How Social Media Is Affecting Our Everyday Working Lives
Whether it’s catching up on the latest news or disseminating information of your own, the influence of social media continues to grow. Spend an hour managing your company’s social media network and you can engage with customers, reassure clients, monitor market trends and promote your latest innovation, all from one web browser window.
It’s about much more than what was for breakfast or a television show that was on last night. A business that doesn’t engage with social media runs the risk of lagging behind. If you happen to miss an important industry announcement or a large number of customer complaints, for example, then your reputation for professionalism can take a hit.
Monitoring and updating
So much of our breaking news now appears on social networks first. When Microsoft’s new CEO took over the reins, most journalists found out about it through Twitter before the announcement hit their in-boxes. Are you monitoring the right feeds and hashtags for your business? Is this a core part of someone’s role at the company, or is it added on as an afterthought?
Then there’s updating your own social media presence. A feed that isn’t topped up with fresh content on a daily basis can quickly look out of date, and that makes your company look out of date too. Your organization’s social media feeds are out there for all of the world to see: what impression are they giving of your business?
The key networks
As well as the big players of Facebook and Twitter, there are other smaller networks to consider, such as Google+, Instagram, Tumblr and Pinterest. Each one of these has its own nuances and strengths, and can be used in different ways depending on the nature of your business and the ways in which you need to reach your audience.
Twitter, for example, is superb for fast, short updates and engaging with customers in a direct fashion. Pinterest, meanwhile, is better served as an online showcase for your products, and can be particularly effective in e-commerce. Facebook is the place to build up brand loyalty and engagement, as well as providing comprehensive advertising tools.
How does email fit in?
Email has not been rendered obsolete by social media: in fact, it’s an essential part of it. The in-boxes of your staff members can be used to monitor multiple social network accounts at the same time, as well as promote your feeds to customers, clients and partners. Check the account notification settings carefully for each of the networks your company is utilising.
Don’t neglect the email side of your social media operations — an effective system such as Mimecast’s Email Management suite can bring all of your messaging needs together, enabling your employees to monitor, search and archive emails from their desks or a mobile device (enabling the sort of rapid response to social media that you need).
From early morning news summaries to out-of-hours customer support, social media has a huge role to play in our working lives. Make sure that you’re giving your social media accounts the attention and resources that they deserve.