CASE Using Social Media to Your Advantage SOURCE:Organizational Behavior (2015),

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CASE Using Social Media to Your Advantage SOURCE:Organizational Behavior (2015), by Robbins&Judge;, Prentice Hall As you know, social media have transformed the way we interact. The transparent, rapid-fire communication they make possible means people can spread information about companies more rapidly than ever. Do organizations understand yet how to use social media effectively? Perhaps not. As recently as 2010, only 19 of the top 50 chief executives in the world had Facebook accounts, only 6 had LinkedIn pages, and only 2 regularly used Twitter or blogs to communicate. Many executives are wary of these new technologies because they cannot always control the outcomes of their communications. However, whether they are directly involved with social media or not, companies should recognize that these messages are out there, so it behooves them to make their voices heard. And social media can be an important way to learn about emerging trends. André Schneider, chief operating officer of the World Economic Forum, uses feedback from Linkedln discuss discover emerging trends and issues worldwide. Padmasree Warrior, chief technology officer of Cisco, has used social media to refine her presentations before a test" audience. ion groups and Facebook friends to The first step in developing a social media strategy is establishing a brand for your communications define what you want your social media presence to express. Experts recommend that companies begin their social media strategy by leveraging their internal corporate networks to test their strategy in a medium that's easier to control. Most companies already have the technology to use social media through their corporate Web sites. Begin by using these platforms for communicating with employees and facilitating social networks for general information sharing. As social networking expert Soumitra Dutta from Insead notes, My advice is to build your audience slowly and be selective about your contacts." Despite the potential advantages, companies also need to be aware of significant drawbacks to social media. First, it's very difficult to control social media communications. Microsof found this out when the professional blogger it hired spent more time promoting himsel than getting positive information out about the company. Second, important intellectual capital might leak out. Companies need to establish very clear policies and procedures to ensure that sensitive information about ongoing corporate strategies is not disseminated via social media. Finally, managers should maintain motivation and interest beyond their initial forays into social media. A site that's rarely updated can send a very negative message about the organization's level of engagement with the world

Explanation / Answer

But social media has another aspect, which needs to be controlled or else it becomes a bane for business. The social media usage is very addictive and can lead a business to controversies, if not properly used. This leads to negative publicity of the company. Also integration of social media with business opens avenues for data thefts. So, the companies need to ensure regulated and protective usage of social media.

So, we can see that there are drawbacks but that does not mean that a company should completely withdraw itself from such an amazing platform. Company must employ regulated and safe usage of social media in its business.

2. The primary sources of social media employed by an organization to communicate with its stakeholders are:

These social media platforms help the business to directly communicate with its stakeholders and promote the information far wide.

The intranet portal of the company can be an effective social media platform to communicate with the employees. The intranet portal is designed keeping the company’s culture and value system in mind and helps in keeping the employees connected. Any information pertaining to business or policies can be speedily communicated with its employees.

3. In my views, social media is still in its growing phase and has a long journey to traverse. The emergence of technologies will pave the way of social media deeper into the market. The world is moving towards digitalization and the most important aspect of digitalization is social media.

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