Biz-commPulse

M any businesses now embark on a social media campaign (often also referred to as social influencing) to reach their target audiences in the thousands of different social media networks. In addition employees are also increasingly using social media for different business reasons.  In fact, a social media strategy has now become almost imperative in today’s business communication milieu. But what makes a good social media strategy? Is it enough to only decide which of the different social media networks to use or may be used by employees? As a social media strategy becomes more imperative, it is perhaps also time to consider the following four Cs when planning the strategy. The four Cs are circumstances, contribution, communication and consequences. These can be explained as follows: Circumstances A good social media strategy should always consider the  circumstances  of the target audience(s) of the business. What are their needs? Who are they? Why are ...

Employees generally welcome feedback from managers, not only  constructive feedback  about their own work performance, but also about any undertakings in the business which directly relate to their tasks.  Managers tend to forget that well informed employees are more productive and also focused on achieving business objectives. So what kind of  feedback should a manager give to employees? Continuous feedback to employees is important.  Picture Credit: Photopin . Feedback on work performance without discouraging the employee, thus constructive remarks to help the employee grow and prosper to the benefit of business goals.   The annual performance interview is the ideal place, but feedback could also be continuous throughout the year in less formal settings. Feedback about all activities and undertakings in the business.  Large businesses have their own public relations officers dealing with internal communication according t...

Photo credit : Photobin. Are your employees spending too much time reading emails?  Many employees are constantly being interrupted by reading emails throughout the day resulting in a loss of productivity for the business.  Once interrupted by an email, some experts suggest that  employees can on occasion waste up to 30 minutes to get back to work again.  Many of these emails are from colleagues and not really that important.  As a result some businesses now do not allow employees to send emails to their colleagues and only to clients of the organisation.  However, since emails have become essential for daily, instant communication, some businesses even introduced instant messaging for employees to communicate with each other without having to send emails while file sharing through applications such as DropBox or similar  applications are encouraged. What do managers need to do?  Depending on the nature of the business, it is ...

Another key area for seamless integration of business communication is having access to  the right technology or infrastructure.  Many business owners therefore are looking for the right software with which to integrate all messages to or from employees.  I recently discovered Google Enterprise which is a very cost effective way of managing communication in the business.  Google has been widely criticised especially since they seem to almost have a monopoly when it comes to search engines, but I am fascinated by the many possibilities for any business.  So why am I impressed and what can Google Enterprise do to enhance integration? Source: Google Enterprise. Google has many applications which business owners can use to communicate with employees.  Employees are always connected via email while the communication can be better managed with added productivity applications.  Examples of such applications are: A calendar where all calendars are...

The way in which a business is perceived, positively or negatively, constitutes its corporate image. The corporate image is inseparable from all the activities within a business as it generally includes the overall picture that people have of a business. The corporate image of a business is also directly related to communication in the business. The way in which a manager deals with employees will have an effect on employee morale and motivation. Lack of motivation among employees or little knowledge of products or services will impede good customer service. If employees deal with customers in an unprofessional manner, those customers will perceive the business in a negative way. How customers experience the products or services or their personal contact with the business, can result into either positive or negative viral marketing for the business. Customers have access to numerous social media platforms to post either complaints or compliments about the business. Word of mouth ...

Effective business communication should be part of a strategic plan and revised on an annual basis. A manager needs to constantly communicate with employees to inform them about their roles in the business and what their duties are.  Good business communication provides clear direction to employees on how their duties can contribute towards the success of the business.  A manager should never neglect to communicate with employees and assume that they know what their roles in the business are. But what should this strategic communication plan entail? Each business is different and has its own policies and structures.  Similarly the size, culture, mission and vision as well as managerial style of a business vary. Depending on the above, the strategic communication plan should indicate all communication activities in the business and who should be responsible for these activities.  Clear communication channels should be identified to convey specific me...