how social media fits in with business communications

7/31/2019 How Social Media Fits in With Business Communications

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Media:

Communication channelsthrough whichnews, entertainment,education,data, orpromotional

messagesare disseminated. Media includes everybroadcastingandnarrowcastingmedium such

asnewspapers,magazines, TV, radio,billboards,direct mail,telephone, fax, andinternet. Mediais the plural of medium and can take a plural or singular verb, depending on the sense intended.

In general, "media" refers to various means of communication. For example, television, radio, and the

newspaper are different types of media.

Social media:

Social media includes web-based and mobile based technologies which are used to turn

communication into interactive dialogue between organizations, communities, and

individuals

How social media fits in with business

communications

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Social media has become a huge part of many business strategies, particularly in marketing. It

has not, however, been adopted on nearly as widespread of a basis as a pure communications

tool. This is a mistake.

Social media has become a huge part of many business strategies, particularly in marketing. It

has not, however, been adopted on nearly as widespread of a basis as a pure communicationstool.. People connect. They connect with friends and family. They connect with people who

share their interests. They connect without borders, boundaries, or logistic-issues associated with

connecting in real life. On the tail end of the spectrum, people use social media to connect with

businesses.

The problem lies in that businesses arent truly using social media to connect with people. Itsstill more of a broadcasting tool than anything else to most businesses and as a result theyre

missing out on the biggest opportunity that social media provides.

Through communication with the outside world, customers, and internally with employees,

social media can find its real use in the business world. It is certainly an effective marketing toolwhen used properly, but that should be secondary. Communicate first, market second.


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http://blog.socialcast.com/e2sday-social-media-and-your-business-communication-strategy/


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Social networks can help make you a smarter business person!

The online social networking application Face book registered more than 175 millionactive users. Face book, LinkedIn and other similar online social networking sites provide

online spaces where individuals can create a profile and connect that profile to others to

create a personal network. The objective is social interaction and connection. These online

social networking sites give everyone a place to share their personal stories, in words,

pictures and videos with their friends. They also connect people with friends and others

who work, study and live around them. They help people learn more about events, parties

and other social functions. Participation and continuance in online social networks

represents a new social phenomenon that depends largely on the interactions with other

users in a personal network.

Its time to exploit social networks for your business, and heres how:

1. Get involved. The only way to use social networks to improve business is to join some

sites. LinkedIn is a good start, but youll need to do much more if you plan to make your

social life profitable. Social networks require participation. If you dont get involved, youll

never find value in the social web.

2. Theres more than LinkedIn. Theres little debating that LinkedIn is ideal for those whowant to network with other professionals. But Twitter, Face book and the rest also provide

real value to a business person. In many cases, they allow you to find folks you might have

otherwise missed offline. They also provide you with a cheat sheet of information, like

interests and education, that could help you close a deal.

3. Its networking, but online. One of the first rules you learn in any business school is to

network. Its not always what you know, its who you know. Social-networking sites are

ideal for those who want to network. You can use them to get back in touch with old

friends, get to know colleagues, or network with other local professionals trying to do the

same.

4. Join the conversation. Once you join social networks and you know who you want to

target, start talking. Get to know what they discuss and join that discussion. Social

networking is not about being shy; its about being willing to open up in an online world

that has stayed anonymous for far too long. That means youll need to talk about yourinterests and topics that others in your social network are engaged in.

5. Its not about the numbers. Although some believe the our favorite social network, the

better, I dont. If you want to turn your social life into more business, find followers and

friends who either improve your relations with the surrounding community or increase

your prospects of securing clients. Dont waste time with big follower numbers. Most times,
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its that core group that will provide the most value. Twitter lets you engage in extremely

effective marketing for free.

6. Dont stick to business. The worst thing

you can do on a social network is just talk about business. Remember that many folks want

to leave business at the office. Use social networks to find common ground and get to know

each other. When you feel comfortable that a relationship is developing, then throw in the

business.

7. Dont go overboard. Dont think that you need to join every new site that crops up.Instead, stick to two to four social networks. By doing so, you can still be on the sites that

other folks are on, but you wont get caught up in trying to update every site you use.

8. Share what you know. Social networks provide value because users can share their

expertise. If youre into stamp collecting, let us know. If youre an expert in derivatives, tell

us about it. Dont simply regurgitate what you see in so many other places on the web.
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TWITTER: How to maximize the use of your limited 140 characters

1) Use shorthand codes. BRB, LOL, RT, TY, etc. Some may call it

tech speak. Acronyms and abbreviations for commonly used words and phrases. Check out this list of

popular Twitter shorthands and if you like to use more colorful shorthand there is also a NSFW

shorthand list. Thats Not-Safe-For-Work for you shorthand beginners.

2) Be clear and concise. Make sure you are not being redundant. Remove any words that might be

irrelevant to what you are trying to convey.

3) Use URL shortening. This one is pretty obvious and is even built in to Twitter. However, there are

some URL shortening services that can save you a few more characters than TinyURL. I use IS.GD and

another popular one is XR.COM which even allows you to customize the URL.

4) Use special symbol characters. You may not know it, but Twitter accepts more than just normal

characters. You can actually create hearts, stars, smilies and other symbols that can represent words or

ideas in just 1 character. TheNextWeb has created a great tool called Twitter Keys which allows you to

have all these symbols at your fingertips.

5) Use labels. Labeling your tweet has some cool benefits. A label is like a tag at the beginning of your

tweet. Your followers will know exactly what you are sharing right away and they may even increase

your chances of being re-tweeted. Here are some examples (Reading:, Stumbling:, Digging:, etc.)

6) Be simple. This is a writing tip from Copyblogger, simple words work better than big ones. Write

get instead of procure. Write use rather than utilize. Use the longer words only if your meaning is

so precise there is no simpler word to use.
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How to improve yourself? LinkedIn - Brand You

Are you a leader within your industry? What are your professional achievements? Do you

communicate them well to others? Whats your work experience and your career background?

Do you have a network of trusted contacts who know you to be credible and an expert in yourfield? To be a true leader in your industry youll be engaged with the right connections. Thatmeans being informed about your industry, involved within your professional community, and

able to share your expertise with others. By doing this youll be recognized as a true professional

and be known for your Brand You throughout your career.

Tips for building your Brand You on LinkedIn

To help people better manage their personal brand on LinkedIn, the dedicatedBrand You group

includes a series of tips and advice from how to make sure your profile reflects your brand type

to straightforward advice on how to begin to create an online brand on LinkedIn:

Add a professional looking photo to people can easily recognize you

Complete your profile summary, outlining who you are as a professional in your own voice; this

is a chance to do your own search engine optimization

Make sure you connect with your trusted connections, either by uploading email contacts or

using our People You May Know tool

Add your education background including any key qualifications relevant to your career

Add current and previous positions so people can see your experience so far

Request recommendations from people youve worked with in the past to give your profile

added credibility

Will social media significantly affect modern

business communication?

Social media has certainly changed the way that people communicate with each other. The

changing social media trends are also forcing businesses to reconsider how they communicate

with and attract customers. Whoever thought that driving new business could depend on how

many times the phrase "auto loan calculator" was used in website content? As the Internet forces

businesses to change the way they communicate with customers, will social media impact how

they communicate with each other?
http://linkd.in/BrandYouGrouphttp://linkd.in/BrandYouGrouphttp://linkd.in/BrandYouGrouphttp://linkd.in/BrandYouGroup


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Individual employees benefit from social media

The employees that work for the company certainly benefit from using social media. Career

progress usually depends on how many people you know in your industry. A bitter rival could

turn into your best friend depending on your job situation. Most employees realize that they have

no real job security, so it pays to communicate with as many people as possible. It can be a great

place to post your resume while mingling with other professionals on a regular basis.

Social media in the office

Is it practical to use social media in the office? Do we need to use Facebook to announce the

staff meeting for next week? The problem with social media is that anyone can access anything

you say. Privacy settings are no match for someone who knows how to hack into a social media

platform. There may be employees who have no idea how to use Facebook or Twitter. It may not

be as efficient to use social media when a memo could accomplish the exact same goal. But

equally, and on the opposite side of the coin, social media is making great inroads behind the

firewall, as more and more companies see the value of turning their business into a social

business, where social tools are the accepted methods of communicating with Gen Y employees

(talk to them where they already are).

Does social media translate into more money

There is a lot that businesses still need to learn about social media. Just because a business has a

lot of followers does not mean those followers are being converted into customers. Using social

media is a great way to increase awareness of your brand.

Will social media impact how a business will communicate in the future? There are many ways

in which social media has already impacted how a business will communicate. However, there

are still some areas where social media will be slower to become an accepted method of

communication.

5 Levels of Effective Communication in the

Social Media Age

In the era of social media, our networks are much larger than they have ever been, and we have

more ways to communicate with those in them. Even if you are not very active onFacebookor

Twitter, my guess is that your sphere of communication has expanded significantly in recent

years. Who you communicate with and how you communicate has changed radically. This new

connected era brings both opportunities and challenges.

In the past we had a set of contacts, all of whom generally knew how to reach usvia phone, e-

mail, or regular mail. Today, thanks in large part to social media, we have many different levels

of communication, each with a specific purpose and etiquette. When we do not understand the
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role of these levels, they can become huge time wasters. When we do understand them however,

they can help us more effectively engage and navigate these new waters.

Level 1: The Public Reply

Just about everyone, including Bill Gates (who if you have not heard,recently joined Twitter),

has learned the importance of having both a means to communicate with people, and a channel

where people can respond. Though you can do this onFacebookthrough comments on Fan pages

and in groups, this seems most applicable to Twitter, where people use @replies to send and

receive short, publicly viewable messages.

The public reply provides an open and transparent channel for people to interact with public

figures, brands, and each other, without the pressure of response that comes with e-mail. Publicinteractions are a great starting point for engagement that never existed before social media, and

if done correctly, can often lead to more fruitful direct communication.

Level 2: The Direct Message

Once a relationship is established through public communication, the next step is often a direct

message within a social network. A direct message creates a private connection without opening

the floodgates of e-mail. In fact, in may even be preferable to e-mail in the long term.

Why? Especially withTwitter, a DM has a character limit, and can only come from people you

follow. If you have ten e-mails (of unlimited length and possibly unknown sources) and ten

Twitter DMs, which are you likely to open first? For an increasing number of people, the answer

is DM.
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Once you make a connection through DM and get permission to follow-up via e-mail, the e-mail

is often better received. Facebook, where most people allow private messages, can also be a

means to take communication to the next level.

Level 3: E-mail

E-mail still has its place in this new era. It allows for more in-depth communication, can be

easily forwarded, and sent to numerous people at once. When e-mail is used skillfully, it enables

deeper communication. When not used effectively, it can become a huge time drain, as people

write lengthy messages without much thought of the time and attention they are asking of

recipients.

This fine line makes e-mail tough to master in the social media age. If youre looking to advance

to the next communication level with someone, respect this direct and private channel, and be

sure to keep your e-mails succinct and meaningful.


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Level 4: Phone

Hearing someones voice allows people to get a better

sense of one another. While communicating via text, a person can take time to carefully craft his

or her words, potentially presenting an image that may not be true or is harder to trust. A phone

call allows for more immediate back-and-forth, and can be particularly helpful if a subject matter

is delicate or people are considering a more in-depth relationship.

Some time back I was communicating with an editor about an issue that we had bounced back

and forth several times. Finally she said, Lets chat about it on the phone. Thisfurthered the dialogue significantly and bypassed what may have taken weeks to sort out via e-

mail.

Level 5: In-Person (orVideoChat)

I have met numerous people in person that I first communicated with via social networks. All of

these meetings were enhanced by the natural progression of our first digital communication.

While at one time face-to-face interactions were the entry point, today, in-person meetings often

come at later stages.

Particularly if people are considering working on a project together, an in-person meeting allows

for the most in-depth connection. For some people Skype or other video chat may be enough to

experience this.
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how social media fits in with business communications

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