Social Media

Social media needs to be an integral part of a firm's approach to customer care and building new markets. Most companies are in the infancy of social media and still do not have the underlying processes to support even the most social media savvy approach to business. You can see this in my experience with Dell.

IDG Connect offers a white paper called "Social Media: Business Benefits and Security, Governance and Assurance Perspectives" by ISACA. Here is the abstract:

"Initiated as a consumer-oriented technology, social media is increasingly being leveraged as a powerful, low-cost tool for enterprises to drive business objectives such as enhanced customer interaction, greater brand recognition and more effective employee recruitment. While social media affords enterprises many potential benefits, information risk professionals are concerned about its inherent risks such as data leakage, malware propagation and privacy infringement. Enterprises seeking to integrate social media into their business strategy must adopt a cross-functional, strategic approach that addresses risks, impacts and mitigation steps, along with appropriate governance and assurance measures."

Social media should not be taken lightly - the message needs to be matched by actions. Given that nearly the majority of the 50+ demographic has embraced social media, most of the customer population is now reachable.

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