With the eventual arrival of web 3.0, businesses are starting to explore social networking tools like Facebook and LinkedIn as part of their marketing strategies. The power of such online communities enables online users to give feedback to sellers, ratings to products and also to get in touch with business partners 24 hours a day.Social networking sites are definitely useful for businesses and I believe that the business landscape will continue to evolve.
When we look at social networks in businesses, 2 questions come to mind.Firstly, how effective are platforms like Facebook for businesses, and what are some of the other functions that can be done other than marketing.At present, companies that make use of such tools are able to attract the targeted amount of eyeballs they need to their web page just by sending out their advertisements to the users. If the user is interested, they can click into the advertisement and find out more about the product or service that is offered by the company.Two-way communication is also further enhanced as users can leave questions or comments on the social networking page and the rate of response will be quick.
Social networking sites can also be used to handle public relations issues. Granted, it may not be as effective as holding a press conference for the company, but social media might come in handy when you need a quick way of doing crisis management. Although this area has not been fully utilized by companies,I feel that it is worthwhile.Secondly, social networking tools might serve to enhance the corporate ties within an organisation as a more light hearted way of communication. Although it might seem alien and even unacceptable now, I feel that is possible that your boss might write on your profile page to inform you about the meeting later, or you could have team building games played on Facebook to improve relationships within the office.
The possibilities of social networking are endless, and if businesses are able to harness the power of the Internet, I am sure that we will see a new trend rise in our generation.
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3 comments:
beyond the gleaming and silver paved road social networking you make social networking out to be, what about the flipside of it.
advertisements. what you described sounds suspiciously like telemarketing in a different disguise. if that is the case, will spam become a huge problem that can eventually lead to mass disillusionment. i think friendster is an example.
social networking tools enhancing corporate ties. certainly it will facilitate communication between employer and employee. the more important question however, becomes the division of personal privacy with corporate interests. you have no doubt heard of people getting fired or, more pertinent to you, their applications to jobs refused, simply because of some personal pictures on facebook. furthermore, apparently some boy is suing his mom for facebook slander. apply that to the corporate workplace.
I agree with what Amuka said. I feel that social networks such as Facebook are more inclined for personal or private usage rather than corporate use. Although business companies have got onto the FB bandwagon, they nevertheless will run into the risk of spamming should they decide to take a more drastic measure
Personally, I think FB and other social networking sites are a thin line to walk for companies seeking to communicate to their customers.
To attract and yet without interferring with their customers. It may not be an easy thing to do, but I am sure there are success stories out there such as the blogshops who uses social networking sites because no other better options are available.
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