studio J

Social media has done a lot for business communication in the past few years. Businesses can talk to their customers in real time, offering deals and specials for those ‘exclusive’ few. We can hear what customers (as well as ex-customers and non-customers at times) are thinking and what is being said about our brands. We can get instant feedback on how to make a product or service better and it can be used for customer service to improve the experience after the sale. All in all, social media can be a powerful marketing tool if done right.

But what about internal communication? In the past 10 years we have seen the emergence of company intranets where information can be shared company-wide, even crossing state and international borders just a easily as across the hall. For the most part, however, this is a one-way communication. Now we are faced with this strange new tool called social media, which allows employees not only to get information, but to give information as well; and all of this is taking place in real time. I’m interested in hearing what your business is doing, if anything, with this new frontier:

• How is your company using social media internally?
• Are the ‘Big 3′ being used or are new platforms being created just for this purpose?
• What are the benefits and pitfalls of using real-time communication in the workplace?