Why Use Enterprise Social Networks For Internal Communication?

The topic of Enterprise Social Networks (ESN) is a hot one this year and the heat looks set to increase. They are more than ‘internal Twitter/Facebook’ but are often described in that way to explain what they are for to people who haven’t heard of them before. I’ve written about them numerous times on my blog and the conversations look set to continue for many years to come.

I think in future they will simply become part of the way an organisation and importantly, its employees, communicate. They will form part of the channel mix and underline the way companies do business and share information. This is already a reality for many organisations.

Ideally done, ESNs enhance businesses by bringing people together to communicate, for the benefit of themselves and the organisation. These connections are achieved via high collaboration software and using social tools.

What is available to choose from? Who is using them successfully and what benefits do they have for internal communication? You can read all this and more in my latest column for Neal Schaffer’s Windmill Networking site.

Crucial to a successful ESN is to integrate it with your existing communication methods and make choices that fit with the culture of your organisation. I will be writing about this in more detail in the future. If you have an example you’d like to share  about how you are using an enterprise social network such as Yammer, Chatter, Jive, Lync or a custom-made one, do tweet me @AllthingsIC or get in touch, because I’d love to feature your story.

Your name here?
Coming up this week is a guest article from Leoni Atkins who has shared her thoughts in the form of a book review, so do look out for that. I’ve also started writing a series of articles to publish here on personal branding. It was going to be one but it’s huge, so am going to split it into a series.

It’s in response to the queries I’ve been receiving from IC professionals recently about how they can develop themselves professionally and personally. It’s not too late to have your say, so if there’s something you’d like me to cover, do let me know. I’m going to be speaking on ‘coping with the digital evolution’ at the Institute of Internal Communication (IoIC) central seminar in Leicester on 1 March and will be touching on this topic there.

Remember, that if you would like to write for my blog, do check out my guidelines as I’m always on the look out for stories to share among the internal comms community, of projects you’re proud of, books you’ve read or something you think other IC pros would enjoy reading. I look forward to hearing from you and thanks as ever for stopping by, Rachel

Post author: Rachel Miller

Further reading:
10 reasons why internal communication pros should participate in social media
How Coca-Cola Enterprises use Chatter
My research: How internal comms pros use social media

P.s Want to know the stages I go through when writing? I’ve been experimenting with Vine over the past couple of weeks and you can watch how I wrote this column for Neal’s blog

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