What are the first words that come to mind when you hear about chatting online and posting tweets during working hours? Irrespective of you being an executive or an employee, chances are that such words as “forbidden” or “taboo” will pop up. You might even have heard of untimely Facebook intrusions on the part of companies looking to sink their teeth into anything they could find on their employees.

According to HootSuite CEO, Ryan Holmes, trying to prevent your employees from using social media in the workplace is just about the worst thing you can do. Fortunately, it appears that big time companies have recently gotten the gist of it though. Indeed, nearly 75% of Fortune 500 corporations are now active on Twitter. According to the Economist Intelligence Unit, 80% of the executives interviewed believe that their products and services sell better when social media are involved in the picture. You can fairly say that social media have earned their place in the sun, and very rightly so.

Not only have social media become one of the most powerful marketing tools out there, they also have the capacity to positively alter the culture of any company that elects to adhere to such a creed. Not to mention how social media can actually turn the bottom line of any corporation around when used wisely.

1.    You will end up hiring better employees

There is an increasing number of businesses that advertise job openings using social media such as Twitter for instance. Job applicants only have to tweet back or reply via Facebook. This is an open, transparent process that fosters an enhanced sense of community among job seekers, actual employees and the companies that have posted the job openings. As an added bonus, this increases the likelihood that the employees hired are right for the job as companies and employees have access to the personal profiles of job applicants. Not to mention that it is possible to see what they might have posted before and after the interview, what kind of individuals they are, or whether they fit the profile of the position and the culture of the company.

2.    Everyone on an equal footing

Social media tend to put everyone on an equal footing, from executives to new employees. There is also a marked tendency for internal referrals, so long as company executives have been in a position to establish strong ties with their employees and that the channels of communication are open among company personnel. For instance, Twitter can be a great way to touch base with colleagues or managers because it is concise and informal in nature, which would not be possible via email or in person.

Nowadays, it is seen as the “hip” thing to do to post messages on Facebook, send tweets via Twitter, upload pictures on Instagram and update your status on LinkedIn, from home or work. The important thing to remember here is that these messages are all posted by employees on their personal news feed, not through the company’s network. As a result, when employees have been involved in a major achievement, they will swarm Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn with messages. Imagine the kind of publicity and exposure that can be derived from such a phenomenon!

3.    A strong sense of belonging

A strong sense of belonging among employees goes a very long way. In the end, the most powerful WMD of any company is its employees. Although they are not required to “invade” Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or LinkedIn, you can be sure that if you let them loose and give them a chance they will be proud to represent the colors of their team and talk about their accomplishments across all social media platforms as well as on their personal and professional network.

As a business, you have two choices before you: you can either force-feed your employees with boring information or take full advantage of their persuasiveness and let them talk about you according to their own terms. This will be much more natural on their part. Let’s say 200 employees are part of your team and that these have a network of 500 friends and acquaintances, you now have technically access to 100,000 individuals.

Considering the above, social media should not be considered a threat, but rather an asset. If such is not the case already, letting social media in will allow you to hire better employees, improve communication within your organization and create a stronger sense of belonging among employees. Indeed, a recent report published by McKinsey & Company found that social media can represent as much as $1.3 trillion in added value for businesses that manage to harness such power.

Source: 3 Reasons Why Your Company Should Pay Employees to Use Social Media

Translation
Jacky Tremblay
Founding President
Traduction-Québec