A fortnight ago I taught a Social Media course in conjunction with Net101. Along with working for a range of clients I also teach a Masters Communications subject at UTS called Rethinking Media (essentially about the changes that Social Media is bringing to the communications professional). In both these environments I am always interested in hearing what is happening within organisations regarding the integration of social media into the business. These are some of my observations from both large corporate and SMB empoyees:
- Communication Manager’s are overloaded with their job responsibilities that now extend into Social Media
- IT departments are still to come to grips with giving staff access to the tools they need to do their job
- While many are well versed in the concepts the practicalities (hands on) of how to do the tactical work is still difficult for many
- Underresourcing is a huge issue with social media elements given to juniors who have hands-on skills but no business acumen
- The c-suite (many of who are mid 50s and up) still don’t get it – forcing in some cases good comms managers to look around for businesses that will embrace social media so they can get experience in this area
- The pace of change – many are overwhelmed by how fast the platforms changes – think Facebook competitions t/cs and many worry they will be caught unaware in this environment
What observations can you make about what is happening within offices in Australia?