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5 Important Ways Social Media Can Go Mobile in the Workplace
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The immense proliferation of mobile devices combined with the permanence of social media in our lives means that more social media users than ever before are accessing their accounts via their personal devices – including your employees.
You need to take advantage of their connectivity and use social media to engage, collaborate and communicate with your workforce.
A 2012 survey by Nielsen and NM Incite found that we spend almost one third of our online minutes perusing our social media accounts from mobile devices – compared to the 20 percent of online time spent visiting social networks from PCs.
It’s no wonder that we prefer our personal devices over our computers when it comes to scanning our Twitter feeds or checking in at a favorite restaurant — mobile is easy, convenient and present at all times, whereas computers are tethered to cables and don’t fit as easily in our pockets. Even portable laptops require a stable surface — smartphones just need a hand.
According to the survey, from July 2011 to July 2012 – a single year – social media usage grew from 88 billion minutes to 121 billion minutes. 63 percent of that time was spent on mobile devices, via both apps and websites. That a majority of the growth in social media connectivity is happening on personal devices testifies to the popularity of social media and the strength of mobile as a preferred portal.
Employees are not immune to this upward trend. A recent SilkRoad survey found that 75 percent of employees reported browsing their social media accounts at least once a day, and 60 percent visit multiple times. Interestingly, practically half of those surveyed frequent their social media networks in order to stay in touch with co-workers.
Mobile and social media are here to stay, and you need to capitalize on their power and appeal, and integrate the two as collaboration tools in the office.
Here are five (5) important ways you can incorporate them into your workplace:
Connecting to social networks via mobile devices is fast and accessible, and it on its way to becoming as common a communication form as the telephone and email. For that reason, think of it as a tool that can empower employees and increase productivity in the workplace.
Accepting this fact will pave the way for inclusive BYOD policies, and position your company as one which is forward-thinking in employee engagement.