{"id":159,"date":"2012-05-16T13:10:54","date_gmt":"2012-05-16T13:10:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.poly.com\/?p=159"},"modified":"2012-05-16T13:10:54","modified_gmt":"2012-05-16T13:10:54","slug":"how-private-social-networks-can-work-for-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.poly.com\/how-private-social-networks-can-work-for-you\/","title":{"rendered":"How private social networks can work for you"},"content":{"rendered":"

Two heads (or more) are better than one<\/em><\/p>\n

While many of you still are sorting out how to incorporate social media into your online marketing (AT&T\u2019s 2012 Small Business Technology Poll<\/a> indicated that as of last year, your use of Facebook was at 44 percent and Twitter only 18 percent), you\u2019re now being advised to \u00a0adopt social networking tools to connect your employees.<\/p>\n

Unlike a company intranet, which offers one-way communication; private social networks, such as Jive<\/a> and Yammer<\/a>, enable\u00a0 an ongoing real-time conversation among your team. \u00a0If you\u2019ve been wondering what a private social network can do for your business, here are some things to consider.<\/p>\n

By being part of their \u2018own community,\u2019 employees can communicate and collaborate more easily, which in turn enhances productivity. In practical terms, several employees can be working on one project at the same time, sharing their ideas and updating each other through posts. The process is more efficient than sending documents and comments back and forth across email or sending instant messages.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Even better, with a private social network, you have the advantage of drawing on the collective knowledge of co-workers to better problem solve. When a question comes in from a customer or prospect and you don\u2019t have the answer, you can ask others in the organization. They can reply with comments or documents or provide a link to information on the web.<\/p>\n

While it\u2019s easy to launch a web, audio or video conference today \u2013 even using a mobile device and a headset<\/a> — geographically dispersed employees can converse as if they were in the same office across\u00a0 your private social network.<\/p>\n

There are management benefits as well:<\/p>\n