Social Networking for Companies

Of late, there has been much hoopla around the world about the increasing use of web for the development of the business. The social networking sites in particular have become the mandatory medium of communication from the companies to the customers. Also the growing social media is acting as a critical link of communication between the company and the customers. With more and more people starting to go digital in order to maintain their relation circle be it family/friends/professional or acquaintance, companies are also eying at social media to help them maintain fruitful relationship with their customers. Companies have started considering social media as an important medium for reaching out to their customers.

If we talk about the incorporation of social network internally we would see that the process would result in a more open platform where ideas for innovation can flow easily, efficiently and effectively. Looking at the other side of the coin, externally too the medium would facilitate media interaction, industry networking and brand-building.

Importance of Social Networking in Corporate Business

External use of social media will also help in the development of strategic information for better decision making and providing an alternative customer service channel. Companies have a wealth of quantitative information with them, about the performance of the economy and different industries. These data could be well used with the qualitative information, obtained from social networking platforms, to provide meaningful reports with better analysis. This will help the companies address problems in right manner and will also help them understand the current market trends and make better forecasts.

Social Networking as a Medium

Characteristics and Public Outreach (with India as an instance)

There are over 204 social networking platforms which are operational today. Out of this huge number of options only a handful of services can reach wider public in India. The choice of platform depends on the purpose of use. The following lists suggests about the top four platforms which are used in India:

• Facebook – Relationship based
• LinkedIn – Skill based (Professional Network)
• Google+ – Relationship based
• Twitter – Content Based (Known as short message social media)

Read on GWI A race between Facebook and Google to control the new Digital Era

Use of Social Media

1)For Communication and Brand Building

i) Business Promotion and Brand Value – Social network provide a great value when it comes to brand awareness and brand management, it is a very cost effective medium of reaching the audience and help in carrying out different promotional activities which are aimed at building brand value

ii) Networking – It is undoubtedly true that social media helps in integrating the options available between social networking platforms. These platforms can be used to engage with influential people in the industry and a genuine interaction in the form of feedback/recommendation could be well established. This will help the organization reach high level of credibility.

iii) Media Relations – Print and digital media is a very important medium of communication. Media houses, reporters have a strong online presence on social networking websites which could be followed in order build media relations

iv) Backing-Up Customer Support – Social networks can be used as an additional channel for customer support. It could help in bringing down the volume of calls and emails. It can also help add to the brand image of an organization through prompt service responses from the support team.

v) For Recruitment and Selection – Social networks act as a great medium to identify and recruit great pool of talent. Professional websites such as LinkedIn, Glassdor etc. are a medium to help the companies post job openings so as to receive active participation from the prospective candidates. This also helps in reducing the recruitment costs and streamlines the process of recruitment to a great extent.

2) Listening strategies

i) Listening To Markets – Social networking platform is an open platform for all where in participants like retail investors; trading analysts, day-traders etc. are present and shows active participation. Contribution of opinions and snippets in real time during the market hours helps the companies and the retail investors analyze the market trend and also help in the sentiment analysis.

ii) Listening To Competitors – Competitors’ activities can also be monitored on different platform like Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. The details on the kind of posts, target audience, followers will help the companies analyze the competitors’ current strategies. In case of professional network like LinkedIn, a direct comparison between a competitor’s account and industry average can be made. Data pertaining to different employees, company growth, etc. can also be generated effortlessly. This will help in assessing the competitors’ strategies for growth.

iii) Listening For Promoters – Scanning for people promoting about a company’s products could be easily done on social networking platform. This will help the companies reward such people on a case to case basis.

Conclusion

It is rightly said social network offers a flexible yet structured form of interaction. The platform offered by the social networking sites helps in the collaboration both internally and externally. This has made the use of social network a part and parcel of companies operations.