How to Use Social Networking and Online Collaboration in Your Business

Social Networking-
Corporate blog:
Online Collaboration-
Use program such as GoogleDocs to encourage employees to collaborate online to complete tasks.
Set up wikipedia pages for departmental projects (keeping in mind they'll be visible to the prying public) -- These pages allow for the production of collaborative documents and for the compilation of individuals' contributions to a group's overall task.
Online collaboration sites are also great for compiling employees' position-specific goals with regard to the group as a whole, and for viewing a Project-Manager installed Project schedule with due dates and other deadlines (can include a comprehensive timeline of goals).
Keeps everyone on the same page and keeps each person accountable to the team as a whole. Ex. With an online schedule denoting who owes what and when, team members won't want to see an blank space in the "date completed" field of their task.This, in turn, encourages a proactive work environment (people try to impress their boss, peers) whereby individuals are more likely to complete tasks on time and, since everyone can see the online compilation, team members will likely do a better-quality job.

FIN:
1. Multiple contributors

2. Testimonials of product effectiveness (pharmaceutical industry) -- how its changed peoples' lives.

3. Aesthetically pleasing

4. Detailed functionality of blog: -tags for use with digg/delicious/technorati
-sub-post buttons for adding posts to common ugc compilers (technorati, digg, etc.)
-subscribe feature for users to stay in the loop -- can be 1) used in a reader/rss/atom, 2) blog updates e-mailed to subscribers
-widget features to involve visitors
-widespread advertising of the blog accomplishes 1)obtains visitors who read and contribute ad revenue 2)brand recognition by getting people to see the company name
-advertising -- limited but still present. One 300x300 pixel video ad
-embedded videos that users have made that feature or support our product line

5. Product advertising w/ discounts or coupons... perhaps free trial offers for some otc drugs.

6. Offer link to profile page of CEO. Talk about his impoverished childhood and his commitment to bettering the lives of everyone who uses his company's products. Mention how his morals have contributed to the company's stellar commitment to taking care of people and always being sensitive to their needs.

7. Blog allows for reader feedback as well. Helps the company improve its business by getting feedback and therefore becoming more sensitive to customers' needs.

8. Link up to competitors- Posts can be about employees of all levels praising the company or describing the many facets of their jobs, but the informative posts about company products, development, or releases can link up to competitors pages, as a means of proving betterment.

9. With a large company, it takes only a little time for each employee to make a contribution [send a mass memo requiring all employees to write a post, then stockpile posts and publish periodically, over time], which, over time ends up not harming productivity all that much.

10. To manage the online world, a tech savvy "Technology Manager" would need to be hired (me), who could implement all the features of a blog of this kind, and maintain it. Essentially, once it's set up, only occasional maintenance is required, and a daily/weekly commitment to publishing posts is required. It could be make a routine portion of a tech-savvy PR employee's job.

11. Install visitor tracking and web analytics utilities in the blog to understand where visitors come from. In doing so, the company can create more targeted advertising [cisco is a good example- lots of targeted adword advertising].

Features and Capabilities are Endless

There are many nifty features to get bloggers involved on your company’s blog. These in particular are strongly recommended:
· Tagging: Allows the Tech. Manager to apply multiple single-word descriptions to company blog posts that are then used in web aggregators to filter out specific content based, typically, on a user generate query. Examples of services that use tags include del.icio.us and Technorati.
· Aggregator buttons: Following posts, a series of buttons allows individual readers to add a particular post to online blog/news aggregators. These aggregators are used by many people who are looking for specific content. Even better is inclusion of aggregators in Google searches, making it even easier for your company’s name and news to spread like wildfire. Talk about social networking to the extreme!
· Subscribe buttons: One or more buttons or input boxes that allow blog visitors to receive a company post as it is published. With subscriptions, users have the choice of a) receiving the posts in their own news aggregator (i.e. Google Reader or Bloglines), or b) receiving posts in their e-mail in-boxes. Establishing this connection with readers is a key social networking tactic.
· Widgets: These devices are interactive tools placed on blogs that involve readers by entertaining them, in essence getting them to stick around for longer. An example would be a sudoku puzzle.
· Advertising: By placing a small (300x300 pixels) advertisement on the company blog, the company can earn revenue every time someone visits. A small, noninvasive ad would generate cash while not burdening the blog readers too much.
· Embed Videos: Undoubtedly there will be videos or movies produced involving your company’s products. For supportive films, the best action your company can take is to embed the films into its blog. By doing so the film creator is made happy, blog visitors are entertained, and your company is promoted with yet more free advertising.
· Not So Free Advertising: A final option would be to pay for some limited online advertising which promotes the company’s blog. It would inform the general public that your company has started its blog, and that it is looking for visitors. This may be something to consider if promoting the blog via newsletters, e-mails, and printed materials does not yield the kind of visitor turnout that was expected or hoped for. Paid advertising, while inviting web surfers to visit your company’s blog, also imprints your company’s name in peoples’ minds.