Social Media and Internal Communication

Chapter 22 of Share This talks about employee engagement and how social media is changing internal communication.  Rachel Miller shares research by Melcrum that lists the top three benefits for internal communicators who put a business case for the use of social media: innovation and idea exchange, employee engagement and knowledge management and collaboration.

Innovation and idea exchange was the top response with 41.5 percent of the vote. Employees and management can use social media to toss around new thoughts and ideas. Not only can new ideas be shared, feedback can also take place. Other employees can share their thoughts on a particular idea. When a new idea is created and thoughts are shared, there can be a vote to see if this idea could benefit the company.

Employee engagement received 38.4 percent of the vote. Social media allows employees to feel more involved with the company. A small group of employees could be in charge of managing the social media platforms. Some employees may be the ones writing on the different profiles.

Knowledge management and collaboration got 30.8 percent of the vote. If something needs to be shared, it can be posted on a social media site. Using social media can allow people to work together on various tasks that need to happen. If a project is assigned to a group of employees, each person can use their individual strengths and knowledge to help create a final product that is effective.

I believe these are three good reasons to use social media in any organization. It allows ideas and thoughts to be exchanged between employees. It gives the employees more ways to be involved within the company. The knowledge of the company can be shared with others. Plus, employees can use their knowledge when they have to work on a project for the company. Social media has a decent role in internal communication. If more businesses decide to use social media, I think the internal communication can improve, which can benefit everyone involved.