Monday, November 15, 2010

Social Media

Communication has become astoundingly easier. Before the rapid innovation of technology concerning connecting people, there was a prevalent communication gap between varying cultures and regions of the world. Snail mail and pen-pals have become an treasured antique which has been quickly replaced with tweets and Facebook posts. Beyond reconnecting with old friends and merely keeping in touch with family across the globe, social media, in its entire entity, has made a significant impact in the business world. According to the book entitled Groundswell, companies should concentrate on the facilitation of relationships rather than the ever-changing technology. I agree that creating relationships is pivotal for success in business. Running a business or working for a company requires human ingenuity and creativity. A complex robot cannot craft together ideas and spark passion into the community as how clever entrepreneurs or employees do. So, in order to have ideas come into fruition and products reach markets, the members of a respective company have to invest time and effort in building relationships. Social media enable professionals to dive into their consumers and learn more about their ideas, attitudes, beliefs and even response to various types and products and services. One company, who I feel did a great job of using social media as a insightful leverage into solidifying relationships with the community is L’Oreal. As I mentioned in class, I was first introduced about their opportunities for interns during the McCombs Fall Career Expo. The recruiter mentioned that there was a Facebook page where I could find more information. As I began the application process for summer intern position, I came across some trouble on the actually L’Oreal website. So, I decided to go to the company Facebook page to see in there was any information posted regarding the technical errors on the company website. Before posting my comment of the page’s wall, I began browsing other user comments. I was amazed to see how each and every comment had a response from L’Oreal. I saw a fellow student who expressed her difficult with the application and I read L’Oreal’s response to her inquiry. There were even MBA students and admirers of the brand who wanted either ask about potential job opportunities or express how much they valued the brand. L’Oreal was using Facebook as a direct line of communication with their consumers. In addition, by creating a Facebook page that is a visible to the public, L’Oreal can even expand their market with people who are simply browsing through Facebook and just happen to land on their page. More specifically, L’Oreal has a separate Facebook page for those who seeking careers with the company (which is the page I interacted with). Furthermore, because L’Oreal is a such a wide-scale company, there is a Facebook page for each of their divisions. For example, Red-Skin, one of the brands in their high end division, has a Facebook page. In addition, brands in their consumer brand such as Maybelline have a Facebook page that can be used as a form of communication and research for their consumers. Social media has enable a more direct route of communication between corporate entities and the consumers. Products are able to now fully cater and fulfill specific needs in the market.