Business Advice for Social Networks
Many businesses are looking at becoming networked to better interact with their clients and respond to their needs and concerns in a shorter amount of time. In the past couple of years the growth of social networks has been extraordinary and now businesses are looking to join the networks.
The article discusses seven business tips for companies to choose the right social network. One of the major factors is that a company should know its audience. If the business place is formal, like most, then Facebook may not be the best choice for a social network, since it has been established as more of a distraction for employees rather than an enhancement. This is due to the informal nature of the site. A better choice might be LinkedIn because it is a network that revolves around business and employment.
Another tip that is discussed in the article is that a business should know the goal of the site before choosing one to use. For example if a company wants to have video capability then Skype would be a much better choice than Facebook, since Skype allows for video chat. However if a company only wants simple chat capabilities without the extra features than AIM might be a good choice. These are all ideas that a company must consider before choosing a social networking site that will be used in the workplace.
In addition to the ideas mentioned in the article another consideration is will employees get distracted if they use the site. Although social networking sites can be useful in business situations they also have the potential to distract employees from their work if they want to talk to friends or family. If a business wanted to use Facebook this is something they would have to think about, and they would have to make sure that employees would use the site for business purposes. This could be difficult to accomplish.
The most interesting tip on the list is the last one which states that a company should be adaptable when choosing a social network site to use. Since social networking sites are constantly being created, and new features added to existing ones, a company should always be willing to adapt to change. Even though this article discusses businesses, this concept can also be related to a particular user. First people were on MySpace and AIM. Now there has been a general shift to Facebook. New sites like Google+ are popping up with exciting new features.
These tips are an important basis for not only businesses, but also a particular user, since they can be used to ensure that a site fits a user’s needs, and is the best site available.