Companies have been rejecting Facebook for all the wrong reasons. What might seem harmful from an employer's point of view is actually a great opportunity for an organization!
No matter whose statistics about the real number of active users are more accurate, give or take a few million, the critical mass behind Facebook has reached a point where there is no denying its impact. The amount of information generated by its members, from photos to videos to discussions, has exploded resulting in what many see as a second Internet, standing apart not just because of its scale, but also because of its unique quality. With the ever-growing network quickly becoming part of everyday life and naturally spilling over to business, companies have little choice but to enter the game in one way or another as the social and technological revolution marches on.
Of course, there is resistance. For a lot of managers Facebook is actually a devil incarnate, engaging employees' time during their working hours and bringing never-ending distraction. There may be no research available about how the arrival of social networking influenced productivity and concentration in offices, but a safe bet is that it has made quite a dent in it. The site's rampant use at work famously led to questions whether it should be limited or entirely banned in workplaces.
Another common perception is that, with its content highly personal, Facebook has no relevance for business and might be suitable for as little as some private social drama or a sentimental journey back to high school. Sadly, this point of view tends to get extensive coverage as, every now and then, saucy stories and lurid personal details dug up from profiles cause scandal, small or big. Concerns about privacy, nosiness and becoming too vulnerable have been regularly raised, too, and recently there has been a steady trickle of Facebook quitters.
But it seems companies have been rejecting social networks for all the wrong reasons. What might seem irritating from an employer's point of view is actually an opportunity that cannot be missed for an organization.
Unlike most of the Internet, which is a gigantic and largely dispassionate database of information, Facebook and the likes involve much more natural and much more emotional interaction that is differently motivated. More often than not, it is out of pleasure and curiosity, rather than just some info thirst, that users log on and contribute. They are more likely to spend quality time browsing through networking sites and share their thoughts openly and accurately. Simply put, they are destinations on the Internet with an enormous, well-described pool of members, naturally interacting and engaging with each other.
In practice, what is the deal for companies?
1) Facebook can easily become a trusted, two-way communication channel with your clients, featuring the basics of your operation as well as ongoing developments around it. Profiles, which are free and easy to make, are built to help showcase logos, mottoes and other company details and the wall may serve as a high-impact notice board to announce promos, competitions or company news. In most cases, having an FB profile means your company will receive more feedback about its products and services directly from customers in their wall comments. It requires engaging market research firms to put a hand on this type of data, here it is for free and totally reliable.
2) Facebook can help your company go viral. As a networking site, it relies on a web of relations between its members who know each other and who share ideas, opinions and other content. Just like in real life, by befriending one Facebooker your business stands a chance of being spotted by or recommended to hundreds of others. Known as a powerful tool for word-of-mouth marketing, Facebook is capable of spreading your good reputation, your values or simply your business proposition in its entire system just by passing it from one member to another. For a reasonable amount of time and attention needed to set up and update a profile, potential gains are indeed breath-taking.
3) Facebook can drive traffic to your website. As your presence in the community grows and the word-of-mouth effect kicks in, it is a safe bet some new connections will decide to check out your company site. For example, for the Miami-based fashion designer Ema Savahl Couture, whose FB profile is a hive of activity with fans and friends commenting its collections and swapping celebrity gossip, Facebook is the third largest source of site traffic, after organic search and direct visits. If it is properly maintained and appealing to users, it has the power to tease them into clicking the company link, possibly culminating in generating more business.
4) Facebook can make your company look cooler and more familiar, almost literally putting a face on it. What is important is that it leaves enough freedom for members to arrange their profile originally and make decisions about what to share, how often to update and how, if at all, to use its multiple features and sub-channels. In a simple and cost-effective way, a company is capable to establish its individual presence and customize it to its needs, ideals or goals. Whether it is just an informative profile or a launching pad to an online branding campaign, Facebook will readily lend itself to your objectives.
5) Facebook can be the training ground for your online presence and future Internet ventures. The site develops at an astonishing pace and comes up with new ways of tapping its expanding user base for commercial purposes. It is a sensitive area since it involves playing with personal information and comments, but the site begins to offer highly effective advertising instruments, unique because they are so adequately targeted and brand-oriented. It also successfully experiments with solutions for partnering sites that let outsiders use Facebook's resources to stimulate their business. One recent example involves CNN running an application that made it possible for FB members to comment on and interact with the broadcast of Obama's inauguration in real time.
Surely, there is more to come as Facebook and other Internet social media move on to new territories. It is important for businesses not to take their eyes off the ball and participate in this ongoing transformation of how people and organizations interact with each other. Even now, in exchange for a sensible share of effort and time, free social networking sites can deliver hefty returns and added value to your business. And their future is wide open.