Social networks for companies

Combine the power of the Internet with the evolution of digital media, apply the principles of “social media” and you have the main ingredients for the recipe that is revolutionizing the way business is conducted today. All you have to do is look at the wildly successful businesses that have been built on top of the social media platform (MySpace, Ecademy, Linked-In, Flickr, Facebook, etc.) or the unprecedented growth of the Blogosphere and quickly see it. will recognize. Social networks are here to stay.

While social media clearly enables large corporations to be more productive by extending their brand and having better communication throughout the value chain, it is their impact on small businesses that is perhaps most impressive. The ability of social media to level the playing field for the individual professional and the small to medium-sized business is truly amazing. It was the Internet that established the global economy, but it is social media that is making it happen.

A bit of background … The term “social media” in its most classic sense is best defined as the study of how people interact with each other. Study the dynamics between nodes (people) and links (their relationships). Since the term was coined in 1954 by JA Barnes, its meaning has leapt from the halls of academia to gain visibility in the boardrooms of global corporations. It has evolved from the study of human relationships in sociological, anthropological and psychological settings to the study of professional relationships and organizational theory in business settings.

When all the buzzwords and tech jargon are removed, social media is all about aligning interests and motivations to create influence. There are smart, well-established entrepreneurs with virtually non-existent networks and little real influence, and there are what on the surface would appear to be dark people with huge networks wielding enormous influence.

Analysis of social media has shown that the greatest amount of power and influence within the corporation does not necessarily reside at the top of the org chart, as might be thought. Studies have found that the people who have the most influence in a company are the most trusted people with the widest base of connections, and not necessarily the person who has the highest rank or the largest title. Similarly, the same goes for external networks … It’s about quality (are the people in your network meaningful?), Character (do people in your network trust you and do you trust them?) And relevance (are the people in your network important?). People in your network able to exert an influence that is aligned with your needs?) Of the people in your network who matter.

The last and most important ingredient in building your network is that you must be a contributor … The old axioms “you will reap what you sew” or “you will give and you will receive” have never been truer than when applied to social media. If you are truly motivated to provide value and benefit to those in your network, you will receive value in return. However, if you are a user and abuser of your network, only taking from others and giving nothing in return, you will bleed your network only to see it crumble before your eyes.

With proper motivation, careful construction, and active management of your network, there is no reason to assume that it will not be a success. Focus on leveraging the most important spheres of influence for the mutual benefit of your network members. By adopting the suggestions in this article, your network will grow in a geometric progression as it spans industries, geographies, and cultures.