Question

Case Incident: Organizational Leveraging of Social Media

As you know, social media have transformed the way we interact. The transparent, rapid-fire communication they make possible means people can spread information about companies more rapidly than ever.

Do organizations understand yet how to use social media effectively? Perhaps not. Recent findings indicated that only three out of ten CEOs in the Fortune 500 have any presence on national social media sites. Many executives are wary of these new technologies because they cannot always control the outcomes of their communications. However, whether they are directly involved with social media or not, companies should recognize that these messages are out there, so it behooves them to make their voices heard. Some experts say social media tools improve productivity because they keep employees connected to their companies during non-office hours. And social media can be an important way to learn about emerging trends. André Schneider, chief operating officer of the World Climate Ltd, uses feedback from LinkedIn discussion groups and Facebook friends to discover emerging trends and issues worldwide. Padmasree Warrior, chief technology officer of Cisco, has used social media to refine her presentations before a “test” audience.

The first step in developing a social media strategy is establishing a brand for your communications—define what you want your social media presence to express. Experts recommend that companies begin their social media strategy by leveraging their internal corporate networks to test their strategy in a medium that’s easier to control. Most companies already have the technology to use social media through their corporate websites. Begin by using these platforms for communicating with employees and facilitating social networks for general information sharing. As social networking expert Soumitra Dutta from Insead notes, “My advice is to build your audience slowly and be selective about your contacts.”

Despite the potential advantages, companies also need to be aware of significant drawbacks to social media. First, it’s very difficult to control social media communications. Microsoft found this out when the professional blogger it hired spent more time promoting himself than getting positive information out about the company. Second, important intellectual capital might leak out. Companies need to establish very clear policies and procedures to ensure that sensitive information about ongoing corporate strategies is not disseminated via social media. Finally, managers should maintain motivation and interest beyond their initial forays into social media. A site that’s rarely updated can send a very negative message about the organization’s level of engagement with the world.

Sources: B. Acohido, “Social-Media Tools Boost Productivity,” USA Today, August 13, 2012, 1B; H. Annabi and S. T. McGann, “Social Media as the Missing Links: Connecting Communities of Practice to Business Strategy,” Journal of Organizational Computing and Electronic Commerce 23, no. 1-2 (2013): 56–83; S. Dutta, “What’s Your Personal Social Media Strategy,” Harvard Business Review, November 2010, 127–30; and G. Connors, “10 Social Media Commandments for Employers,” Workforce Management Online, February 2010, www.workforce.com; and L. Kwoh and M. Korn, “140 Characters of Risk: CEOs on Twitter,” The Wall Street Journal, September 26, 2012, B1, B8.

Discussion Questions

Are the drawbacks of the corporate leveraging of social media sufficient to make you think it’s better for them to avoid certain media? If so, which media?

What features would you look for in a social media outlet? What types of information would you avoid making part of your social media strategy?

What do you think is the future direction of social media in business? How might emerging technologies change your forecast?

Answer 1

Brief summary of the case:

In recent days, social media plays an important role in the success of the organizations. The chief executive officers of a company do not want to participate in social media as they feel they cannot control their communication in social media.

Participating in social media could bring greater benefits to the company. The companies are working in developing social media strategy to get the best out of social media. The companies work on creating a social media brand to communicate effectively.

The impact of the disadvantages of corporate influence on social media:

The companies face lot of problems due to participating in social media. The problems such as leakage of confidential information, mass communication in social media occur due to social media participation.

The above problems are a bigger threat to the survival of the company; hence, the companies should avoid participating in social media. The companies should not allow their employees to use social media during work.

The company should look out for the following information regarding social media:

• The social media should not project any wrong information about the company.

• The social media should not give permission to outsiders to edit the posts made by the company.

• The social media should not ask for confidential details of the users.

• The social media should have a great popularity so that many people will know about the company.

The company can avoid the following information in the social media strategy:

• The companies need not worry about the number of users of the social media.

• The companies can avoid publishing the recruitment policies in social media.

• The companies need not worry about the personal social media profiles of the employees.

The future of social media:

The social media has a very bright future in the upcoming years. Social media has made the people to interact very easily at free of cost. The social media spreads the message virally to all the people. Social media serves as the best entertainment to most of the people.

The role of emerging technologies:

The emerging technology will not bring up any negative change in the above forecast. The social media functions in a compatible way to all the new technologies. The people design the emerging technology so that social media is accessible. To be precise, the social media rules the technology. People do not prefer any new technology that will not allow social media.

Conclusion:

In the recent days, social media has become a part of life. The people cannot imagine their living without social media. The social media has advantages and disadvantages. The users should concentrate on advantages of the social media and use it wisely.

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