Push back on using social media for work...

Hello...

As it is a large part of my job, I spend a lot of time researching social media in companies, and equal or more time on social networking sites. I have realized that I am lucky to be in the company I am in, while trying to bring them up to speed on social media. My life could be a lot harder, with such a simple sounding task.

So many people are struggling because they are feeling that they are getting no where when it comes to social media and their company! Many companies have banned social media forms like Facebook, twitter and my space, from being used at work. Thus lies an obvious problem - how can social media for business happen then? Also, there is a generational gap that seems to be hindering a lot of companies from allowing social media to be used for the good of their business. Finally, many companies are worried about keeping the “face” of their company consistent in all forms of social media (this is completely understandable, but it is very easy to overcome. It shouldn’t stop the process all together…) Who would have thought that FREE ADVERTISING/MARKETING would get such push back?! Networking in person is encouraged, but online is not… this baffles me. Please understand that I do not think social media should replace face to face interactions… but it can aid it in such an impactful way!

As I said at the beginning of this post, I feel lucky and here is why…

I work in a company (like any other) that is multi generational. No difference there, many of the “older” (need to be careful how I use that term) generation of our staff are pushing back. The difference is, that I have the support from our VP of Business Development (I want to add that I would lump him into the “older” generation) to push this initiative forward. That is a tremendous help when others do not like the idea of using the internet for as a form of marketing. My company has also never banned the use of social networking sites. We are all expected to use them appropriately, and always with the best interest of the company in mind. Finally, we are working to put into place rules (if you will) that help keep the face of our company consistent to our vision at all times. We are also not forcing this on anyone at the company. It is a tool that we are offering, and I am mastering to be a resource and save everyone time.

Here are some links to a few articles I have been reading on this subject. Also, if you hop onto Linked-In these issues are surfacing everywhere!
http://www.guruonline.tv/euansemple/business-social-media
http://www.zdnetasia.com/insight/internet/0,39044877,62034135,00.htm
http://socialmarketingjournal.com/

I would also love to hear from you. How is your company handling social media? Is it embraced or not? What are you doing about it?

I hope that you are all having a wonderful day!

Bek