FSN: Businesses unlock the value of social networking

Businesses unlock the value of social networking

7th April 2008
Although much of the media focus around social networking remains on disruption in the workplace, many businesses have already warmed to the idea and the benefits they can offer. Mark Dye, FSNs contributing editor, reports.

It seems we're all getting that bit more savvy when it comes to social networking and web 2.0. Whereas, just under a year ago there was still a fair degree of scepticism within the business community about what these can actually offer, it appears there is now a real belief that there is value to be had.

A recent survey by emedia focusing on computer users' views of social networking sites highlighted a shift in thinking with 87% of respondents believing that sites can be used for business purposes such as networking, exchanging ideas, getting advice, recruitment, research and selling. Even so, the hard figures show that there is still some way to go in terms of this with only one in ten people visiting such sites for business purposes at the moment.

However, with Comscore suggesting that nearly 80 percent of Internet users already regularly use social networking sites, the signs are there. After all, online communities facilitate the sharing of new ideas, enhancing collaboration among workers and business partners wanting to share expertise and best practice along the way.

Of course, this is not a new idea to business. Back in 2006 every company employee at Google could create a blog and contribute to the company's internal wikis, something seen as part of everyday life in the Googlesphere as the company looked to fully harness the creativity of its employees.

Two years down the line things have evolved somewhat into the mainstream and we find people gravitating towards online social networks both in their professional and social lives as they look to share similar interests through colleagues, mentors and advisors.

This is probably one reason why recruitment has done well historically within social networking circles, both for recommendations and referrals, when using the likes of LinkedIn and Jobster. Companies like T-mobile and Deloitte have also benefited from the current feel-good factor surrounding social networks by setting up groups on Facebook to put students and graduates in touch with one another before they get down to the real work in hand.

And with the lines between work and play set to blur further, Chris Phillips, director, International Marketing, Taleo, says that clever employers are using these trusted networks to garner passive candidates – those people who are potentially a good fit for a role but may not be actively looking.

“This kind of passive candidate sourcing,” he says, “is where our customers are really starting to see these social networks play because of course if you can leverage what are in effect personal relationships, whether they be they social or business-orientated, to actually communicate with people, then you have a much more powerful way of engaging someone's attention rather than sending them a cold email or phoning someone up out of the blue.”

But it's not just recruitment and the mainstream social networks where companies are seeing benefits. Many businesses are also seeing that enterprise social networks can be valued business assets that help to drive results throughout virtually every aspect of their organisation.

Neighborhood America , a company that has enabled organisations like OgilvyOne and Adidas to build these, suggests that there is a growing realisation in the boardroom that the ‘value of many' can impact multiple disciplines throughout an organisation.

This means that a community that may have initially been developed from a marketing campaign could be used to feed the business intelligence needed for product research and development, change management, customer retention and loyalty programs, and stronger partner networks.

Analyst house Gartner is backing social software techniques, the associated technologies, and has cautioned against businesses dismissing these as it believes they could be crucial business assets going forward. The problem, as with so many new types of technology, is that many people don't know where to start with all this and often struggle to justify investment as a result.

“For businesses, the evolution of the social web was a milestone, not the destination," explains Kim Patrick Kobza, president and CEO of Neighborhood America. And while many continue to debate when businesses will begin to capitalise on social networks and such technology, Kobza says that many of his customers are already achieving superior consumer engagement and revenue streams by adopting enterprise-appropriate strategies.

"Some enterprises have achieved substantial results with social software, and many enterprises are now experimenting with the technology," confirms Anthony Bradley, research director at Gartner.

He attests that an escalating demand from workers is fuelling this and that organisations should exploit growing consumer literacy for business purposes, preparing a social software strategy with a realistic understanding of the associated challenges, risks and benefits."

Gartner also believes that we should also now be at the stage where we are all at least investigating social software for the business, even if this means that the results suggest deploying a ‘wait and see' strategy.

“We expect to see a phenomenal growth in this area during 2008, as the business world increasingly recognises that enterprise social networks, when used smartly, can be leveraged to deliver far more than social relationships," adds Kobza.

Of course, for many there will be blood, sweat and tears along the way, but as Gartner reminds us, investing time and research into these strategies remains the only way forward. It rightly cautions against installing social software tools and expecting a community to flourish – in most cases this just won't happen.

Instead, embrace these technologies in the same way you would any other potential business tool, conducting due diligence along the way. You never know, they could unlock enormous hidden value within your organisation.

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