Social Media in Business - Tool for Competitive Advantage

Social Media - The business manager dilemma - Invest or Ignore

Almost four out of five British managers identified learning how to make the most of social media as an area they need to excel at by 2020 if the economy is to grow and compete internationally, according to a recent survey published by the Chartered Management Institute. iReach Survey results issued recently suggests business managers in Ireland have a similar view to their British counterparts.

Social Media is all around us in business, but with something so fluid and rapid in terms of consumer trends and direction constantly changing, business managers are faced with the choice to invest time and effort in adoption or 'leave best alone'. Being able to tap into such trends is a powerful source of business insights for many organisations.

However Social Media has it's down site. Twitter is facing increasing pressure to stem the flood of abuse on its website after two stars were targeted by internet trolls. Olympic gymnast Beth Tweddle and former England footballer Stan Collymore are the most recent high-profile figures to receive sexist or racist taunts and threats. Industry experts suggest the US social media firm has a responsibility to do more to protect its users.

Recently TalkSPORT banned any mention of Twitter after accusing the site of "not doing enough" to support Stan Collymore over the death threats and racial abuse he received from users. Chief executive Scott Taunton criticised the microblogging site, saying that, as well as boycotting it on air, in print and on its digital platforms, it will also stop promoting Twitter and its own Twitter accounts.



As with something so powerful, there is always a down side, but still much to benefit business leaders in gaining competitive advantage.