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Social media marketing provides users with information via blogs, podcasts, and webinars. Users write reviews or create forums, wikis, and videos. Users connect together and providers through virtual worlds and social network communities.

"Social networking has caused a fundamental and transformational shift in the way that individuals are connecting, knowledge will be shared and information is flowing," says Charles B. Kreitzberg, Ph.D., CEO of Cognetics, a firm working with the human areas of computer technology.

About 50% of large companies and 75% of small ones (fewer than 500 employees) are utilizing social media of types. Of the, it is estimated that 40-60% have their very own social network. Microsoft has got the Town Square, IBM the Blue Pages, and Best Choose the Blue Shirt Nation.

"Engage me, inform me, and entertain me," says Bernie Borges, composer of Marketing 2.0: Bridging the Gap Between Seller and Buyer on the Social Web. "But don't make me read an ad; don't send me email news. Companies are comprised of people; be social along with your existing and prospective customers."

Sharing Knowledge

Social networking creates personal networks of friends and professional networks of colleagues available to offer information at the click of a mouse. Meeting others through online conversations creates and strengthens relationships, alerting employees to who knows what, where you should go for information. Through social support systems, people share common interests or needs who wouldn't normally meet; they support one another in knowledge sharing and problem solving.

Social networking helps form business strategies and strategic alliances. Howard Rheingold, Rheingold Associates, notes that the large teachers organization had developed and was promoting new standards for teaching math at all levels. Getting everyone together was unrealistic so that which was the most efficient solution to promote the new math standards?

Ultimately, the teachers organization partnered with a public television station to create and distribute videos showing real teachers teaching to the new standards. A teacher facilitated interaction on a social network with sets of teachers to talk about teaching experiences, student projects and best practices. One teacher noted that just reading about the new standards would never have given him the "...rich, depth of information, and resources obtained through the social network."

Enhancing Communication

Social networking allows people to have and stay in touch, minimizing the need for endless email streams or the await an'expert '. Online users are surprised by how quickly they get responses from employees at Sears and Kmart in a reaction to questions and complaints posted on company websites. Timely communication fosters customer satisfaction, which creates brand loyalty and plays a part in the underside line.

Online social support systems at the job facilitate continuous employee communication, which promotes awareness of and helps employees better understand the roles and responsibilities of colleagues in other departments. It will help employees feel a area of the whole, increasing employee satisfaction at work.

Making Connections, Cultivating Relationships

Information and knowledge are distributed to people, not organizations. We all know that creating relationships is vital to business success; social networking connects people, who often establish relationships lasting a lifetime.

Two-thirds of Zappos employees are on Twitter, where they are encouraged to let their personalities shine through when connecting online with customers to offer tips about shoe care or respond to customer questions. Customers describe it to be like having their very own'personal shopper'at the business! Such customer satisfaction can only just drive return business.

For 71 of its 75 years, Indium Corporation of America, developer, manufacturer and supplier of solders and thermal interface materials, acquired business through direct marketing and trade shows. Four years back, the marketing director tapped an engineer on the shoulder and asked him to begin blogging. Four years later, Indium has ten blogs and 15 bloggers, professional staff who cultivate relationships which have moved offline to ongoing business relationships. Made worldwide, these relationships have not merely enhanced customer satisfaction and brand loyalty but employee satisfaction as well; employee bloggers feel empowered to interact with customers in new ways.

"Relationships in operation mean everything; the connection ought to be with the folks behind your website, not with your website itself. Those in the organization must foster and nurture the connection," states Anne Pauker Kreitzberg, President of Cognetics.

By social networking, employees learn new things about their colleagues - personally and professionally. One employee was struck by insightful comments made online by a friend, a man who appeared aloof during face-to-face meetings. This realization prompted the employee to interact more frequently with this particular colleague. Social networking opens up infinite possibilities and resources - not minimal of which can be increased employee satisfaction.

Engaging Employees

Social networking also increases employee satisfaction on the work because employees feel more engaged within their work. An $8-billion energy company was conducting an ideal analysis of factors influencing its industry. The typical practice was for the business to hire external consultants to work with its corporate officers.

Recently, however, the business created an on the web network to activate people at all quantities of the business all over the world in discussions (real time and asynchronous) about industry trends, new technologies, the economy and factors influencing the success of the company. Some group discussions became so dynamic that problem-solving moved to creativity and innovation! Social networking activities made information not too difficult to locate and summarize in a report.

Facilitating Talent Management

Social networking facilitates talent management Social network that you can become an Influencer on. Among the greatest law firms on earth, Latham & Watkins LLP has an exclusive social network containing policies, procedures, forms, invitations, upcoming events, calendars, forums and photos. The network can be used early in the recruiting process to the'alumni'relationship, when attorneys leave or retire from the firm.

The firm grants second or third round recruits limited use of the network. Once a position is accepted, on-boarding is managed through the social network. When new attorneys arrive for work the very first day, they've already made connections and developed relationships with other staff. This social network stimulated a 15% upsurge in first year retention and a 38% upsurge in first year productivity.

As well as enhancing productivity, social networking creates an environment where employees continuously contact others for advice, strategies, and best practices - just-in-time to apply it on the job. It will help minimize the need for training outside of the organization, saving both time and money.

"The main element to the successful use of social networking is always to listen and the capacity to listen is simpler than ever," notes Borges. "You identify town you want to reach and listen to what they say. Online, it's simple to track interests and trends. Comments from consumers develop into leads." Are you aware how social networking plays a part in your main point here?