Social Media vs. Email: What’s all the fuss about?

Communication is key in any relationship, specifically within companies. Information is constantly being shared whether it be internal, external or private info. 

When email came into play, CEO’s, employees and consumers alike went crazy with the ability to send information to each other quickly and as often as they’d like. 

Well, that’s outdated. Ok, that’s to be debated, but what isn’t debatable is the fact that Social Media has revolutionized relationships and communication, way past who is dating who and who is taking pictures of what meal. An article from BBC stated that, ”when email was first developed it was an excellent point-to-point communication tool when nothing else existed.” But we’ve reached a state where what happens today via email, will transition to “internal and consumer facing social tools.” It is revolutionizing the way businesses communicate with each other and their customers. It is the “new way” of communicating more effectively.

Here are the facts:

Privacy: E-mail is “lonely”. Essentially, e-mail allows for a more private distribution of information, especially when it comes to one on one. “Business people still guard their email more closely than they do their social profiles.” Tyler Garns from Small Biz Trends. Social Media is typically more out in the open. 

Information: E-mail tends to be a very overloaded communication. Company e-mails piling up, junk mail, subscription mail, personal mail…how many of us have let our inboxes get completely full before sifting through the madness? Social Media is a filtered tool. Most mediums in social media allow you to filter your information in a manner that is easier to consume or at least, in a manner that is more “beautifully” put together so it’s more enjoyable to read through. 

Functionality: E-mail is functional. There are a lot of options when it comes to attachments, recipients and content share. Social Media (again, depending on the medium) can be less functional. 

Connection: E-mail, being the “lonely” medium that it is, doesn’t allow for relationships to be created. Social creates connection. The real-time updates create connection and interaction between people, professionally and personally; Long-term relationships are built. 

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So what is the argument here? David Coplin, one of Microsoft’s Envisoneers said, ”I think that email is dead when it comes to social media in the same way that snail mail was dead when it came to email.” Is this true? 

People work with info differently than they used to. We are more open and collaborative. However you need to know your audience. A study shows that if you are trying to reach someone under 34-years-old, social media will be more successful. If they are under 20, you need to communicate with them almost exclusively with social media. If you are looking to target a business: e-mail vs. a consumer: social media. An employee at work? E-mail. Employee at home? Social media.

This would lead us to the conclusion that it isn’t war between e-mail and social media, but it is an evolution. An evolution where platforms like Flud are able to take the best parts of both e-mail and social and combine them into one device where you can optimize your communication in and out of the office, easier.

So what do you think? Is it time we all evolved from email for many-to-many information sharing?

Go Mobile: Keeping up with Generation Y.

Technology and media has completely changed the current generation, known as Generation Y or the Millenials. What does this mean for your business? Why is it important for you to keep up with Generation Y? 

This is the most largely populated generation in the history of the U.S. They are the highest consumers and they set the current trends. They switch attention between different media platforms 27 times per hour. Generation Y never leaves home without their phone. They are the most diverse generation and it’s a group that exhibits a hyper-connected and multi-tasking energy. 

According to a recent study, ”One-in-three indicated he would prioritize social media freedom, device flexibility and work mobility over salary when considering a job offer.” They value jobs that encourage social media activity. What does that mean for you? Millenials are motivated by more than money. They are mobile. They want to lead. Millenials want to learn and grow with you. They want to be a collaborator, not just an employee. 

There shouldn’t be much of a debate as to whether or not social media is beneficial for a company, but if you aren’t on Facebook and Twitter already, you need to be. The benefits of reaching people are, in fact, measurable, but vast. There are benefits of your company having a social media presence and in addition to that, when you have millennial employees, you are doing yourself a favor. “Friends of fans represent a set of consumers 34 times greater than fans themselves. Having employees who are more active on Facebook can greatly increase your digital reach.”

In a mere eight years, Millenials will be dominating a large 46% of the U.S. workforce. Sooner or later your workplace may be filled with the generation that has gone social and mobile, and in order to stay competitive not just with consumers, but as a place that people want to work, you need to stay in the game.

How is your company engaging your employees, or getting them excited about working for you?

Statistics gathered from a study done by UNC’s Kenan-Flagler Business School and the YEC. Images from Mashable.