Social Media and Business

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One of the hardest tasks of marketing is researching potential customers and trying to understand and keep track of the trends of people of all ages, to help give organizations ideas in advertising strategies and product/services development. Unfortunately, trends tend to change so fast that after information is gathered on them, it might not be relevant anymore. Now, Facebook can help with various tools and apps for businesses. Facebook gives the options for organizations to purchase information on trends and popular topics of its members.

The information found can help businesses get an idea of what is important to their consumers and what marketing strategy to use. This availability of information and the personal interaction can make consumers feel like they are more of a valued customer, than just another dollar. Social media sites also enable people to do their own research on a particular business by making it easier to be found on the web.

As with any new idea, there are some disadvantages to using social media sites that must also be taken into consideration. The disadvantages of using these sites, such as loss of productivity and virus attacks, prove that social media marketing may not be the way to go for all businesses. In general, issues related to using social media in the workplace are not associated with using the sites themselves, instead, problems come from the employees. Parts of a business that could possibly be affected include its reputation and confidentiality, its productivity level, and the security of its networks. With that being said, it is the company’s responsibility to do some solid research and protect against these potential threats to protect the well-being of the company and its employees.

Image is everything when it comes to business. Years and years are spent building a positive reputation that can be shattered with one bad review. The situation is made worse when that review is posted on a Facebook page for the world to see. A bad reputation is very difficult and expensive to redeem. So, a business must be careful when deciding to include social media with their business. Also, allowing employees to access social media that ties in with the company can be a dangerous choice. For example, a worker could be fired then decide to show how he/she feels about the company in a Twitter or Facebook post. Whether written by a customer or an employee, negative feedback or the release of confidential information can ruin a company’s reputation. There is more than one way an employee could potentially damage the image of a business when using social media.

The main purpose for including social media in the business world, is usually to improve

networking or to improve the company image. But almost always, the purpose is to increase productivity and profits. This becomes difficult when employees are on Facebook instead of working. However, it is not surprising that the loss of productivity is so high since most companies do not monitor their employees when they are using social sites. Employers must have a clear, detailed policy referring to the use of social media sites in the workplace. Relying on employees to make the right decisions will ultimately result in conflict. Businesses must be aware and careful when providing work-related details on social media sites. They can become targets for attackers looking to steal personal information. Any email addresses collected would be perfect for spammers, due to the fact that the addresses are almost guaranteed to be real and checked on a daily basis.

Attackers who target organizations can use spamming to take advantage of the organization through its weakest point, which are its employees. Information leaked through social media sites is the most dangerous because it allows attackers to effortlessly find key employees of the organization, use social methods to befriend them, collect information about the organization and employees’ credentials, and gain greater access into the organization’s networks. Then they have the complete access to take down an organization. Even with the disadvantages of social sites, a company can help avoid problems with some general tips.

First, in order to prevent negative comments or feedback from customers, an organization should have a high customer or member satisfaction level. If not, it should be prepared to handle and settle any negative feedback posted. Businesses should have an idea of what kind of information they would like to include on their profile, and what can be offered to potential and current customers.

In conclusion, I have suggested a better understanding of what social sites have to offer and how there are positive and negative advantages in using social media in the business world. I’ve talked about how they guide their decisions on whether or not their organization should invest time and resources into social sites, and finally, the tips and information provided that can be the first steps in effectively helping organizations bring their product and services to the world. In my opinion, I believe using social sites can definitely benefit a company, if they are using it in the right way and monitoring their employees as they use social media.