Published:
December 21 2010, 09:01 AM
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1 Comment(s)
by
Robert Stroud
Does your organization block Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin and other forms of social media only to find that staff are using the medium anyway, either at home or in the office by using personal devices. There is no doubt that the water cooler conversations are being replaced by the new language of Twitter messages, blog posts, Facebook updates and so on especially for the Y generation.
Facebook for instance currently has in excess of 500 million active users worldwide, with 50% of them logging into the site each day. 150 million access the site through their mobile devices. (Source: Facebook) - you could say that critical mass has been reached. Consequently, many traditional marketing dollars are being transitioned to social media.
James Farley, the CMO at Ford, commented that "You can't just say it. You have to get the people to say it to each other." In order to drive momentum, Ford, rewarded some influential bloggers by giving away a number of Ford Fiestas. The results were a staggering 37 percent of Generation Y's were aware of the Ford Fiesta before its launch in the United States. Ford now has 25 percent of their marketing spend shifted to digital/social media initiatives. Maybe this is why Ford didn't need to take a government loan?
Yes, enterprises may be right to have issues with social media, especially in the areas of control, but truthfully, can IT actually block this medium? No, it is happening regardless of the business place controls.
My advice as we enter 2011 - leverage social media for its advantages, create guidelines and best practices for use. Deciding to lock down and prevent its use will only lead IT further into a growing divide with the business.
Next up: effective use of social media for value.