successful social networking in business

In her article, Social Networking Connects Business, Karen Banna discusses the opportunities and challenges as social networking sites find a home in corporate settings. It is very important that businesses establish the use of social networking as a function in line with strategic business goals, such as engaging with customers, driving sales, or getting employees talking internally. John Kembel, CEO of HiveLive, Inc., a Boulder, Colorado-based developer of social networking software says, "some companies start with a focus on internal collaboration and efficiency, while others start with more of an external focus on customer engagement. We've seen the greatest success with those companies that start externally, bringing customers closer to their business though a community. This extroverted posture makes for the fastest cultural shift, driving innovation and competitive advantage."

Once the goal of networking has been established by the business, it is important to try a pilot program to ensure that the software works effectively for the business purpose. Some companies find better success if they have two different programs: one for external networking and another one for internal networking. Once the best software design(s) have been established, it is important to create acceptable-use policies that achieve the delicate balance of restricting improper use while still encouraging the freedom to communicate and collaborate in an effective manner.

The benefit to employees in utilizing social networking in business is to reduce information overload. Studies have shown that employees are more productive if they have many network contacts that create reliable source to help filter incoming information. 60% of all U.S. workers have used at least one networking site in the past year. Employees benefit from communicating with other employees to discuss problems, brainstorm potential solutions, and share different skill sets. Customers benefit by being able to interact with the business in a direct and collaborative manner, thereby increasing the quality and quantity of their feedback. The business benefits by increased productivity and innovation in its employees, and by increased customer satisfaction. When engineered properly, social networking is a win-win-win opportunity.

IDC provides the following five ways that businesses can succeed with social networking:

1) Assess your business needs before testing technologies so you can match needs with functionality.

2) Get at least one person from each business unit to test any potential technologies. Different business units have different needs, so what works for the IT department may be lacking for the marketing department.

3) To prevent abuses, create an "acceptable use" policy that provides employees with guidelines for using the company's social networking tools.

4) Determine how easily social networking tools can be integrated with your existing technology.

5) Install filtering an monitoring software. That way, you can monitor what's going in and out of the company and prevent or detect abuses.

source: www.smartenterprisemag.com