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Masha -

Few would dispute that effective communication increases employee engagement and retention. However, on social media, participation and business benefits often seem to be at odds, as there are significant differences between effective and ineffective communicators.

Let's be honest: The social aspects of social media can determine the success or failure of a company's brand and customer relationships. Ineffective communicators are most likely to be the first to dismiss social media as a waste of time—and the first to damage your brand.

According to a recent Towers Watson report from 2009/2010 on communication ROI: Capitalizing on Effective Communication:

Despite the increasing use of social media, companies still struggle to measure the return on investment of these tools. Highly effective communicators are more likely than less effective communicators to report that their social media tools are cost-effective (37 percent versus 14 percent).

Many social media experts emphasize the organic benefits of social media—myself included. In fact, according to our own recent social media survey of HR providers, 93% of whom report participating, the top five social media activities companies engage in are:

  • Sharing other people's content and messages
  • Sharing their own content and messages
  • Networking
  • Building relationships
  • Listening and learning

Marketing and selling products and services ranked lower. Given these activities, companies need to ask themselves who can best represent them online. Are they letting anyone who volunteers become the company's front-line social media marketing?

The answer is no. However, I'm not suggesting you discourage online participation—not at all. Anyone who wants to participate can and should. However, there are numerous social media guidelines available today that you can provide to your employees (simply type "social media guidelines" into a search engine to find them).

Examples:

  • Intel
  • Cisco
  • IBM
  • SAP

Personal responsibility comes first – participants who engage on social media are not just representing themselves, but are now the face of the company. Fostering high-quality communication is crucial, and this responsibility lies with company leadership.

Speaking of leadership roles: A closer look at our survey reveals the following breakdown by participant roles:

  • CEO/President/Business Owner – 56%
  • Vice President/Director/Manager – 60%
  • Human Resources – 19%
  • Recruiter – 16%
  • Marketing – 74%
  • PR – 38%Sales – 49%
  • Customer Service – 14%
  • Other (everyone else) – 10%

It makes sense to me that the majority of participants consist of the following:

a) executives,

b) people focused on company growth (management, marketing, PR, sales), and

c) (most likely) people with strong communication skills.

Of the 7% of HR providers who said they weren't active on social media (93% said they were), more than half said they saw no business benefit in it.

Really? No business benefit in communicating with and building relationships with customers, prospects, and influencers?

Really.

If your company doesn't invest in and engage with social media, it will do itself more harm than good. Fostering better internal and external communication, both within and outside your company, is the core objective of social media and customer service in the new millennium.

The notion that social media offers "no business benefit" is fundamentally flawed, especially when effective communication is directly tied to employee engagement and customer retention. The real failure lies not in the tools, but in the inability to measure communication ROI and foster a culture of high-quality online participation. This responsibility starts with leadership, who must provide clear social media guidelines and integrate this activity into strategic growth. Much like IceHrm provides a clear framework for managing employee data and performance, companies must establish a clear framework for social media behavior, recognizing that employees are the company's front-line face. By fostering better communication internally and externally, and viewing engagement as a core objective of the new millennium's customer service, businesses will realize the full, non-monetary, and ultimately revenue-driving benefits of social media.