Time to become more sociable?

Many firms are still weighing up the benefits of rolling out social media technologies, according to a recent poll by Computing’s sister web site vnunet.com. Only seven per cent of the businesses surveyed use social media tools ­ – a surprise given recent reports that indicate social networks are now more popular than email.

Market research firm Nielsen recently reported that 67 per cent of internet users worldwide accessed social networks last year, compared with 65 per cent who used email.

The growing popularity of these tools means implementing them at work is relatively straightforward in terms of staff acceptance and training. But what do firms have to gain from such a move?

Social networks can be used to distinguish a brand from its competitors, especially now while sophisticated online media strategies are still relatively thin on the ground –­ it’s an opportunity to stand out.

Recently, I’ve been interrogating the collective mindset of the Twitterati, looking for insight into why people use our web sites ­ nearly all of them said our presence on micro-blogging site Twitter was a key reason why they remain loyal our brand. Twitter has helped connect the writers with the readership, making them appear more approachable.

Similarly, by allowing outsiders to contribute their views and influence opinion, a Twitter presence can give a business a reputation for having an open and engaging culture.

Other than marketing purposes, social tools can serve internal functions. One senior executive from a trusted household brand told me she analysed her co-worker contacts to understand relationships that exist in the workplace. She suddenly understood why certain people were getting better treatment than others. Perhaps social networks might contribute to a more level playing field, shedding light on “old boy networks” or other such bastions of inequality.

A growing number of executives are also using social tools to tighten relati ons with outsourcing providers and partners, as well as to better understand their customer base. I have found that I now form contacts through Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn before I attend a conference and then use the event to solidify these relationships.

So what is holding companies back from deploying social tools? It is difficult to make a compelling business case for deploying a social strategy in the middle of a deep recession. Although many social tools are free, integrating them with a company marketing programme requires skill, time and investment.

However, done well, social strategies can be incredibly cost effective. For example, the huge publicity confectionery brand Skittles generated when it spent £100,000 on changing its traditional homepage into an online portal of feeds from Twitter, Facebook, Flickr and YouTube would never have been achieved had the same money been used to pay for TV advertisements. Skittles was rewarded with 4,000 mentions in the news following the launch.

Less-adventurous firms may hesitate because they can’t envisage a formal way of measuring the results of social media marketing strategies. Businesses need to adapt to a new way of doing things, measuring performance through new metrics such as mentions on blogs, comments on content and clicks through to web sites.

Moderating social networks is another obstacle that may seem difficult to overcome. There have been a few scare stories in the news about how the openness of social networks can quickly dent an individual’s reputation. However, such scenarios can be avoided by hiring firms that specialise in managing user-generated content, such as Tempero.

If businesses do not want to jump in at the deep end with the likes of Twitter and LinkedIn, there are social suites available from enterprise vendors that might be a better place to start easing their workforce into the networking mentality.