Social networks are intended to allow users to communicate with others. People of common backgrounds and interests congregate and interact using these social networks, enabling them to share information across the world. Businesses are now using social networking sites as opportunities for globalization. Internet-based networks such as these encourage businesses to take advantage of marketing solutions and other services the social media has to offer.
MySpace, Facebook, and LinkedIn are among the most popular social networks available on the web. Social networks such as these account for a significant portion of internet traffic daily. Users create profiles, groups and news feeds, and send messages and advertisements instantly. Twitter is a fast-growing site which enables users to post micro-blogs using no more than 140 characters. From these, businesses use positive comments as testimonials and negative comments as areas for improvement. Negative posts offer valuable information for a company and hold employees accountable for their actions. More businesses are beginning to use these sites not only to make gains in sales, but also for market research purposes.
Hiring new employees is often cumbersome for many businesses. Using social networking websites, individuals can develop profiles that list their unique traits, experience and qualifications. LinkedIn, particularly, is intended for business-related networking, and profiles include members’ qualifications and corporate experience. Searching these sites enables businesses to quickly and easily narrow down a list of candidates for a given position. Companies can then view profiles, request documents, and set up interview times with successful candidates. The hiring process is more efficient than ever before, because it decreases correspondence time, in addition to eliminating the need to place classified ads, if the business wants to skip that step altogether. It also provides a unique and authentic look at a person’s qualifications.
Social networks are also extremely useful for marketing purposes. Social networks enable companies to connect with specific target groups in minutes. Wall posts, blog posts and comments or threads on message boards can serve as useful data for forecasting future demands of products, as well as for getting feedback on existing products, particularly new releases. Through various Internet resources, companies can get a candid view of consumers’ opinions of their products, brand and customer service.
Social media can also help a company take care of customer service needs, since representatives are able to respond to customer complaints and demands more efficiently by staying up-to-date with the “buzz” on social network sites. Consumers are often more honest about their experiences with a product or brand when they are simply giving their opinion or offering a narrative of their experience, instead of responding directly to the company’s inquiries or market research surveys, and this honesty can benefit the business which takes time to listen.
The bar of customer service, additionally, is raised to a new level as consumers use social networking to hold businesses accountable for services they provide. It used to be that if a consumer received poor customer service, received a shoddy product, or otherwise was treated poorly by a company, he or she would tell a number of friends – and the negative impact on the company would be necessarily limited. Today, however, with the so-called “viral” power of the Internet, complaints can snowball and severely affect a company’s reputation or brand.
Possibly one of the most obvious advantages to incorporating social networking into everyday business practices is the cost. Most social networking sites are free of charge, while others offer membership at low costs. By using these sites as opposed to hiring customer service staff, companies are seeing financial benefits to social media.
The way in which individuals gain information is changing. In an increasingly competitive world, companies are acknowledging the need to incorporate the most modern business tactics into their overall consumer strategies, including web-based technologies and services.
