Mediaboss Marketing

March 27, 2012, 7:30 AM PDT

Takeaway: Jack Wallen says employees should have access to social networking sites at work. See if you agree with his reasoning and take our poll to let us know where you stand.

I get it Youre completely convinced that allowing your employees to get on Facebook and Twitter would pull the rug out from under your bottom line. Because of that, you block chat, tweets, and all other social networking to make sure your workers are doing only what you pay them for. I am here, however, to suggest that there can be a backlash from that approach. Social networking can actually help you in the long run, and I want to try to open your eyes to this fact. In the end, of course, its your business and your call. But lets see if you can be swayed.

Back in the 90s, people wanted to be hired by companies that were cool to work for. And when the employees actually enjoyed working for a company, they did their best work. Morale is a huge aspect of the business world, but few owners and managers seem to get it. Low morale among the workers breeds contempt, and contempt breeds disloyalty. Disloyalty, as you know, breeds attrition.

Your reputation is everything in business. And in this day of instant gratification and notification, finding yourself with a reputation going down the drain is little more than a disgruntled employee away. That does not mean you must cater to every whim and folly of your employees. But giving them tiny crumbs (like social media access) will go a long way toward keeping your reputation healthy.

Communication whether its internal or external is key to business success. One of the fastest means of communication today is social networking. In fact, its just about the most immediate form of communication you can find. Your employees may be communicating with the outside world, but many of those people on the outside are consumers and possible clients.

Dare I say free advertising? I dare and I do. Social networking brings to businesses a boon of free advertising. You cant afford not to hop onto this bandwagon. And getting on board early shows the public that you are an agile, aware company. Allowing your employees to take advantage of social networking also shows you care about them. In this society, caring goes a long way. All of that makes for some seriously powerful advertising.

Social networking facilitates collaboration internally, but it also lets users collaborate with the entire world. I have done this countless times. When Ive been stuck on an idea, I call out to my followers on Twitter or Facebook to get a deluge of answers. Its free and its fast.

You need your finger on the pulse of society. You can get this with your employees on social networking sites. In fact, youll have instant access to the court of public opinion even as it evolves in front of you. This is another (free) way to expand your companys reach.

Your company and its employees need to know how to use social networking effectively. Why? Because our society is on a collision course with an even further embedding of social media into our lives. You want your company and your employees at the forefront of that trend. At some point, your employees may have to use social networking to market and sell your product. Allowing them to use it on a daily basis now will ensure that theyre social media savvy, without the need for training.

See the original post here:
10 reasons NOT to block social networking at work