Social Media: What every company needs to know

Abstract

Social media is a phenomenon which is not going away anytime soon. With 850 million monthly active users on Facebook and 80% of social media users preferring to connect with brands through Facebook it is also something that companies can no longer ignore, both for a means of engaging with consumers, but also in the way it deals with the use of social media by its employees. Although companies cannot ignore social media they also need to make sure they are prepared before venturing into the world of social media – it is not just a matter of setting up a page or a Twitter account. A company should have a clear social media policy which governs use of social media by employees and a clear strategy which outlines how social media will be used and what the company wants to get out of the use of social media. We will therefore look at how to set up a policy, what a good policy needs to cover and how to approach entering into the world of social media as a company.