Mike Andrew Consulting

Executives and Social Media

By mike, Sep 15 in blog with 0 comments

US corporations have come to value social media network sites very highly over the past 12 months, particularly in building their company’s brand and enhancing the relationship with their clients.

According to research conducted for the “Social Media: Embracing the Opportunities, Averting the Risks” white paper in July,more than 8 out of 10 management,marketing and HR executives who responded to the survey claimed that brand building and relationships were the key advantages of a social media strategy in business. The other area that is considered a positive with social media, is recruitment, with 69% of company’s using networks and social media sites to recruit new staff.

An interesting sideline to the report is the fear that some US executives have over privacy issues with social media sites such as MySpace and Facebook, 40% of these executives expressed concern over security and 37% had concerns over employee productivity.

Security and confidentiality of information is by the far the biggest concern of top level managers, the very nature of social media is in itself about the sharing of information, and this is what most executives fear their staff will be doing, sharing personal and company information to the masses.

60% of companies studied in February 2009 by software company Sophos,had blocked access to social media sites due to fears of confidentiality, with 68% of the senior managers surveyed, believing employees were sharing to much information via social networks.

One of the areas we cover at Social Media College when creating a company social media strategy, is confidentiality, and when running workshop sessions with staff this is given a high priority.

If you or your company are considering a social media strategy, enrolling in our executive coaching courses is a must. The courses are designed for senior executives and provide a thorough background on all areas of social strategy.

About the author

Mike Andrew has been working with the Internet and small business for over 12 years. Mike has been a keynote speaker at conventions and seminars and conducted social media training sessions all over the world. Mike has an extensive media background having worked in electronic media for over 30 years. Mike specialises in social media and Internet marketing strategy, SEO techniques and search engine marketing campaigns. His articles appear on numerous blogs around the web as well as national magazines.