This short video shows the influence of social media in the life of smartphone users:
Discussion about Social media by dana.knieriem on GoAnimate
Sunday 22 September 2013
Thursday 19 September 2013
Social Media and its application and integration in companies
To explain how companies use social media today and to identify the opportunities and risks, it is important to understand what social media is and how it developed. Therefore, this essay begins with a definition of social media before providing a brief history. It will then illustrate how a company (in this case Deutsche Telekom AG, the biggest German telecommunication company) is able to use social media to its advantage in two parts. First it will look at the importance of a company’s online presentation. Then it will explore how companies can use their social networks for internal communication and as a working environment. The conclusion will discuss whether or not companies will have to deal with social media in the future and if so, to what extent.
Social Media can be defined as ‘websites and applications that enable users to create and share content or to participate in social networking’ (Oxford Dictionaries 2013). Its main focus is social interaction. Many people think that the development of social media began with Myspace and Facebook. In fact, CompuServe, which was launched in 1969, is seen as the first commercial online service and the beginning of social media. Within a few years the popularity of emails began to grow and more and more people began to interact via the Internet. In 1978 some hobbyists developed the first online platform that would keep friends informed via computers and make announcements. In the 80s the development of today’s Internet, the World Wide Web begun. Public access to the World Wide Web began in 1993. A few short years later, in 1997, social interaction started becoming a driving force of the Internet. The first blogging websites were launched, AOL enabled it’s users to chat online and Blackboard, an online system to support education, was invented – three functionalities which are still popular today. The first famous social network was created in 1999 in the UK and was coined ‘Friends Reunited’, but was subsequently dwarfed by ‘Friendster’ from the US a mere 3 years later whose users reached upwards of 3 million. The success of Friendster was followed by Myspace in 2003 and Facebook in 2004. Facebook is currently the most popular social network and the first name most people think of when the term ‘social media’ is mentioned. It started as a social network at Harvard University to enable students to interact with each other. In 2006 it became accessible to the general public and since then the number of users have skyrocketed (Curtis, 2013). People are relying on Facebook to stay in touch with friends and to share content. The timeline on the personal profile of every user makes it easy for friends to access the information they want and to comment on it. Globalization fuels social media networks like Facebook even more because people become better connected all over the world. However, it is not only used for private interaction. Facebook is used in universities and schools to make announcements and it improves the collaboration between students who can ask questions and discuss current topics in Facebook groups. All in all, social media is an integral component in today’s society and it has changed communication behavior – for better or worse, but that aspect that will not be discussed here.
The average Facebook user spends 8.3 hours a month on the site and 76% of all users log in on to Facebook daily (Craig 2013). Smartphone users use Facebook even more frequently, on average they check their Facebook account 14 times a day and within 15 minutes after they wake up in the morning (Keating 2013). Therefore, the presence of Facebook in the daily life of more than 1 billion users is a good incentive for companies to advertise their products online to reach new potential customers. Brand awareness can be increased when people ‘like’ a Facebook page, a new form of viral marketing. Customers share their experiences and give feedback, while special offers make brands even more popular. Some companies also offer customer service over Facebook to increase their customer intimacy. For example Deutsche Telekom AG as a company uses multiple Social Media accounts. It has divided its social media presence into four segments: corporate communications (for general announcements), marketing (for acquiring new customers), customer service (for raising customer satisfaction), and human resources (for potential employees) (Vollmar 2012, p. 5). Thus, they want to focus on specific target groups to meet different needs. The main social media networks they are using are Facebook, Twitter and YouTube (Deutsche Telekom AG 2013), using even smaller networks would probably cause too much effort in relation to the expected results. In total, the management of Deutsche Telekom AG is convinced that the use of social media has already helped in improving communication to customers. However, there can be negative aspects to a brand having a Facebook page. It is important to interact with the users constantly and to anticipate their needs. The users on Facebook may be a different target group to the average TV viewer. The page has to fit to the corporate design and must be up to date. If users can get the latest information on a site they will view it more often and can recommend it. A good example is Adidas, they just announced their new collection including a link to the online shop (Adidas, 2013). Another important aspect that companies have to deal with are so called ‘flame wars’. Here, a critical post of a user is commented and shared by many thousands of people who want to express their anger at something, for example, the customer service of a company. It is important to avoid these flame wars and if they appear, an immediate reaction is necessary. Just deleting the post will often cause even more anger. In these situations it is important to satisfy the customer and to illustrate how the occurrence was an anomaly (Wikipedia 2013). On one hand, social media can increase brand awareness and customer satisfaction. On the other hand it can also harm the company. Hence, it is very important to be present on every popular social media network and to ensure activity alignment. (Kaplan, Heanlein 2010).
Social media can do more than raise brand awareness and improve customer connectivity. It can be used within companies as a working environment. An internal social network for all employees can merge many functions of the intranet, which may be on different platforms. Employees can give status updates about their current project, they can chat, make appointments for lunch or follow the activities of colleagues or of the management. The management can use social networks to communicate directly with their employees. They can make announcements about specific events and report on them as well as commenting on current press. Criticism, both positive and negative, can be communicated directly and all colleagues can contribute their opinion. To this end, employee satisfaction and loyalty increase, which is reflected in the quality of their work. A social network can become the main working environment for projects. Files can be stored and edited online and a forum can help handle discussions. Important announcements can be published and if everyone is using this social network, E-Mails will be redundant. At Deutsche Telekom, 44,000 from more than 200,000 employees are already using the internal social network called ‘Telekom Social Network’ or ‘TSN’, which was launched in 2012 (Mesmer 2013). Training for the proper use of the TSN is offered to ensure that this network has the desired effects.
To summarize, social media is growing in importance every year. Internet users expect companies to ‘opt in’ to social media networks. Companies without an online presence are seen as less trustworthy and obsolete. It is important to manage this online presence well because it has become the main point of access for many customers in the past years. The management of companies should not underestimate the importance of social media and the bigger the company the more important it is to devote funds to this platform and to have a department which focuses solely on the company’s social media presence and it’s interaction with online customers. However, the fact that not everyone is online or using social media must not be neglected, not everyone can be reached by social media.
Sources:
Oxford Dictionaries, Social Media, viewed 06 September 2013, <http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/social-media>
Curtis, Anthony 2013, The Brief History of Social Media, viewed 06 September 2013, <http://www.uncp.edu/home/acurtis/NewMedia/SocialMedia/SocialMediaHistory.html>
Smith, Craig 2013, By the numbers: 50 Amazing Facebook Stats, viewed 06 September 2013, <http://expandedramblings.com/index.php/by-the-numbers-17-amazing-facebook-stats/>
Keating, Fiona 2013, Got a smartphone? You probably check Facebook fourteen times a day, media release, 28 March, viewed 06 September 2013, <http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2300466/Smartphone-users-check-Facebook-14-times-day-admit-lookingmovies.html>
Vollmar, Lusia 2012, Kommunikation statt Kommerz - wie Konzerne Facebook und Twitter nutzen (Telekom), media release, 29 March, viewed 06 September 2013,
<http://www.focus.de/digital/internet/netzoekonomie-blog/tid-25387/social-mediakommunikation-statt-commerce-wie-konzerne-facebook-und-twitter-nutzen-deutschetelekom_aid_729563.html>
Deutsche Telekom AG, Telekom Social Media News, viewed 06 September 2013, <http://erleben.telekom.de/>
Adidas, Facebook, viewed 06 September 2013, <https://www.facebook.com/adidas>
Wikipedia 2013, Shitstorm viewed 06 September 2013, <http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shitstorm>
Kaplan, A. & Heanlein, M. 2010, Business Horizons Volume 53, Issue 1: Users of the world, unite! The challenges and opportunities of Social Media, viewed 06 September 2013, <http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0007681309001232>
Mesmer, Alexander 2013, Social Media, media release, 16 March, viewed 06 September 2013, <http://www.computerwoche.de/a/social-media-hier-spricht-nicht-nur-der-chef,2534046>
Social Media can be defined as ‘websites and applications that enable users to create and share content or to participate in social networking’ (Oxford Dictionaries 2013). Its main focus is social interaction. Many people think that the development of social media began with Myspace and Facebook. In fact, CompuServe, which was launched in 1969, is seen as the first commercial online service and the beginning of social media. Within a few years the popularity of emails began to grow and more and more people began to interact via the Internet. In 1978 some hobbyists developed the first online platform that would keep friends informed via computers and make announcements. In the 80s the development of today’s Internet, the World Wide Web begun. Public access to the World Wide Web began in 1993. A few short years later, in 1997, social interaction started becoming a driving force of the Internet. The first blogging websites were launched, AOL enabled it’s users to chat online and Blackboard, an online system to support education, was invented – three functionalities which are still popular today. The first famous social network was created in 1999 in the UK and was coined ‘Friends Reunited’, but was subsequently dwarfed by ‘Friendster’ from the US a mere 3 years later whose users reached upwards of 3 million. The success of Friendster was followed by Myspace in 2003 and Facebook in 2004. Facebook is currently the most popular social network and the first name most people think of when the term ‘social media’ is mentioned. It started as a social network at Harvard University to enable students to interact with each other. In 2006 it became accessible to the general public and since then the number of users have skyrocketed (Curtis, 2013). People are relying on Facebook to stay in touch with friends and to share content. The timeline on the personal profile of every user makes it easy for friends to access the information they want and to comment on it. Globalization fuels social media networks like Facebook even more because people become better connected all over the world. However, it is not only used for private interaction. Facebook is used in universities and schools to make announcements and it improves the collaboration between students who can ask questions and discuss current topics in Facebook groups. All in all, social media is an integral component in today’s society and it has changed communication behavior – for better or worse, but that aspect that will not be discussed here.
The average Facebook user spends 8.3 hours a month on the site and 76% of all users log in on to Facebook daily (Craig 2013). Smartphone users use Facebook even more frequently, on average they check their Facebook account 14 times a day and within 15 minutes after they wake up in the morning (Keating 2013). Therefore, the presence of Facebook in the daily life of more than 1 billion users is a good incentive for companies to advertise their products online to reach new potential customers. Brand awareness can be increased when people ‘like’ a Facebook page, a new form of viral marketing. Customers share their experiences and give feedback, while special offers make brands even more popular. Some companies also offer customer service over Facebook to increase their customer intimacy. For example Deutsche Telekom AG as a company uses multiple Social Media accounts. It has divided its social media presence into four segments: corporate communications (for general announcements), marketing (for acquiring new customers), customer service (for raising customer satisfaction), and human resources (for potential employees) (Vollmar 2012, p. 5). Thus, they want to focus on specific target groups to meet different needs. The main social media networks they are using are Facebook, Twitter and YouTube (Deutsche Telekom AG 2013), using even smaller networks would probably cause too much effort in relation to the expected results. In total, the management of Deutsche Telekom AG is convinced that the use of social media has already helped in improving communication to customers. However, there can be negative aspects to a brand having a Facebook page. It is important to interact with the users constantly and to anticipate their needs. The users on Facebook may be a different target group to the average TV viewer. The page has to fit to the corporate design and must be up to date. If users can get the latest information on a site they will view it more often and can recommend it. A good example is Adidas, they just announced their new collection including a link to the online shop (Adidas, 2013). Another important aspect that companies have to deal with are so called ‘flame wars’. Here, a critical post of a user is commented and shared by many thousands of people who want to express their anger at something, for example, the customer service of a company. It is important to avoid these flame wars and if they appear, an immediate reaction is necessary. Just deleting the post will often cause even more anger. In these situations it is important to satisfy the customer and to illustrate how the occurrence was an anomaly (Wikipedia 2013). On one hand, social media can increase brand awareness and customer satisfaction. On the other hand it can also harm the company. Hence, it is very important to be present on every popular social media network and to ensure activity alignment. (Kaplan, Heanlein 2010).
Social media can do more than raise brand awareness and improve customer connectivity. It can be used within companies as a working environment. An internal social network for all employees can merge many functions of the intranet, which may be on different platforms. Employees can give status updates about their current project, they can chat, make appointments for lunch or follow the activities of colleagues or of the management. The management can use social networks to communicate directly with their employees. They can make announcements about specific events and report on them as well as commenting on current press. Criticism, both positive and negative, can be communicated directly and all colleagues can contribute their opinion. To this end, employee satisfaction and loyalty increase, which is reflected in the quality of their work. A social network can become the main working environment for projects. Files can be stored and edited online and a forum can help handle discussions. Important announcements can be published and if everyone is using this social network, E-Mails will be redundant. At Deutsche Telekom, 44,000 from more than 200,000 employees are already using the internal social network called ‘Telekom Social Network’ or ‘TSN’, which was launched in 2012 (Mesmer 2013). Training for the proper use of the TSN is offered to ensure that this network has the desired effects.
To summarize, social media is growing in importance every year. Internet users expect companies to ‘opt in’ to social media networks. Companies without an online presence are seen as less trustworthy and obsolete. It is important to manage this online presence well because it has become the main point of access for many customers in the past years. The management of companies should not underestimate the importance of social media and the bigger the company the more important it is to devote funds to this platform and to have a department which focuses solely on the company’s social media presence and it’s interaction with online customers. However, the fact that not everyone is online or using social media must not be neglected, not everyone can be reached by social media.
Sources:
Oxford Dictionaries, Social Media, viewed 06 September 2013, <http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/social-media>
Curtis, Anthony 2013, The Brief History of Social Media, viewed 06 September 2013, <http://www.uncp.edu/home/acurtis/NewMedia/SocialMedia/SocialMediaHistory.html>
Smith, Craig 2013, By the numbers: 50 Amazing Facebook Stats, viewed 06 September 2013, <http://expandedramblings.com/index.php/by-the-numbers-17-amazing-facebook-stats/>
Keating, Fiona 2013, Got a smartphone? You probably check Facebook fourteen times a day, media release, 28 March, viewed 06 September 2013, <http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2300466/Smartphone-users-check-Facebook-14-times-day-admit-lookingmovies.html>
Vollmar, Lusia 2012, Kommunikation statt Kommerz - wie Konzerne Facebook und Twitter nutzen (Telekom), media release, 29 March, viewed 06 September 2013,
<http://www.focus.de/digital/internet/netzoekonomie-blog/tid-25387/social-mediakommunikation-statt-commerce-wie-konzerne-facebook-und-twitter-nutzen-deutschetelekom_aid_729563.html>
Deutsche Telekom AG, Telekom Social Media News, viewed 06 September 2013, <http://erleben.telekom.de/>
Adidas, Facebook, viewed 06 September 2013, <https://www.facebook.com/adidas>
Wikipedia 2013, Shitstorm viewed 06 September 2013, <http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shitstorm>
Kaplan, A. & Heanlein, M. 2010, Business Horizons Volume 53, Issue 1: Users of the world, unite! The challenges and opportunities of Social Media, viewed 06 September 2013, <http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0007681309001232>
Mesmer, Alexander 2013, Social Media, media release, 16 March, viewed 06 September 2013, <http://www.computerwoche.de/a/social-media-hier-spricht-nicht-nur-der-chef,2534046>
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