Social media technology is spreading throughout companies to build relationships between the corporation and its consumers. This new technology has surfaced to provide these opportunities to create connections and improve conversation. While there are benefits to using the technology, some companies are slow to pick up on it.
In a survey done by Roberto Rocha for the Montreal Gazette, he found that only 18% of the people surveyed actually use forms of social media for their companies, but 75% of the respondents said they use a form of social media by themselves. Also, 60% of the companies surveyed do not have any type of social media in the works, so there is no potential for expansion in this area.
There are many reasons why a company might refuse to see the potential opportunities for growth that social media provides. David Wallace, co-founder and CEO of SearchRank, provides some reasons. Some of these include that a company does not know who would write the blog, it costs too much, and there is no control.
Another reason he provides is that there is no one who could monitor any of the social media sites. It all ties back to the fear of measuring the results of your actions. Wallace explains how companies feel that their staff is too busy to deal with these social media sites and everyone has something else to do. While this might be somewhat true, Wallace points out that when the Internet came to the forefront, companies hired in-house groups to manage their websites. If a corporation has a company website, they have to have someone running and maintaining that site. Whoever this person is most likely has the knowledge and the resources to update their system to include social media sites and monitor them.
Companies should not ignore this opportunity to engage customers because it is becoming the norm. Most companies probably have someone capable of taking on this task anyway. By entering the social media world, a company can grow and create relationships they didn’t have before. Measuring the impact of social media sites should not be a roadblock.
March 25, 2009 at 5:50 am
Hey Heather you are absolutely right there is no reason for corporations to fear social media. Unfortunately many companies are still skeptical because of the time and cost commitment. That is why people such as ourselves are hired to explain and show the statistical importance of how social media can improve the company.
I’ll never forget the speech Dr. Holman gave us in the very first weeks of class. She said that our public relations field no longer relies on traditional forms of publicity. She also explained that with the current economic situation companies are not willing to risk new ideas or innovations because they need to budget their money well.
As public relations practitioners it is our job to show our future bosses why social media is so important and prove to them that it is all worth the time and cost. Luckily for us organizations keep coming out with new software to measure the effectiveness of social media; thus, the easier it will become to convince employers.
March 26, 2009 at 3:39 am
Heather,
I completely agree with you. Companies should not be afraid to embrace Web 2.0. It may be true that social media tools need to be moderated. And it may be true that it requires more time and money. But in the end companies will see positive results. Their relationships will be stronger with their audiences because they will gain confidence, support and integrity.
I also agree with Nicole. It is up to us as PR practitioners and corporate communicators to show organizations that they can benefit from embracing this new technology.
I really recommend taking a look at the YouTube video titled “Institutional Fear, Take 2,” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F14-5LC3cBs. It uses several photos and some text to compare the before and now. Organizations didn’t have as much freedom before Web 2.0. Now they have the freedom to fly and expand on the opportunities new social media has to offer.
March 26, 2009 at 8:44 pm
Heather,
I wouldn’t say it’s necessarily dangerous for all organizations to shy away from adaption of new social media. Some organizations, particularly those that are trying to reach an audience with little to no internet access really have no reason to spend the time or money on Web 2.0 tools.
I’m an advocate for social media usage in the right context. For instance, a welfare agency might have no purpose for social media use because its clients might not have the broadband internet speeds (or connections at all for that matter) to keep up with Youtube videos and Twitter alerts.
However, I do believe there are other organizations who should utilize social media to build relationships with some of their publics but not others. For instance, an organization that provides health care to mothers in third-world countries can’t justify the cost of using Web 2.0 tools to reach out to those mothers, however, the organization could use the tools to reach out to potential donors.
Before an organization jumps right on the social media bandwagon, proper research to justify how that media will be used needs to be shown to upper management.