After reading Rachel Thexton’s blog about companies making costly mistakes due to Twitter, I completely agree with her that social networking for a business is risky because of the likelihood of a post being construed as offensive to individuals. However, because the Internet is the most efficient medium for communication, the pros of promoting a company through social networking outweigh the cons.
As a user of Twitter myself, I know how fast a controversial tweet can become widespread in the online community. Cases of this have been seen in politics, celebrities, and corporations, one example being when the former CEO of General Electric posted a tweet implying the insincerity of people working for the US Department of Labour – it spread like wildfire.
However, when Twitter is used by companies and their associates in a professional and promotional manner, great improvements in sales can be seen due to the convenience and popularity of Twitter. The best piece of advice that Thexton provides in her blog post is for members of a company to create separate twitter accounts for personal opinions and professional promotions. If this advice is followed, companies can greatly reduce their risk in facing controversy over social media.
Sources:
http://www.bcbusinessonline.ca/social-media/twitter-era-nothing-record
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/10/jack-welch-conspiracy-jobs-tweet_n_1954176.html
