Social Media Goes Corporate

I recently read an article from the CEO of Hootsuite, Ryan Holmes, titled 2016’s Biggest Social Media Trends for Business. He highlights 5 social media trends that you cannot ignore.

Yeah…I know you have been thinking that social media is a fad. Some of you think you do not have to participate.

Well, social media is going corporate. If you want to advance your career, you will have to be proficient on social media. If that ticks you off—get over it.

Let’s talk about those 5 trends.

Social media at work is on the rise

Ryan states:

For years now, we’ve been promised that a new generation of internal social networks—for use inside company walls—will spell the end of email. No more hunting through your inbox for information. No more group email threads from Hell. And yet email has lumbered on in the workplace.

He is so right! I know you have received way too many e-mails where someone replied “copy all.”

Slack and applications like it are rapidly moving into the corporate space.

Facebook for Work is in a pilot phase!

Social media is moving behind the firewall and onto corporate networks. How you interact with your colleagues at work is changing.

Listen to the most recent episode

Are you comfortable with those changes?

Are you going to insist that the only way to have true relationships is to meet face to face?

Companies turn to their own employees for bigger social media reach

Ryan states:

Nearly 80 percent of businesses now have a dedicated social media team. But many still struggle to reach an audience. 2016 will see companies turn increasingly to an underused resource in the effort to get the word out: their own employees. Employee social advocacy programs, which encourage staff to share updates about the business on their own social media accounts, have grown by 191 percent since 2013 and are due to take off in the year ahead.

You are now expected to be on social media promoting your company. This is particularly true as it relates to hiring.

Yeah, I know you hate Facebook. Well—get over it.

Companies start paying attention to social messaging

Ryan states:

Here’s an eye-opener: Globally, there are nearly 4 billion active users of messaging apps, from WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger to WeChat and Kik. The top 5 apps in the world in terms of frequency of use, in fact, are all messaging apps: users are popping them open more often than even Facebook or Instagram.

This is an area that I admit to being behind. Messaging is exploding. It is not just texting on your smartphone (you do have smartphone, right?), but it is using a variety of messaging apps. The only one I use is Facebook Messenger, and even that is infrequently.

Social media advertising (really) takes off

Ryan states:

Haven’t noticed the exponential increase in ads on your social media feeds? That probably means they’re working. In contrast to old-fashioned banner ads, the new generation of “native” social media ads like Facebook and Instagram sponsored posts and Twitter promoted Tweets look and act a lot like normal social media updates from friends and followers. They’re also targeted with an uncanny degree of precision: Advertisers are able to drill down not just by age and gender but by interests, location, company affiliation, role and more. So the ads you get are probably the ones you actually want to see.

Advertising on the Internet will never be the same. Facebook recently announced that their mobile advertising has surged. This is a big shift in the advertising space. Have you noticed? You do have a smartphone, right?

Social video takes over

Ryan states:

In case you missed it, social video is exploding. Last year, Facebook more than doubled its daily video views to 8 billion, reportedly overtaking YouTube. Twitter launched native video of its own in 2015, while Snapchat now reports 6 billion daily video views in its own right. In total, adult users now consume a total of 66 minutes of online video, each and every day.

Have you watched a Periscope broadcast?

Soon, video will become the norm. Are you comfortable being on camera?

How are you using Social Media?

Well, are you actively using social media in your personal life?

Are you actively using it in work life?

Are you actively using it in your job search?

Please take our monthly survey Tell Us What Social Media You Use. This survey is closed but you can view the survey results here –> Career Pivot Social Media Survey Results [Infographic]

You can see the previous survey results here on the Survey Results Page.
Marc Miller

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