affect corporate company activities. Activities ranging from employee engagement to company values everything is being impacted. It is seen over time that employee morale is seen to be higher when given the freedom to access social networks.
The impacts of social media usage vary from company to company. Some companies and their employees rely on social media tools to achieve the company goals, while some can use it as a marketing tool. After knowing this, one might want to ask, how do social media platforms benefit the company or the corporate world?
Communication Channels: the company can use any social media network to communicate with its company. Mostly, companies use Gmail or Emails to communicate with their employees. This makes the communication fast, and there is less chance of the message being missed or misunderstood as there is proof that everyone got the same message at the same time, through the same portal. Some companies use internal social media to communicate with the directory of people employed in their organization, channel options like ESN have made it easier for organization and employee interaction.
Blog Posts: companies use social media tools to engage with their employees. They can publish a weekly blog or make an entertainment blog to keep the employees entertained. This increases employee engagement as they can comment on the blog or, better even, write blogs for the company website to publish, and they get recognition for their extra efforts.
Company to Company contact: it is easier for competitors to keep in touch through social media tools. Even suppliers, vendors, or business partners can stay in touch 24/7 through these channels.
Strengthens Business Social Life: employees feel motivated and encouraged when they can relate to their colleagues. It is also a great way to diminish jealousy among employees. Employee satisfaction increases when they have friends at the workplace and feel more confident and happy to come to the company to work.
Customer Representation: many companies use all forms of social media to engage with their customers. They use it for several purposes, including; as an online survey tool, customer interactions, customer service, customer support, etc. The companies also use the channels to perform better customer relationship management as it can be available 24/7, unlike physical CRM. Finally, companies also use the channels as a customer base to email them any deals or promotions or just as a networking tool with the customer.
Digital Workplace Platform: social media channels have been proven a blessing for companies, especially in times of pandemics. Most companies made sure they were present virtually to survive through the tough situation of pandemics when everything was online. As a greater impact of a pandemic, customers like purchasing online as it diminishes the hustle of taking out time and going to the brick and mortar store to make the purchase. The centralized platform of the digital workplace made it possible for employees to work through online channels and produce happier customers as things were made possible through the virtual world.
Employee Retention: social media tools have made it easier for employees to prefer a certain company over the other. The employees are a lot more informed about the working conditions and their rights varying from company to company.
Marketing Tool: organizations use social media channels as a marketing tool and networking tool. They use it to reach a greater number of people than is possible through print media, etc.
Advantage of Notification: it is a great benefit to the organization that the message conveyed through a social media network uses notifications. This makes it the least possible to be missed.
Personal Benefits to the Employees:
Engagement with other colleagues: employees find it easier to make friends and make personal networks.
Work-related Questions: a lot of the time, employees are shy to ask certain things face-to-face. Social media interaction makes it possible for the employees to communicate with the organization and clarify any work-related queries.
Employee Programs: dedicated employee advocacy program is a great way to know the right owned by the person as an employee of a certain type of firm, for example, a construction company. A few years ago employees were not knowledgeable about their rights according to the industries they were working for, now it is very easy.
Employee Collaboration: employees pool their ideas and share their experiences to achieve a certain target or a goal.
Competitive Advantage: employees enter into a healthy competition to achieve their goals faster than the others. This also improves the business's success as a whole.
Mental Breaks: the employees feel relaxed and fresh when they get the much-needed mental break by using the social networks at work.
Drawbacks of Social Media
With the evolution of technology, many changes have been witnessed over time, and the corporate world is no different. With changes come a lot of benefits for both parties and a lot of negative effects.
Having discussed various benefits to the organization of using social media on a corporate level, you might be wondering, are there any drawbacks?
Technical Risks: hacking is a common issue; it is a high alert for companies to keep their data and confidential information safe.
Less Productivity: it is seen that 70% of the companies have had to take disciplinary action against employees using social media platforms.
Irresponsible Posts: there are many times when employees post about their organizations in an inadequate manner leading to defamation of the organization. To avoid this, the organization and managers should maintain a good balance between work and social media access for the employees during working hours.
Wastage of Time: employees can use social media excessively. They can open channels hundreds of times to kill time and not pay attention to the work assigned to them. Employees can waste time on online chats, casual conversations, etc.
Does Social Media Affects the Job Performance of An Employee
The straight answer is, Yes! Social media does affect an employee's job performance, and this happens in various ways. There are ways that an employee can feel the positive impact of using social media and relate it to their work-life.
Blog Post Comments: being able to comment and interact on the social media blog posts by the organization gives the employee a sense of authority. They feel confident in working for the team and feel involved.
Accomplish Tasks: the employees get into the healthy competition by using social media channels and having channel options. They try to accomplish tasks and improve their working capabilities.
Leadership Skills: when an employee is aware that their work is being shared virtually, there is a great chance of significant improvement in their work. This also leads to having more polished skills like leadership skills.
To Relax or take a Break: a break is essential; social media can provide that for the mind. Taking out 5-10 minutes and browsing through social media can freshen up the employee.
Should the Employees be Given Social Media Access At Workplace
The answer is Yes! The employees should be given access to social media channels at the workplace. If social media is given access to the workplace for the employees, the right policies and measures should be taken by the managers and business owners. By doing this, the business can see more benefits.
Social media marketing can benefit your business success, and it can help your company gain popularity among other competitors, etc. However, social media channels need to be used correctly by employees as well as business owners.
To grow your business to a new height, Osborne Digital Marketing can help you develop a great marketing strategy according to your business type and industry. Now that you understand the importance of social media presence and usage using the right business strategies. Osborne DM is here to build applicable and success-guaranteed strategies for your business.
Final Word
The employees should be able to use all the social media channel options available during working hours. This will benefit the employee as well as the organization as a whole. But makes sure to put up the right boundaries and make sure everyone is introduced to those boundaries before they start using social media.
