Using Social Media to Build Business

Social
Media has forever, fundamentally changed how business is done. Why? Business is
run by people (customers & employees) web 2.0 and social media platforms
have created dynamic and powerful ways to access those people (e.g., human
capital). All people facing processes or components of business have the
potential to be improved with social media (if applied correctly). Every
business is different and every business will find unique ways to use SM in
ways that might add little to no value for a different organization.

What Works?
Having a strategy and applying Social Media to the
needs of your current business model. Developing a protocol for
engagement (e.g., Corporate Social Protocol) this will help an organization
maximize the available resources and mitigate the risks of being unprepared.

What Flops?
Not having a strategy (doing it because everyone else
is). Letting the employee with the most LinkedIn connections (or friends, or
followers) lead the initiative, etc. Trying to make Social Media fit where it
clearly does not belong. Not having executive management completely dialed in
on the risks and rewards. Not having a team in place to respond to social media
attacks (i.e. Dominos) I call this the Social Media Disaster Response Team.