Social networks that
boost your business
Daniel Burrus, ceO, Burrus Research ( office@burrus.com)
Daniel Burrus
In today’s increasingly web-based world, it can be difficult to distinguish between social networking sites that benefit business and not
waste valuable time. In this article, Daniel Burrus proposes ways in which social networks can be used effectively to promote “Business
2.0” communication.
Most people are familiar with the term Web 2.0, which refers to a second generation of web development and design that focuses on fostering social networking via
the web. Innovative companies are beginning to embrace Web
2.0 as a way to enhance communication, information sharing,
and collaboration, thereby allowing them to work smarter rather
than harder.
The business use of Web 2.0 represents a new trend called Busi-
ness 2.0. Aside from being the name of a defunct magazine, Busi-
ness 2.0 is about using the new web-based social networking appli-
cations (many of which
were originally created
for personal use) in a way
that fosters teamwork,
customer touches, and
internal and external col-
laboration in a low-cost,
seamless way.
Unfortunately, many
businesses feel that Web
2.0 and social network-
ing are for the younger
generation and a waste
of time when used by
employees. However,
once you understand the power of these applications and how to
use them in your company, you’ll quickly find that they can be
invaluable tools to boost your bottom line.
Following is an overview of the best Business 2.0 tools.
“Business 2.0 is about using the new web-based social
networking applications in a
way that fosters teamwork,
customer touches, and internal
and external collaboration in a
low-cost, seamless way.”
Personal tools with business applicability
Facebook
Personal use: Facebook enables you to connect and share with
the people in your life. Users can join networks organized by city,
workplace, school, and region to connect and interact with others.
People can add friends, send them messages, and update their
personal profiles to notify friends about themselves.
Business 2.0 use: Large organizations can connect all of their
employees, or members, with Facebook. Some are finding an
added advantage of using an internal, secure version of Facebook,
which has helped organizations dramatically increase their internal
networking and collaboration.
Ask yourself:
Could we use Facebook, or our own internal ver-sion, to get people to collaborate at a higher level?
Twitter
Personal use: Twitter is a micro-blogging service that allows
friends, family, and coworkers to communicate and stay con-nected through the exchange of short, quick messages using no
more than 140 characters each. Senders can restrict delivery to
those in their circle of friends or coworkers. Users can receive
updates via the Twitter website or other social networking sights
such as Facebook. Young people often use Twitter for answering
the question: What are you doing?
Business 2.0 use: Business users could change that question to:
What problem are you trying to solve? Several companies have
used this as a fast way to get input. Hotels, airlines, and airports
are using Twitter to pitch services, update travel plans, and respond
to travelers’ needs.
Ask yourself: Could we use Twitter to solve problems faster
with our organization or our customers?
Wikipedia
Personal use: Wikipedia is a free online encyclopedia that
anyone can use to find information on virtually any topic. Anyone
can edit the content as well.
Business 2.0 use:
A large manufacturing company with engi-neers in locations around the world increased problem solving and
collaboration by creating an internal, secure version of Wikipedia
for sharing information on parts and service offerings as well as
repair and maintenance instructions. Retailers and suppliers could
create a version of Wikipedia to foster education and training as
well as enhance information sharing.
Ask yourself: Could we create an internal version of Wikipedia
to foster better information and knowledge sharing?
YouTube
Personal use: You Tube is a video-sharing website where users
can upload, view, and share video clips. YouTube displays a wide
variety of user-generated video content as well as movie clips,
product demonstrations, and commercials. Unregistered users can
watch the videos, and registered users can upload an unlimited
number of videos.
Business 2.0 use: Businesses are posting humorous commercial
videos to generate interest in their products with great success.
The more entertaining it is, the more people watch it. Business
partners could create a YouTube-like channel for the purpose of
educating and training.
Ask yourself: Could we enhance our marketing efforts as well
as general communications by using YouTube?
