Expert highlights social media potential for productivity and branding

Businesses are being told that social media can be less of a hindrance and even enhance productivity if managed correctly.

Tim Gibbon, co-founder and editor of the Social Media Portal, stated that “with the right guidance” and a strong relationship between company bosses and their staff, then not only could organisations prosper but “newer areas of creativity” could open up.

“The cultural shift is already upon us, it’s here to stay, del comma and so now it needs to be managed to maximise its potential,” he added.

Mr Gibbon hinted that this can take the form of an extended media guidelines policy that some enterprises may already have in place.

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He suggested that many current ideas of dealing with this issue, such as blocking access to sites or monitoring usage by staff, are not good ways of building trust.

Meanwhile, the head of search at bigmouthmedia Andrew Girdwood has told companies that social media portals like Facebook have more “stamina” in terms of marketing and employer branding than Twitter, which is seen as “quite discreet”.

By Ross George