The awesome power of social media

They're democratic, open and relatively inexpensive and businesses that ignore them risk being left in the dust by competitors. Social media - Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and the like - are reshaping business and it's a bandwagon you might want to climb aboard.

It would be easy to dismiss the power of today's social media as, well, perhaps interesting, but just a passing fad. Nothing could be farther from the truth, as we are discovering rapidly. For many, what is taking place is an important, dynamic shift in the way business is conducted.

Consider this fundamental relationship change: Until the past few years, businesses determined on their own how to market themselves, connect with consumers and manage communications. They had the luxury of almost complete control of their messages and image. Guess what - that's either gone or going fast, as much of messaging power, and therefore control, now resides primarily in the hands of the consumer. In the past, if you messed up with a consumer or client, the chance of this ill will spreading widely was unlikely. Today, thanks to the potent social media, your business can be flogged publicly and widely mere moments after the gaffe.

Change your thinking

How do businesses respond to this new paradigm? How to take advantage of this dynamic new environment? It does require a change in thinking. In an earlier article on social media, we reported studies that indicated employees who used social tools at work such as Facebook were more productive. Not what one might have expected, right? The lesson: Keeping an open mind is essential with today's social media.

Let's explore some of the ways you can leverage social media to help your business. Soren Gordhamer, author of Wisdom 2.0 and social media commentator, says the age of social media has given consumers more honest and direct relationships with businesses. Rather than cocoon, as in the old days, businesses need to use these new tools to reveal more personal, open relations.

Indeed, there are a number of areas where social media are changing business:

• Companies are moving from a selling model to a relationship-building model. With engaged customers and clients, sales will follow. For example, it is better to avoid stilted official statements in favour of personal messages. It's one reason we see senior executives "tweeting" today.
• There is a shift away from large communications and marketing campaigns. Instead, smaller, more direct communication has vast potential through sharing on social media networks. While there is still a place for large campaigns, close and helpful communications strengthen businesses.
• Do some chilling. Naturally a business's image is important, so this notion is sure to cause discomfort: the idea is to back off the stuffy, controlled corporate image and give employees more latitude with online vehicles. It's argued the most popular companies today allow such freedom, out of which can grow relationships to help the business in the long run.
• Companies no longer have the luxury of choosing how customers communicate with them. Customers today expect to be able to communicate using tools they choose, including Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and many more channels. Customers are happiest when they can contact businesses easily and efficiently.

Trend watch

The evolution of social media is happening constantly. Consider these trends culled from the social media blog Socialnomics:

• 80% of companies use LinkedIn as a tool to find employees
• 34% of bloggers post opinions about products
• 78% of consumers trust peer recommendations
• Soon, consumers will not search for products and services; instead products and services will find consumers through social media.

In an age where customer relationships gain an ever-growing role in determining businesses' success, communications agility is the new benchmark. Service providers such as Allstream not only advise on the new media, they make sure you have the platforms you need to succeed.