Dangers of social media

Social networking sites like Twitter, Digg.com, YouTube and Facebook have become part of our everyday vocabulary. In just four years, Facebook has gone from relative obscurity to a worldwide phenomenon with over 300 million users. This growth has made social media, a much sought after marketing channel with exposure to a constantly growing database of business contacts/clients. Despite this obvious potential, most businesses are yet to see its true benefits. Why is this so, and what can be done to maximise the effect of social media?

Use social media for the right reasons

Far too many businesses are hopping on the social networking train with no actual plan in place. If you are only using social media solely because your friends, colleagues or competitors are, there is a good chance you are wasting your time.

Social media is not for everyone, a B2C selling phones might find a Facebook page works when dealing with clients, while a B2B selling crates gets no value at all. Before you consider any form of social media, ask yourself will it benefit your business?

Security/privacy of information

Social media sites are increasingly being targeted by hackers for passwords or important information. Don't use the same password on Twitter as you do for your online banking. Also be careful of people accessing your accounts and sending out information on your behalf.

If you do not feel comfortable discussing or posting certain information via your social media sites, then don't. You might have an argument with your boss and decide to post a rude comment, next thing you know 100 000 people in 30 companies have seen what you said about your soon to be ex-boss.

Losing control of brand

One of the biggest benefits of social media is also potentially its greatest pitfall, namely integration.

If a well known brand is caught doing something illegal on camera the chances are good within a matter of minutes there will be a video on YouTube, which has been tweeted by 500 of your' closest friends' leading to 300 unique blog posts, resulting in the creation of two Facebook groups, campaigning against your product in 50 countries.

Time consuming

Trying to manage social media is a time-consuming process which is a job in itself. Due to its ease of use, information spreads very quickly, if you don't have someone solely responsible for managing/tracking information online, a minor issue can soon become an Enron sized catastrophe. Being in charge of social media entails more than just creating a company Facebook page, it involves a detailed knowledge of the company and how the industry operates.

Exploited as a social tool/wasting time

Social media has huge potential business benefits, but staff can also take advantage of it. The average Facebook user spends around 25 minutes a day browsing the site. If 20 minutes of this time is spent at work socialising you are losing out on a major chunk of productivity. If you decide to use it as a business channel, consider giving access only to those staff who are actually involved in your social media strategy.

Avoid these issues

If you are going to use social media, make sure you have a strategy in place from the start. Ask yourself who is going to manage it, how will they respond to queries, what do you hope to achieve, will you monitor various social media sites, do you expect an increase in sales, if so how much and by when.

The success of your social media campaign needs to measurable, whether it's through exposure or actual sales have a goal in mind, otherwise you are setting yourself up for failure.