Social Media Myths At Work

Social media is a platform where user-generated content dominates. Initially, it started as a platform where people logged in for leisure purpose, but today it has become an integral part of corporate strategies. Businesses want to leverage this cost-effective platform to meet their objectives. There are still some myths amongst people about this means which should be rectified. Here's a list of common myths about social media along with arguments to break those myths.

Social Media decreases productivity of employees
Social media started as a platform to socialise, chat with friends and chill out. So, people have this perception that it was a medium of entertainment. However, things have changed with time. Nowadays, people are using it to gather information, which is further used to reap good results. Not only this, you can also get a realistic view about your client through this medium. Apart from this, employees use this platform to get quick access to information which helps in increasing their productivity. It has been substantiated by a survey conducted by Ipsos and Microsoft on 10,000 workers across 32 countries, wherein 46% of workers said they feel their productivity has increased to a large extent due to the usage of social media in office. And here it refers to instant messaging, video conferencing, news feeds, social networks and team sites or portals.

Recruitment done through social media attracts low quality workforce
Social media is a platform which can be accessed by anyone and everyone. If a job for a particular role is posted on a social media platform, it will surely garner a huge response. However, the quality of these responses is supposed to be low as compared to the applications received by a recruitment agency. Brighton School of Business Management conducted a research which shows that recruiters are using social media to carry out hiring process. It says that 94% of recruiters use this medium to find suitable candidates for their companies. Out of these, 49% have felt that the quality of recruits through this medium has improved. The research also discovered that 73% of individuals in the age group 18-34 bagged their last job through social media.

Negative impact of not engaging in social media
Today, the majority of the population of this world is engaged on social media. If you are not using this platform, then probably your customers are there. We all know that a negative conversation on this medium draws a high attention as compared to a positive one. And if you really care about your brand, then the last thing you want to hear will be a negative conversation about your company going viral. Such a conversation can be generated by a person who is unsatisfied with the organisation, primarily customer. And if his concerns are not addressed he may scare other customers as well.

Social media will never generate direct sales
It has been used across business verticals for various purposes. Some organisations are even using this medium for generating sales. For instance: Foiled Cupcakes, which is an online cupcake business based in Chicago, could not get its website developed on time. So it started taking orders through Twitter. In less than 6 weeks time, the company reached from 0 to 2200 followers. Not just this, it also, garnered a national level PR coverage and surpassed the initial target by over 600%.

Social media is not good for internal communication
It’s not just about public communication but also internal private communication. There are lots of communication tools that allows organisations to set up their internal private communication. Yammer is one such tool which is used by organisation in setting up their internal communication. Vodafone used yammer to unify 'Vodacom Voice' across organisation. It also enabled senior management officials to create a workable channel, wherein they can share decisions and ensure allignment. And the telecom firm accepted it readily with 80% of employee jumping onto this platform.

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