Corporate social media

Last updated
This chart shows the four major social media platforms used by UK businesses: social networking websites; blogs; multimedia sharing websites, and user-edited wiki websites. Business use of social media in the UK.png
This chart shows the four major social media platforms used by UK businesses: social networking websites; blogs; multimedia sharing websites, and user-edited wiki websites.

Corporate social media is the use of social media platforms, social media communications and social media marketing techniques by and within corporations, [1] ranging from small businesses and tiny entrepreneurial startups to mid-size businesses and huge multinational firms. Within the definition of social media, there are different ways corporations utilize it. Although there is no systematic way in which social media applications can be categorized, there are various methods and approaches to having a strong social media presence.

Contents

Social media currently can be crucial to the success of growing numbers in a companies value chain activities. [2] For marketers, Social media is a mandatory element within the promotional mix. [2] Marketers also need to understand that marketing on social media can come with difficulties and challenges, and face both reputation and economic risks. [2] This big push to move to Social Media to is thought to create a better experience with the consumers, as corporations are able to target specific content to their target audience. Another benefit for corporations through usage of media is that this will attract more people, and in return also create a more well known brand. [3]

History and development

In the 2010s, an increasing number of corporations, across most industries, have adopted the use of social media either within the workplace, for employees, as part of an Intranet or using the publicly available Internet. As a result, corporate use of social networking and micro blogging sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and LinkedIn, has substantially increased.

A 2010 report indicated that two-thirds of companies had or would have social media initiatives in place. [4]

According to an article by the Harvard Business Review from 2014, "Fifty-eight percent of companies are currently engaged in social networks like Facebook, micro blogs like Twitter, and sharing multimedia on platforms such as YouTube." The Harvard Business Review cites an additional 21 % of companies as being in the process of implementing a formal social media initiative. [5] The 2014 HBR report indicates 79 % of companies have or will have social media initiatives in place.

According to research conducted in 2021, 91.9 percent of marketing employees working for large corporations (100 or more people) use social media on a daily basis in their jobs. [6] This statistic has changed a lot over the years, and continues to grow.

Budgeting and corporate roles

Budgets for utilizing corporate social media is growing every year by millions of dollars. [7] Jobs like social media managers and coordinators have made it so this is an entire department of a company. It goes hand in hand with the marketing, communications, and PR teams in order to optimize strategies for the corporation to be connected to their audience.

Types

Aichner and Jacob (2015) give the following typology: [2]

Type of social mediaDefinitionExample
BlogsPostings created by individuals or companies relating to news and information that is generated and separated chronologically. [2] BuzzFeed
Business networksCreated to keep in contact with other professional and to create a profile to explain and represent who they are and what their experiences are. It allows for companies to position themselves better to find new employees. [2] LinkedIn
Collaborative projectsBrings internet users together that want to collaborate on a common subject in order to better the subject or develop it. [2] Wikipedia
Enterprise social networksA network used for a specific company or group, that is similar to social media networks. It allows people in the company to better get to know each other and increase efficiency of knowledge. [2] Socialcast
ForumsA forum is a place/ platform that allows users to exchange thoughts, conversations & questions. It is open to the public and doesn't happen live. [2] IGN Boards
MicroblogsMicroblogs are sites that restrict the posted content to being under 200 characters. [2] Twitter
PhotosharingWebsites that allow you to upload and manage photos that you are also able to share. It allows other users to edit and comment on others postings. [2] Drop Box
Products/services reviewAllows customers to evaluate certain products and services from companies which allows other to see how the product or service is before they purchase it or use it. [2] Yelp
Social bookmarkingA platform that allows a way to save websites and bookmarks to share with other users. [2] Pinterest
Social gamingGames on the internet allow users or generated users to interact with each other, that might even count as social interactions. [2] Fortnite
Social networksA way, via the internet, to connect people who have things in common. Companies usually create corporate pages to keep customers and updates and engaged. Users create individual profiles with personal information and pictures. [2] Instagram
Video sharingSites that allow users to upload and watch videos that are legal. Most times it works like social sites where you can comment on them. Companies will utilize this to save on costs on commercials and ads. [2] YouTube
Virtual worldsVirtual Worlds are sites where you create an avatar and participate in virtual reality activities and communicate with others. The virtual world goes on even if it isn't being used. [2] Poptropica

Policies

Social media has grown rapidly over the last decade and has become an integral component of business models. Because of the global use of social media, corporations are developing and implementing formal written policies for how their corporation will present itself on social media. In addition to this, corporations are often conscious about how their employees present themselves and their company on social media. Before social media, a company had complete control with what they communicated to the public. Now, virtually any employee can speak on behalf of the company, even without proper permission or following protocol. This can create conflict between corporate policy and those in decision making roles versus employees. [8] For example, the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council, a consortium of bank and credit union regulators, implemented in December 2013, formal social media guidance for its banks and credit unions. In the eyes of regulators, risks associated with social media use are of a level that requires formal attention. At a minimum, regulators require that organizations "listen" to what is being said about them on social media platforms in an effort to identify legal, compliance, and reputational concerns. [9]

Corporations have legitimate concerns when it comes to their employees’ use of social media. Social media environments have created the need for distinct and often strict reputation management practices. Some corporations have resorted to monitoring the social media accounts of its employees in order to spot posts and comments that are related to workplace issues or the employer, potentially harmful to business or even leak private corporate information. [10]

Many corporations have used social media during the hiring process as well. Survey data shows that within a one-year period 15 percent of finance and accounting professionals found new jobs through social media. [11] Social media can be both helpful and detrimental to those searching for employment. Hiring managers sometimes search social media to look for reasons not to hire a job applicant. According to a 2013 survey from CareerBuilder.com, 43 percent of employers use social networking sites to research potential hires. Another 45 percent are researching the "fit" of a job candidate with their company by conducting a search via Google or another search engine. 51 percent of employers who research candidates on social media say they've found postings which have caused them to not hire a candidate. [12] Job applicants who have racist or homophobic jokes, inappropriate photos, offensive content, or photos depicting drunkenness or other potentially undesirable behaviors may be screened out of hiring processes. Some observers have stated that employer viewing of job candidates' social media profiles may raise privacy concerns.

Benefits and risks

Despite there being risks to consider when utilizing social media, corporations are identifying the benefits associated with adopting a comprehensive corporate social media strategy. Benefits include lower cost and more effective, personal, and engaging marketing and advertising initiatives (as compared with traditional marketing methods such as billboard ads and TV commercials), improved internal and external corporate communications, enhanced overall brand awareness, and better operational efficiency and innovativeness. [13] As a result, corporations are investing at an increasing rate in social media software and external services to strengthen their online presence. [14] The belief is that the benefits outweigh the potential risks of bad press, customer complaints, and brand bashing. [2] Benefits also include being able to interact one on one with the consumers and talking directly to them through social media platforms. This creates trust in businesses and gives customers more chances to build loyalty and commitment to a brand. [2]

Conversely, businesses can find themselves in a bad situation when they use social media poorly. An example of poor social media execution came in November 2013 when JP Morgan decided to have a question and answer session via Twitter. During that time, 2 out of 3 tweets received were negative due to prior scrutiny they had faced. In this case, using social media and interacting with the public did not help to promote them in a positive way. Another example came on September 11, 2013, when AT&T posted a picture on Twitter of a cell phone capturing a picture of the Twin Towers memorial lights with the caption "Never forget." The tweet was met with great backlash from consumers for using a tragedy as a marketing opportunity, with many customers threatening to leave AT&T. After seeing the backlash it was receiving, AT&T removed the post and apologized within about an hour of its posting. [15] Risks also include, losing the interest of the people on social media because there is a lack of activity, the content is not interesting, or it is not professional or honest. [16]

See also

Related Research Articles

Customer relationship management (CRM) is a process in which a business or other organization administers its interactions with customers, typically using data analysis to study large amounts of information.

Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or buying and selling products. It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for profit."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sales</span> Activities related to the exchange of goods

Sales are activities related to selling or the number of goods sold in a given targeted time period. The delivery of a service for a cost is also considered a sale. A period during which goods are sold for a reduced price may also be referred to as a "sale".

Corporate propaganda refers to propagandist claims made by a corporation, for the purpose of manipulating market opinion with regard to that corporation, and its activities.

In marketing, publicity is the public visibility or awareness for any product, service, person or organization. It may also refer to the movement of information from its source to the general public, often via the media. The subjects of publicity include people of public recognition, goods and services, organizations, and works of art or entertainment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Small business</span> Business with fewer employees or revenue

Small businesses are types of corporations, partnerships, or sole proprietorships which have a small number of employees and/or less annual revenue than a regular-sized business or corporation. Businesses are defined as "small" in terms of being able to apply for government support and qualify for preferential tax policy. The qualifications vary depending on the country and industry. Small businesses range from fifteen employees under the Australian Fair Work Act 2009, fifty employees according to the definition used by the European Union, and fewer than five hundred employees to qualify for many U.S. Small Business Administration programs. While small businesses can also be classified according to other methods, such as annual revenues, shipments, sales, assets, annual gross, net revenue, net profits, the number of employees is one of the most widely used measures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Corporate social responsibility</span> Form of corporate self-regulation aimed at contributing to social or charitable goals

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) or corporate social impact is a form of international private business self-regulation which aims to contribute to societal goals of a philanthropic, activist, or charitable nature by engaging in, with, or supporting professional service volunteering through pro bono programs, community development, administering monetary grants to non-profit organizations for the public benefit, or to conduct ethically oriented business and investment practices. While once it was possible to describe CSR as an internal organizational policy or a corporate ethic strategy similar to what is now known today as Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG); that time has passed as various companies have pledged to go beyond that or have been mandated or incentivized by governments to have a better impact on the surrounding community. In addition national and international standards, laws, and business models have been developed to facilitate and incentivize this phenomenon. Various organizations have used their authority to push it beyond individual or even industry-wide initiatives. In contrast, it has been considered a form of corporate self-regulation for some time, over the last decade or so it has moved considerably from voluntary decisions at the level of individual organizations to mandatory schemes at regional, national, and international levels. Moreover, scholars and firms are using the term "creating shared value", an extension of corporate social responsibility, to explain ways of doing business in a socially responsible way while making profits.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Recruitment</span> Process of attracting, selecting and appointing candidates to a job or other organization

Recruitment is the overall process of identifying, sourcing, screening, shortlisting, and interviewing candidates for jobs within an organization. Recruitment also is the process involved in choosing people for unpaid roles. Managers, human resource generalists, and recruitment specialists may be tasked with carrying out recruitment, but in some cases, public-sector employment, commercial recruitment agencies, or specialist search consultancies are used to undertake parts of the process. Internet-based recruitment is now widespread, including the use of artificial intelligence (AI).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LGBT marketing</span>

LGBT marketing is the act of marketing to LGBT customers, either with dedicated ads or general ads, or through sponsorships of LGBT organizations and events, or the targeted use of any other element of the marketing mix.

Corporate communication(s) is a set of activities involved in managing and orchestrating all internal and external communications aimed at creating a favourable point of view among stakeholders on which the company depends. It is the messages issued by a corporate organization, body or institute to its audiences, such as employees, media, channel partners and the general public. Organizations aim to communicate the same message to all its stakeholders, to transmit coherence, credibility and ethics.

Green marketing is the marketing of products that are presumed to be environmentally safe. It incorporates a broad range of activities, including product modification, changes to the production process, sustainable packaging, as well as modifying advertising. Yet defining green marketing is not a simple task where several meanings intersect and contradict each other; an example of this will be the existence of varying social, environmental and retail definitions attached to this term. Other similar terms used are environmental marketing and ecological marketing.

Societal responsibility of marketing is a marketing concept that holds that a company should make marketing decisions not only by considering consumers' wants, the company's requirements, but also society's long-term interests.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brand ambassador</span> Person employed by an organization or company to represent a brand in a positive light

A brand ambassador is a person engaged by an organization or company to represent its brand in a positive light, helping to increase brand awareness and sales. The brand ambassador is meant to embody the corporate identity in appearance, demeanor, values and ethics. The key element of brand ambassadors is their ability to use promotional strategies that will strengthen the customer-product-service relationship, influence a large audience to buy and consume more.

A touchpoint can be defined as any way consumers can interact with a business organization, whether it be person-to-person, through a website, an app or any form of communication. When consumers come in contact with these touchpoints it gives them the opportunity to compare their prior perceptions of the business and form an opinion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Social media marketing</span> Promotion of producs or services on social media

Social media marketing is the use of social media platforms and websites to promote a product or service. Although the terms e-marketing and digital marketing are still dominant in academia, social media marketing is becoming more popular for both practitioners and researchers. Most social media platforms have built-in data analytics tools, enabling companies to track the progress, success, and engagement of ad campaigns. Companies address a range of stakeholders through social media marketing, including current and potential customers, current and potential employees, journalists, bloggers, and the general public. On a strategic level, social media marketing includes the management of a marketing campaign, governance, setting the scope and the establishment of a firm's desired social media "culture" and "tone."

Employer brand is branding and marketing the entirety of the employment experience. It describes an employer's reputation as a place to work, and their employee value proposition, as opposed to the more general corporate brand reputation and value proposition to customers. The term was first used in the early 1990s, and has since become widely adopted by the global management community. Minchington describes employer brand as "the image of your organization as a 'great place to work' in the mind of current employees and key stakeholders in the external market. The art and science of employer branding is therefore concerned with the attraction, engagement and retention initiatives targeted at enhancing your company's employer brand."

Corporate surveillance describes the practice of businesses monitoring and extracting information from their users, clients, or staff. This information may consist of online browsing history, email correspondence, phone calls, location data, and other private details. Acts of corporate surveillance frequently look to boost results, detect potential security problems, or adjust advertising strategies. These practices have been criticized for violating ethical standards and invading personal privacy. Critics and privacy activists have called for businesses to incorporate rules and transparency surrounding their monitoring methods to ensure they are not misusing their position of authority or breaching regulatory standards.

Recruitment marketing refers to the inbound strategies and tactics an organization uses to find, attract, engage, and nurture talent before they apply for a job, also called the pre-applicant phase of talent acquisition. It is the practice of promoting the benefits and value of working for an employer in order to recruit talent. It is analogous in many ways to corporate marketing, and is extremely similar to employer branding except recruitment marketing relates to trackable initiatives that drive awareness, engagement and conversion of applicants versus someone's impression of working at a company. Of course others see employer branding as a subset of recruitment marketing, in addition to extending the reach and exposure of career opportunities through search engine optimization (SEO), building and nurturing candidate relationships through talent communities, and the management of messaging and advertising of talent acquisition efforts.

A social employee is a worker operating within a social business model. Following an organization's social computing guidelines, social employees use social media tools both for internal workflow and collaboration purposes and for external engagement with customers, prospects and stakeholders through a combination of social media marketing, content marketing, social marketing, and social selling. Social employee programs are considered to be as much about culture and engagement as they are about business processes and best practices. In addition to increased leads and sales, social employee best practices are said to improve business outcomes important to social media marketing, such as increased connections and web traffic, improved brand identification and "chatter", and better customer advocacy.

Social media use by businesses includes a range of applications. Although social media accessed via desktop computers offer a variety of opportunities for companies in a wide range of business sectors, mobile social media, which users can access when they are "on the go" via tablet computers or smartphones, benefit companies because of the location- and time-sensitive awareness of their users. Mobile social media tools can be used for marketing research, communication, sales promotions/discounts, informal employee learning/organizational development, relationship development/loyalty programs, and e-commerce.

References

  1. Joel Postman (2009), SocialCorp: Social Media Goes Corporate, ISBN   978-0-321-58008-5
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Aichner, Thomas; Jacob, Frank (2015-03-01). "Measuring the Degree of Corporate Social Media Use". International Journal of Market Research. 57 (2): 257–276. doi:10.2501/IJMR-2015-018. S2CID   166531788.
  3. Agrawal, Harsh (2014-04-22). "Why You Should Use Social Media For Your Business". ShoutMeLoud. Retrieved 2020-10-18.
  4. "The New Conversation: Taking Social Media from Talk to Action". Harvard Business Review: 1, 3. 2010. Archived from the original on 14 April 2013. Retrieved 4 April 2013.
  5. Ennes, Meghan (April 2014). "Social Media: What Most Companies Don't Know Risks". HBR.org. Archived from the original on 27 April 2014. Retrieved 25 April 2014.
  6. kumar, Amit (2021-08-19). "Latest Instagram Marketing Techniques For 2021 v1". protocols.io. doi:10.17504/protocols.io.bxidpka6. S2CID   243579906 . Retrieved 2022-03-01.
  7. "U.S. social media marketing reach 2022". Statista. Retrieved 2022-03-01.
  8. Weber, Ryan (July 2013). "Constrained Agency in Corporate Social Media Policy". Journal of Technical Writing and Communication. 43 (3): 289–315. doi:10.2190/tw.43.3.d. ISSN   0047-2816. S2CID   147246776.
  9. FFIEC (December 11, 2013). "Financial Regulators Issue Final Guidance on Social Media". HBR.org. Retrieved 25 April 2014.
  10. Rokka, J., Karlsson, K., & Tienari, J. (2014). Balancing acts: Managing employees and reputation in social media. Journal of Marketing Management, 30(7/8), 802-827. doi:10.1080/0267257X.2013.813577
  11. Drobock, K. (2013). Is Social Media a Friend or a Foe?. Strategic Finance, 95(11), 16-18.
  12. McCafferty, D. (2014). Hirers Increase Social Media Scrutiny of Recruits. CIO Insight, 1.
  13. Lam, Hugo K.S.; Yeung, Andy C.L.; Cheng, T.C. Edwin (2016). "The impact of firms' social media initiatives on operational efficiency and innovativeness". Journal of Operations Management. 47–48: 28–43. doi:10.1016/j.jom.2016.06.001. hdl: 10397/65670 .
  14. Drenik, Gary. "Businesses Are Increasing Their Investments In Social Media As Consumers Use Social Media More Than Ever Before – Here's Why". Forbes. Retrieved 2022-03-01.
  15. Stern, Joanna. "AT&T Slammed on Twitter and Facebook For Sept. 11 Marketing Move". ABC News. Retrieved 4 December 2013.
  16. Kaplan, Andreas M.; Haenlein, Michael (2010-01-01). "Users of the world, unite! The challenges and opportunities of Social Media". Business Horizons. 53 (1): 59–68. doi:10.1016/j.bushor.2009.09.003. ISSN   0007-6813. S2CID   16741539.

Further reading