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General Information
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July 31, 2009
• Vol.31 Issue 20
Page(s) 26 in print issue
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Getting The Word Out
Social Networking Offers New Avenues For SMEs But Can Also Pose Risks
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| Key Points
• When used properly, social networking can be a powerful tool for SMEs; however, it’s important to know what’s out there and to be aware of the risks involved.
• Adhering to security best practices is paramount when social networks come into play.
• Establish usage guidelines for employees to protect against lost productivity. | | Savvy enterprises are posting blogs, chatting on Twitter, and harnessing other interactive media to get their messages out. Big IT firms such as Microsoft, EMC, and Google are widely utilizing these tools, and the old guard in more established industries is starting to follow their lead.
“SMEs need to understand that the real-time Web tools available today should be part of their PR and marketing strategies because they complement traditional methods and they reach an audience that maybe would have not heard about them otherwise,” says Georgiana Comsa, managing partner at Silicon Valley PR (www.siliconvalleypr.com), an agency that represents SMEs in the high-tech sector.
However, social networking venues can also present problems to IT when it comes to securing sensitive information and locking down networks. Here is a look at what social networking means to both business and IT.
Social Networking 101
There are many different social networking sites in the market today. Some are geared toward enterprises, while others are intended more for friends and family as a way to stay in touch.
“Consumer/enterprise adoption increases every day, as more information about social media becomes available and people understand it better,” says Comsa. “But many companies are still trying to figure it out, and others claim they don’t understand social media.”
Given the proliferation of social networking sites, it’s important for SMEs to know what’s out there, what groups the different avenues are geared toward, and what kinds of interactions are taking place in each.
MySpace and Facebook, for example, are both heavily populated by the younger generation and provide a way to communicate with friends, locate old acquaintances and business contacts, post video content and messages, and invite people to functions.
Twitter allows users to post short, 140-character messages. With Twitter, you can “follow” your contacts, meaning anytime they post a new message, you can read it from your account.
YouTube hosts short videos about nearly anything under the sun, from business proposals to singing phenomena and celebrity sightings. And then there are several business-oriented sites aimed more at professionals, such as LinkedIn, Socialcast, Socialtext, and Huddle.
Maintaining Security & Control
Each type of social media has its own niche, and each presents its own set of worries for IT, from the casual Twitter message that accidentally lets loose company information to the video on YouTube that offers a glimpse of a top-secret software project. There’s also the increased chance of contracting malware from infected messages.
Another concern is that of employees posting faulty or sensitive information, which can hurt credibility. “Posting incorrect information can damage relationships or even reputations,” says Comsa. “In addition, pushing your marketing messages too often in an ad-like way could have the opposite effect and turn people off instead of getting them interested in the product or service.”
With all of the potential risks social networks present, then, it is important to lay out usage guidelines to prevent mishaps and to apply security best practices to any and all social media interactions, such as ensuring that antivirus and antispyware software are fully up-to-date. Educate users that these sites are wide-open and are a primary channel of threats into the enterprise. If security tools can be turned off at the desktop level, caution users about the perils of such an action.
Additionally, for enterprises that choose to forgo publicly available social networking sites altogether—as well as the issues that come with them—there are secure ways of creating and deploying an enterprise’s own social network that involve almost no burden on IT yet include the necessary security and control safeguards.
“Social networking software is available for SMEs at low cost and can be deployed via SaaS or appliances,” says Ross Mayfield, president and co-founder of Socialtext.
Move Forward, But Tread Carefully
However you go about it, sites such as Facebook and Twitter make it possible to raise awareness about your company faster and more effectively than ever—if used wisely.
“It is important that SMEs and executives participate in social media activities to help increase visibility and customer perception about their products and services,” says Comsa. “It is proactive, it is fast, and with the right implementation, it should target people in their industry: partners, potential and current clients, investors, media, and analysts.”
On the other hand, it can be time-consuming and may require designating an employee to handle the social media efforts or handing the reins over to a PR agency, particularly once your efforts gain steam. No matter how you proceed, one thing is certain: It’s imperative to plan your approach carefully and cover all the bases before diving head-first into social networking.
by Drew Robb
Biggest Issue To Consider: Potential Loss Of Productivity
Social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook have definite potential for interacting with customers; however, they also serve as a very tempting distraction for employees. Although it may seem harmless for an employee to respond to his Facebook messages or post a tweet about what he had for lunch, these small blips of activity can quickly add up to hours of lost productivity. In fact, according to a recent survey of 237 enterprise employees conducted by Nucleus Research, companies whose users access Facebook during business hours experience a drop in productivity of 1.5% on average.
With this in mind, SMEs should consider regulating employee use of social networking media, such as establishing guidelines as to which sites can be accessed during business hours or restricting usage to business-related tasks only. |
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