Tags: Businesses, social media, social media marketing, social networking, social sharing, The Modern Connection[ × ]

It’s no secret that social networking isn’t a favorite amongst company heads and IT professionals. While there’s no denying the growing importance of social connectivity in the corporate world, many organizations continue to struggle with the fine line of allowing employees to use social sites for work-related communication and the abuse by employees who check their personal profiles more often than they actually work.
However, with resources such as Yammer and Salesforce.com’s Chatter popping onto the radar, the world of corporate social communication might just have its day yet.

Source: Yammer.com

Both of these services, and undoubtedly the many that will follow in their path, combine the fun and intuitive aspects of social communication (a la Facebook and Twitter) with the corporate need to increase productivity. Through the familiar format of profile sharing, they provide a platform for business communication that allows companies to privately share documents, projects, messaging and much more.

According to Iconoculture.com, “Salesforce.com’s Chatter has been adopted by more than 85% of its 92,300 customers (Fortune, 25 February 2011). Cisco, SAP, Oracle, Microsoft and IBM have their own solutions in the works. Biggies like Groupon, Deloitte, eBay and Cargill have signed up with Yammer.”

While these networks are the apples to Facebook and Twitter’s oranges, they offer companies the opportunity to harness their employees’ desire to collaborate, socialize and communicate. If there’s one thing that is certain, the American business model is currently facing a metamorphosis – the nine to five, suit-and-tie standard of our grandfathers is slowly giving way to a new generation of cubicle-free, flexible and definitely more casual office environment. Either companies will see the need for change and adapt to Millennials’ and Xers’ preferred forms of communication or they can firmly stand their ground and watch their productivity and, ultimately, bottom line continue to decline.

Do you think adopting social communication into a business model will help corporate productivity?

As a social media specialist for The Modern Connection, Jessica provides innovative and strategic solutions that help businesses connect with their customers.