Facing Facebook

Technological changes keep happening, and every time a new phenomenon occurs, employers seem to react the same way. Questions that were asked about phones, e-mail, mobile phones and blogs in the workplace are now being asked about online social networks. Why do we keep repeating history? In my view, it’s because we can get so overwhelmed by the possibilities of the tools that we lose focus on the basic functions of communication and how these tools can help us with them.

Barbaro, Geoff. Communication World Bulletin (2008). Articles>Business Communication>Community Building>Social Networking

New Media Answers Old Questions for CEOs

How do you scare a CEO? Whisper the words "new media" and wait for the trembling to begin. But new media can also help CEOs address old issues in their role as chief communicators for their organizations.

Furiga, Paul. Communication World Bulletin (2007). Articles>Management>Business Communication>Social Networking

Turning Web 2.0 Into Business As Usual

Web 2.0 is hip, trendy, and reminiscent of catch-phrases from the Dot-com boom when just about anything related to binary was so “Now.” Experts are frantically pushing non-digital natives to get on board with Web 2.0 absolutely yesterday, if not sooner. The good news is if you’re reading this article online, there’s a good chance you have already been onboard with Web 2.0 principals for quite some time. The question is, have you been using them effectively?

Harris, Kerri. TechCom Manager (2008). Articles>Web Design>Business Communication>Social Networking

Social Software: Fun and Games, or Business Tools?    

This is the era of social networking, collective intelligence, participation, collaborative creation, and borderless distribution. Every day we are bombarded with more publicity about collaborative environments, news feeds, blogs, wikis, podcasting, webcasting, folksonomies, social bookmarking, social citations, collaborative filtering, recommender systems, media sharing, massive multiplayer online games, virtual worlds, and mash-ups. This sort of anarchic environment appeals to the digital natives, but which of these so-called `Web 2.0' technologies are going to have a real business impact? This paper addresses the impact that issues such as quality control, security, privacy and bandwidth may have on the implementation of social networking in hide-bound, large organizations.

Warr, Wendy A. Journal of Information Science (2008). Articles>Software>Business Communication>Social Networking

LinkedIn: A User's Perspective: Using New Channels for Effective Business Networking    

Blogs, mailing lists and networking sites are much in the news, but how effective are they for business users? David Thew is Joint MD of an executive search and recruitment consultancy with an active need to identify and contact people on a targeted basis. In this article he profiles LinkedIn, the business networking membership site that has become a key channel for him and his staff. David looks at key features and benefits and also discusses areas where he feels there is room for improvement.

Thew, David. Business Information Review (2008). Articles>Business Communication>Online>Social Networking

Best Practices for Facebook Fan Pages: User Types

The average Facebook user doesn’t want content pushed to them, particularly contests or other promotional programs that don’t speak to their overall enthusiasm for a brand. These types of promotions can be supported on the Facebook Fan Page, but should not be the primary focus and should be housed in other digital arenas. Successful communities on Facebook offer an attitude of openness, transparency and enthusiasm - not a technology platform for advertising.

Douma, Collin. Social Media Today (2008). Articles>Business Communication>Marketing>Social Networking

Using Twitter, 'The Smart Way'

Twitter is now a must-have tool if you're publishing content, undertaking online marketing, or looking to keep up with the latest trends in anything web related.

SubHub (2008). Articles>Business Communication>Blogging>Social Networking

Mind the Gap

Twitter and other social media give customers the potential to create their own models of customer service, their own expectations of how help and support might be provided. They will find gaps through which to force departments to talk to each other, erode lines between companies, and perhaps ultimately for companies unwilling to change they may bypass them altogether and look to each other for help through applications such as Twitter.

Online Help Two.Zero (2009). Articles>Business Communication>Documentation>Social Networking

Warning: Dependence on Facebook, Twitter Could Be Hazardous to Your Business

You've probably heard how much the micro-blogging service Twitter can help your business, or that being on social networking site Facebook can boost your company's profile. But what you might not have considered is the potential danger in over-relying on these startups that could go out of business, get bought out, or close your account if you aren't familiar with their Terms of Service.

Glaser, Mark. PBS (2009). Articles>Business Communication>Online>Social Networking

Ten Ways to Make Social Media Matter to Skeptical CEOs  

Not embracing conversational marketing and letting go of some control is reckless because it puts a barrier up between you and your customers, I reminded some executive clients. Change that makes a big difference, however, requires just a small bit of courage.

Kelly, Lois. Beeline Labs (2009). Articles>Management>Business Communication>Social Networking

Strictly Business: Marketing With Social Networking Sites

For writer, photographer, and video producer David Chandler-Gick, Facebook is a practical tool. "On a recent cross-country excursion to work with Cathy Steffan of Parallel Media Productions, Facebook served as a central hub to keep me in contact with friends and colleagues," he writes. "Accessing Facebook kept me in touch with what was going on, last-minute changes, and more."

Yankee, Steve. Event DV (2009). Articles>Business Communication>Marketing>Social Networking

Three Reasons to Love the Twitter Hate

Twitteurs are in a hyperventilating snit over the ridicule being heaped on their plaything by, among others, the New York Times’ Maureen Dowd, Comedy Central’s Jon Stewart and Doonesbury’s Garry Trudeau. I’m a longtime Twitteur, semi-evangelical and pretty well engaged with it on a daily basis. By this point it is as integrated in my being as lymph. But I think the ridicule is a delightful, even important development.

Stoltz, Craig. 20hReally (2009). Articles>Business Communication>Software>Social Networking

Making Whuffie: Raising Social Capital in Online Communities

This talk gets to the heart of how people interact and exchange information in online communities: through social capital, or as Cory Doctorow calls it, Whuffie. The key to growing customers in online communities is through growing your social capital. You will learn the 5 lessons of raising Whuffie through online communities in this presentation.

Hunt, Tara. SXSW (2009). Articles>Business Communication>Social Networking>Podcasts

Is My Brand Right For Twitter?

Marketers are increasingly engaging with consumers on social media platforms and Twitter, in particular, has received, and continues to gain, attention. From shock tactics, to useful value propositions like @amazonmp3 content feed, brands are revealing themselves on Twitter. We are starting to hear of stories about top executives calling meetings about how they should "get on Twitter" and saying, "We need a social media profile." But should they? Do they?

Weisman, Benjamin J. Marketing Daily (2009). Articles>Business Communication>Marketing>Social Networking

Enterprise Networking Web Sites and Organizational Communication in Australia    

This article aims to report initial findings about networking in organizational settings in Australia through the use of enterprise social software.

Zhang, Allee M., Ynxia Zhu and Herbert Hildebrandt. Business Communication Quarterly (2009). Articles>Business Communication>Social Networking>Organizational Communication

Online Customer Communities    

This article describes how the author investigated the business case for the operation of online customer communities, and evaluated their impact. This was achieved through analysis of opinions from members in company-sponsored and member-initiated online customer communities. The research aimed to understand the relationship between customer and company in online communities, explore the motivations of customers to participate in online customer communities, and the benefits of these communities to companies. The main findings of the research revealed that online customer communities are beneficial to both company and customer. The evaluation concludes with a set of recommendations to companies on how online customer communities might be effectively created and managed.

Paterson, Lorraine. Business Information Review (2009). Articles>Business Communication>Social Networking>User Centered Design

Engaging with Social Media in the Business and Intellectual Property Centre (BIPC) at the British Library    

In this article, Neil Infield shares with us the way in which the BIPC has successfully used social media to reach its diverse audience of inventors, entrepreneurs and small business owner.

Infield, Neil. Business Information Review (2009). Articles>Business Communication>Social Networking>Case Studies

Netiquette, Twettiquette: How to Build the Social Media Audiences You Want 

How can you build the right following? The question is important because like it or not, as communicators, we’re expected to lead the way in our organizations’ use of social media.

Canavor, Natalie and Claire Meirowitz. Communication World Bulletin (2009). Articles>Business Communication>Social Networking>Marketing

Companies Are Behind in Social Media Training for Employees 

Many companies continue to discount the power and potential of social media. Others are just beginning to flirt with the idea of using this new form of communication, while still others are in the process of developing social media policies to establish what employees can and cannot do. Then, there are those companies that have started allowing their communication specialists to engage in social media on behalf of the organization. But how many are teaching non-communication staff how to use this new media?

Armendariz, Rebecca. Communication World Bulletin (2009). Articles>Business Communication>Public Relations>Social Networking

Identifying Spokespeople for PR and Social Media: Choosing the Right Spokesperson to Communicate the Message 

Identifying the right corporate spokesperson for traditional and new media strategies - including public relations, blogging, video marketing, etc. - is an important task. Whether they are speaking to Katie Couric, a New York Times reporter or a blogger, it is essential that they be well versed on the do's and don't's of effective communication. Whether its a formal, televised interview or an informal email thread that leads to a story in a blog, the spokesperson should represent the image and persona of the company at all times.

Vultaggio, Nina. Suite101 (2009). Articles>Business Communication>Public Relations>Social Networking

Social Media and Public Relations: You Can Do This 

For professional communicators, social media is like a new, wild river born from the converging streams of public relations and marketing. A good social media campaign requires the traditional PR skills of telling engaging stories and building positive relationships with constituents, and a marketer’s knack for knowing and finding “the buyer.”

Patella, John. Communication World Bulletin (2009). Articles>Business Communication>Public Relations>Social Networking

Next-Generation Press Releases 

The age-old public relations tool, once crafted as fodder for print journalists, is now being applied more to the online world. A recent study by the Society for New Communications Research (SNCR) found that most releases now target consumers and customers directly, rather than through the filter of the news media. Enter the social media release (SMR).

Holtz, Shel. Communication World Bulletin (2009). Articles>Business Communication>Social Networking>Press Releases

Tweet Ethics: Trust and Transparency in a Web 2.0 World 

Don’t we all want to get the conversation going in a positive direction when it comes to representing the companies and clients we work for? And while there have, of course, always been incidents of deception in journalism and PR, somehow the advent of the Internet and social media has made this a much bigger issue. As PR representatives and journalists for individuals and companies learn more about the benefits of Twitter and other forms of social media, questions are arising about how—and how not—to present information.

Pophal, Linda. Communication World Bulletin (2009). Articles>Business Communication>Ethics>Social Networking

Taking the Guesswork Out of Social Media 

New opportunities have arisen from the advent of Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites. But professional communicators, in their effort to gain a better understanding of the medium, tend to make social media tools more complex than they really are. As a result, they miss out on the big breaks they need to achieve their goals. Below are tips to take the guesswork out of connecting social media with PR. Hopefully, these are steps you are already taking in your career. But if you are like me and need a friendly reminder, read on.

Parkhurst, Morgan Leu. Communication World Bulletin (2009). Articles>Business Communication>Social Networking

HR Can Help Protect Online Reputation  

Social media sites offer a range of new opportunities for communication, marketing and networking. But employees’ unfettered online engagement can be bad for business and potentially injurious to their employment and career prospects. Social media present a huge threat to organizations’ reputations, especially those that don’t inform and educate their staff about their online responsibilities. That’s why Web 2.0 education must become a priority for HR departments, who should collaborate with PR teams to brief employees about appropriate online engagement. The same Web 2.0 education must become part of new staff induction programs.

McCusker, Gerry. Communication World Bulletin (2009). Articles>Business Communication>Professionalism>Social Networking