Organisations today use a wide variety of social media platforms both internally and externally, but whether you are chatting with a client on LinkedIn or involved in a discussion with your boss on Yammer, there are some basic techniques to ensure to get the most out of your social experience.

On the internal company network or out on the Web, social is organic and potentially chaotic, but managed well it can have many benefits.  But the potential perils are many advantages.

Companies are attracted to the potential for enterprise social to provide a view into the firm’s conversations and ideas while external social networks are great ways to build a like-minded community. However social media also offers the potential to damage personal or  brand reputation just as easily.

Here are some recommendations to ensure you get the most out of your social media experience.

While enterprise groups are more likely to be managed,  some professional sites are unmanaged and have a prolific number of groups.  So how many interest groups do we need on a particular topic?  As individuals how many groups  can we contribute to  and how many can we gain value from? 

A recent search in LinkedIn Groups with the words “knowledge management”  yielded over 600 results.    Some were broad in their coverage  and others specialised by industry, tools, product, language or geographical  boundaries.  

Whether it be from posting or keeping up to date with the posts of others, it is important to be strategic about managing our own social media interactions.  Spreading yourself too thin across different groups and media platforms  can lead  to a disadvantage.  Productivity can be easily affected, as we may inadvertently monitor content that my lack depth or quality and therefore add little value to our time or attention.

Choose groups whose members  you respect and who are therefore more likely to contribute quality content.  By the same token contribute when you have something to say.

Crowdsourcing

Utilising a social network for solving problems, improving a process or just seeking an opinion or solicit ideas is not a  new concept.  The means and speed by which it is done and the dynamics involved with the support of social media technology is new.

Depending on whether you are sourcing knowledge from within the enterprise of outside,  tapping into the collective knowledge  and wisdom of your “crowd” can yield fast results and you  can be spoilt for choice.  

It can yield results  that may have been hindered in traditional workshopping or brainstorming sessions due to organisational  or group dynamics.  Within group situations there will be a variety of individuals characterised by personality or rank.  Depending on the culture, some group  situations are such that  participants will always agree or defer to what the boss says. 

Individuals who typically need time to think problems through may be overtaken by others with more outgoing styles  who take centre stage and who may be prolific with their contributions.  Social media allows individuals with varying styles to be able to contribute and  potentially shine.

Crowdsourcing has the potential to allow access to knowledge from groups of people you may not personally know.  It remove the barriers  of gatekeepers  and the invisible fence created by cliques.  It democratises the flow of knowledge.

But while knowledge become more freely  and readily available within these situations,  seeking those opinions out,  especially in public social media, needs to be done with care.  For example do  not solicit ideas from the crowd if it means that you will be revealing competitive company information, giving clues to competitors  about upcoming products or  weaknesses within the organisation.  Any of these could mean that competitors gain an advantage.  By doing so you  may  inadvertently breach  your company’s policy on  disclosure of internal information. That in itself can have other professional consequences. 

Managing the brand called Me in social Me-dia

With Facebook,  LinkedIn, twitter and Yammer  alone,  the line between professional and social networking has become increasingly blurred.  While managing your brand is not just about social media,  it does pay  to be mindful of  how you want your online presence to be perceived.  What  you say about yourself  and others will impact your  professional brand, regardless of the social media platform you engaging in.

Effectively managing your brand starts with having a clear concept of your objective.  Is it contributing to your workplace , your profession or seeking out your next opportunity?  

What you do to manage your brand  should align with your objective.  In doing so you should also  maintain your authenticity.  

Over self promotion,  especially with pumping out irrelevant low value content, may become simply a way for your to train  your audience  to ignore you as you develop a reputation for quantity and noisy posts rather than quality and helpfulness.  You may also find that your audience  blocks your updates.

Helping others and providing thought leadership is the best form of self promotion.

By contributing innovative, useful or  thoughtful  provoking  solutions or  conversations, you are better positioned to establish yourself as a thought leader within  your online community and your wider network.  This in turn strengthens  your brand.

Posting inappropriately  or without weighing the risks can also be damaging to your brand.  Whether right or wrong, existing or potential employers have an ability to  monitor social media conversations.  There have been recent cases where employees have  aired workplace grievances on social  media sites.  These have led to dismissals or actions in industrial relations regulatory arenas.` 

The scope of social networking inside and outside the enterprise  and the speed with which we collaborate and bring ideas to practical outcomes is yet another facet of our ever changing   professional landscape.  Our ability  to manage and engage well in social communities  will  finds its way in job requirements.  It is now easier to maintain  ever growing super networks  and with it  the risks and benefits are multiplied.

Taline Babikian is an Australian Information and Knowledge Management professional who has worked in financial services, professional services, Local Government, tertiary education, and manufacturing industries.