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Is Social Business Working Out?

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Is Social Business Working Out?
Social networking has never been more popular, with social tools accounting for 20 percent of all online activity, per ComScore (Laudon & Laudon, 2016, p. 65). Many of today’s employees are already well versed in the basics of public social networking using tools such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram (Laudon & Laudon, 2016, p. 65). Social media is the next wave of the digital transformation that started with the web (Holmes, 2015). Social media has already profoundly altered the way individuals communicate with one another and is changing how businesses communicate with customers. In fact, three-quarters of online adults in the U.S. now use social media sites (Holmes, 2015). Social media, like it or not, …show more content…

Social business needs to be driven from the top down.
Another challenge facing corporate social networks is organizational in nature. The company needs to be able to control the flow of information within its social network. The corporate social network needs to be aligned with the business culture and goals of the individual organization. Social media and social networks are a potential outlet for negative comments, not to mention the legal consequences if employees posted anything inappropriate (Society for Human Resource Management, 2016).
The organization also needs to be able to manage the performance of the social network. The social network needs to be simple and easy for employees at all levels to learn and access. If the network is too complex employees will lose interest. The information on the network also needs to be frequently and be relevant. One key technology factor to consider is whether the social network is mobile friendly. Most employees are now very connected and cell phones are crucial to their communication. Having a social network that is available from multiple devices makes it much easier for employees to engage and participate. Companies implementing social networks also need to have proper IT support to manage the networks and promptly deal with any issues that may arise with the technology.

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