How Social Media and Internal Communication Affect and Benefit Each Other

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Technology advances more than just the efficiency in which we can communicate and the manner in which it broadens our world – it changes greatly alters expectations and can also create a false sense of urgency in almost everything we do.

Consider the impact on corporate culture: “Employees expect to communicate internally with each other and externally with customers rapidly and around the clock” (Szell, 2015, para. 10).  Social media – a form of mass media that requires constant vigilance – certainly exemplifies this change and the immediacy of communication needs. This is an area, however, that truly does have a heightened and authentic need for urgency in communication and response.

In exploring the ways in which we are now able to communicate – “computers, email, Internet, intranet, smartphones and social media” (Szell, 2015, para. 10) – and the relationships we establish and build upon without ever meeting anyone in person. Yet does this lessen the value of that relationship? Consider then the strong relationships built in this virtual world, and the value of brand loyalty garnered through social media platform engagement.

There are pros and cons with advancing technology, but in recognizing the detrimental aspects to corporate culture – or culture in general – we can be further cognizant of the ways in which we can work around those potential issues. In better understanding internal issues that may erupt, it then allows an organization to create strategic communication internally and externally. Let’s look first at some of the benefits:

• Quick access to information that can have a significant impact on business, allowing organization to pivot as needed
• Remote team members can cut operational costs for an organization
• Opportunities to increase efficiencies in core functionality in an organization
• The ability to gather and analyze data      

Now let’s take a look at potential negatives:

• Online communication is often impersonal and doesn’t necessarily relay the same intent as in-person communication
• A tendency to hide behind online communication versus handling challenging matters in person
• A potential lack of understanding for how our online messaging may be conveyed
• “Privacy and security issues” (Szell, 2015, para. 22) 

While there are certainly positive and negative effects of the use of technology on organizational culture, “businesses need to listen and involve its employees on a regular basis to decide on the ways they communicate internally and externally utilizing technology” (Szell, 2015, para. 24).  

So how does this translate to the manner in which we use social media and interact with our customer base and the general public? Interestingly enough, organizations are learning much about internal communication based on engagement practices established through external mass media sources, i.e. social media. According to Gary Hamel, an influential business leader, best-selling author and management speaker, “This next generation is really going to want to work in organizations where the internal social reality mirrors the social reality of the web” (Dell Enterprise, 2011).

The takeaway then for organizations is this: Enhance corporate culture through the many advantages offered by technology, but ensure that communication practices are a vital part of organizational conversations at all levels. In doing so, it allows the culture to establish positive outcomes and thwart negativity. While internal communication issues can quickly escalate, mass media has created an environment in which an issue can rapidly spiral out of control – particularly in social media. With consistent communication practices in an organization and an eye on immediacy in response to situations with the potential for negative impact, there is far less possibility of detrimental ramifications.

 While this may seem daunting at times, the real benefit, perhaps, is that it becomes even more necessary for strong organization culture with cohesive communication practices that readily carry through internal and external messaging.

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References

Dell Enterprise. (2011, April 29). Management lessons: How will social media change organizations with Gary Hamel [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVMkkModUXM

Szell, T. (2015, January 15). The influence of technology on culture | Balance Interactive. Retrieved from http://www.balanceinteractive.com/blog/influence-technology-culture

                                                

Expectations Mirror Extent of Our Access and Experience

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We are inundated with information, coming at us from all sides via technology today. At times, it’s overwhelming and yet we do have control over how much we choose to take in and engage with. While this may well be the norm for many of us, it wasn’t all that long ago that mass media took entirely different form and shape and we had to pursue information rather than have it arrive at our fingertips via mobile and other portable electronic devices.

Our world moves at such a rate of speed, and technology with it. Children today have no idea how a rotary phone once operated, and perhaps only know what these devices are from imagery in preschool books and toys. Some “children remain bewildered by this archaic device, most are surprised to learn that this less than elegant contraption is actually a telephone; one child even asking if it was capable of text messaging” (Rodriguez, 2015, para. 1). While that sounds comical, this is their reality. In another few years, the devices we regularly use for communication today will seem just as outdated as the old-school telephone is now for youngsters. That’s how quickly we’re moving.

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Mass media has always affected our culture and how society gathers information. Most notably, it’s opened up our world and broadened our vantage point. Whereas we once knew only what directly surrounded our own community, with each new mass communication entity’s arrival, the door opened that much further, allowing us entry into new worlds far beyond our own. At first, it was incremental, with newspapers, magazines, radio and then television, allowing us interconnected communication experience, much of it at the very same time. Is it any wonder then that computers advanced these efforts in what seemed like warp speed in comparison? “Because the media are so prevalent in industrialized countries, they have a powerful impact on how those populations view the world” (Akin, 2005, para. 5).

A key word in the quote prior is ‘industrialized.’ Those countries experience a significant difference in how their world is viewed in comparison to regions of the world, which are not as connected via technology. It would be reasonable then to assume cultures that are not highly immersed in technology would foster expectations related to communication, based on what has always been the norm. As mass media does escalate in its abilities via the Internet and mobile devices, “our society continues to demand faster and better ways to converge mediums into ways that help us make our complex world less so” (Rodriquez, 2015, para. 11). That statement is perhaps most telling in that we now demand more and more of what technology can offer us, but also seek ways in which to simplify all that is surrounding us.

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References

Akin, J. (2005, March). Mass media | Beyond Intractability. Retrieved from http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/mass-communication

Rodriguez, K. (2015, November 30). Effects of mass media on society: How media convergence changed our world. Retrieved from https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/effects-mass-media-society-how-convergence-changed-our-rodriguez