Social Business Tactics are Still in Early Adoption Phase

The use of social technologies and techniques for business processes is an area of debate. Some believe that social communications and analysis of the resulting data will be a revolutionary step for companies, and others are still not convinced that this consumer-oriented technology will be applicable in the business world. CompTIA’s recent study exploring this trend affirms that there is some hesitation in adopting social trends for business use, but also finds that the benefits companies are experiencing make the trend worth exploring.


Up to this point, the primary use of social tools within the enterprise has been for marketing. Ninety-three percent of companies who have adopted social tools use them for marketing or brand recognition, and 57 percent of those companies indicate that the marketing department is the owner of social activity. This activity typically takes place through social media: public social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Social enterprise tools—such as IBM Connections, Chatter, Yammer and Jive—have significantly lower adoption rates.


However, the benefits that companies are discovering in their externally facing social activity would indicate that there will be a growing desire to replicate this success internally. Above marketing cost reductions and brand recognition, the top benefit cited by companies using social media is better communication with customers (61 percent). Other benefits, such as customer satisfaction and connecting with business partners, show that social platforms are viable for communications and collaboration. The study shows a gap between companies who are dissatisfied with their communications systems and those that would consider social tools as part of a communications strategy; education and examples could go a long way toward increased adoption of social enterprise tools.


With the focus on marketing in many organizations, IT departments and solution providers may be wondering how they can participate in social initiatives. The reality is that there are opportunities at many levels. To begin with, IT teams are actually the top choice for companies when it comes to building social policy. With deep experience in regulating employee interactions with technology, IT staff can help guide the mindset and objectives of companies as they enter the social space. They also can take their experience a step further in educating the workforce on appropriate behavior, reducing the risk of a security breach.


As social activities become a larger part of the organization, IT teams will have a role more directly in line with their function. Data Loss Prevention (DLP) tools can provide a further layer of security, and analytics tools can mine valuable information out of social streams. The increased needs for data storage and traffic flow will necessitate a flexible infrastructure, which can either be built on-premise or procured as a cloud solution.


Social adoption is still in early stages, but the potential advantages to a company’s communication strategy and planning ability make this an area to keep an eye on. What do you think? Do you believe social business will be the new way of doing things or a passing fad? Please share your thoughts with us in the comments below or on our Facebook or Twitter sites.