The article “Business Executives Grapple With Social Media Initiatives” in yesterday’s BtoB Online gives a good example of the ongoing debate about the value of social media for companies. It talks about an online survey conducted in July with 438 executives about their feelings on social media. The survey seems to cover more public facing issues than internal engagement, but I’m thinking the obvious mixed emotions about the topic covers both spectrums. (Plus, I’d argue that social media aimed at the public and consumers is also a form of employee communications.)
Here’s a snapshot of the results:
- 51 percent fear social media could be detrimental to employee productivity
- 49 percent said that using social media could damage a company’s reputation
- 81 percent said social media can enhance relationships to customers
- 69 percent said social networking can aid recruitment
- 64 percent said it can function as a customer service tool
Now, you can read into these results a lot of ways, but I believe that fear drives the first two points as they’re really about losing control of the message. But, the last three points give me hope. They’re about finding valuable ways to harness the power of social media. I don’t know what companies those respondents were with, but it seems to me that they’ve accepted that social media isn’t just the latest craze – it’s a way of life.
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