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Monthly Archives: December 2018

  HomeGreat Divide IT Consulting   : :   Reno Nevada IT Support Resources   : :   2018   : :   December
Posted on Author Admin Categories Productivity

Business Evolution

Figuring out how to effectively utilize social media within your business can be a tricky task. On the one hand, it’s critical for marketing. On the other, it can be a major time suck. You’ll have to walk a fine line of utilizing the main players like Facebook and Instagram, alongside other lesser-known social-related platforms to evolve your business and increase communication and productivity amongst employees and clients. We’re not going to spend time in this blog giving you a large how-to of using each of these platforms, but we will get you started down the right path with the correct technology.

Customer Service

While nothing can replace a human voice, sometimes, utilizing social technology can massively improve your customer service. Start with simple tools like the Facebook Messenger autoresponder. Whenever someone messages you on Facebook, they immediately receive a response acknowledging their message in addition to expectations for further interaction. This allows you to be continually responsive without constantly sitting on Facebook.

If you’re ready to take it a step further, consider specific customer service profiles on Facebook and Twitter. You’ll need to be able to clearly track customers’ complaints and rants, but quickly showing up in response on these social profiles will make a big difference. Check out how these companies do Twitter support very well.

Finally, consider a chat mechanism on your website. A whole generation of customers is rising that much prefers chatting online to getting on the phone. You don’t have to constantly manage this service. You can either set office hours or outsource to a third party to start and triage conversations.

Utilizing these techniques, your office manager and customer service team can get off the phone and answer questions through a social platform while they are working on other items creating greater efficiency.

Communication

Communication between employees can also be enhanced with social platforms. For example, Microsoft Office 365 offers Teams, a software for messaging, video conferencing, calls, and screen sharing. Instead of walking all the way to someone’s office or trying to multitask while waiting for answers, you can type in a name and send a message to anyone in the company. It cuts time in half; you get quick on the spot response or support. When employees are working remotely, they can still communicate effectively with anyone in the office utilizing a screen share and video to make their message clear. Something like this will also allow you to eliminate other video conferencing software for a more complete, all-in-one solution saving time, training, and money. Your IT company can point you in the right direction when it comes to implementing a software like this.

Morale

Finally, social media, social tools, and social platforms are all shown to increase morale within a business. They are allowing employees to streamline their jobs without the stress and hassle of attempting to collaborate with different people via email or an office visit. It also shows them that you trust them to use these things on work time and not abuse the privilege. Taking a small break to check Facebook or network with a client makes a surprising difference in the workplace. Do some research and find out what would work best for your business.

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Posted on Author Admin Categories Cyber Data

Social Media Use Policy

Everywhere you turn today you will find social media. People taking selfies at the grocery store, responding to Instagram while walking down the street and of course checking Facebook while clocked-in at work. What do you do when social media use gets out of hand in the workplace? It can seem like a never-ending battle with employees, but it doesn’t have to be that way.

Before you go any further, draft up a social media use policy. This will save you headaches and possible litigation. Employees can agree to it and follow it or they can find work elsewhere. Sounds harsh, I know, but your business’s reputation is not worth Mary’s selfie. Don’t get me wrong, the policy doesn’t have to be rigid and forceful. Your employees are adults and can handle responsibility. Similar to a job description, policies allow for clarification and accountability, which is great for both employer and employee.

To create a social media use policy, start by splitting the policy between company official accounts and personal accounts. For company official accounts, clearly articulate your brand as well as how you want it perceived, so that the message is consistent across all platforms, no matter who posts or comments. Talk about confidentiality and what company info can or cannot be shared. This can be similar to the non-disclosure you had your employees sign when they got hired.

For personal accounts, explain what they’re allowed to divulge about the company. For example, posting identifiable client information without the client’s permission is a major no-no. Badmouthing the customers is clearly out, as well as complaints about employees or managers that should be brought to HR. Basically, the employee is responsible for what is posted and should be cognizant of who may be reading. For anyone that uses their personal account for company business (i.e. connecting with customers or sharing marketing materials), set clear expectations of what can and should be listed on their account. For example, it’s an employee’s prerogative to have a side-gig as an underwear model on the weekend; but perhaps it’s not the best idea to have that individual representing your company using social media pages filled with scantily clad photos. You probably have other more conservative options, or you can encourage that employee to develop different social media accounts to represent your company.

For both personal and company accounts, outline the potential consequences for not following these guidelines. Ensure these are clear and concise to avoid loopholes that can be quickly manipulated.

Perhaps even more importantly, spell out clearly defined roles and responsibilities. Figure out who will have access to the company’s social media. You can harness the power of social media for your benefit if you play it smart. Your marketing team will need it, well, to market. Sales can keep in touch with prospects or members easily and it gives all parties confirmation that you care. Beyond that, you may want to give your receptionist or office manager access in order to help with customer service on different platforms. Clearly articulate expectations for each role so that you don’t end up with customer service professionals trying to market, and marketing selling things that the service team can’t deliver. With clear roles, you’ll also know when each team member will jump in to field an interaction from a customer or prospect without overwhelming them or leaving them hanging.

As you develop your policy, keep a few things in mind. Don’t discourage use, and ensure the language of the document sounds positive. Employees will get upset with a big change to their routine, particularly if they perceive it as restrictive or negative. Also, be transparent on why you’re creating a policy. Let them know if productivity has been negatively affected through social media use, and be clear with them about the potential security risks you are trying to avoid. Finally, explain how a policy keeps everyone honest and accountable. As long as you are transparent about the new policy, implementing it shouldn’t be a huge issue. If you have employees assist you drafting this document, that’s even better. They become part of the change and not steamrolled by it.

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