92 Journal of Computer Information Systems Fall 2014USING .docx

92 Journal of Computer Information Systems Fall 2014
USING SOCIAL TECHNOLOGIES
FOR COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE:
IMPACT ON ORGANIZATIONS AND HIGHER EDUCATION
JERETTA HORN NORD JOANNA PALISZKIEWICZ ALEX
KOOHANG
Oklahoma State University Warsaw University of Life Science
Middle Georgia State College
Stillwater, OK Warsaw, Poland Macon, Georgia
ABSTRACT
The number of individuals engaging in social technologies
for both personal and business reasons is staggering. This
phenomenon is growing exponentially and fast becoming an
integrated, cross platform experience which will impact every
individual online. Social technologies used specifically by
organizations for business support, the purposes and the
benefits
realized are addressed in this paper. Based on research results
and
a review of related literature, two issues are addressed: 1) How
organizations can rethink their social strategy to gain
competitive
advantage; and 2) How social technologies education should be
incorporated into the curriculum so students are prepared for
life
beyond graduation.
Keywords: Social Technologies; Social Technology; Social
Media; Facebook; Twitter; LinkedIn; YouTube; Curriculum;

Education; Social Strategy, Organizations
INTRODUCTION
“When it comes to social tech, playtime is over. The changes
that will come because of these technologies will be far-
reaching, fast, and dramatic. Social tech is not just a few
Internet
applications or platforms. It is a broad movement that already
includes hundreds of companies, each of which provides a
unique
service.” [10] Klososky [10] categorizes social technology to
include social relevance, social media, and social networking.
Because this paper investigates social platforms and purposes
in which these platforms are used for business support, the term
social technology coined by Scott Klososky is adopted.
Social technology users have expanded from those who
were primarily high school and college aged students to every
generation with the greatest increase in new users in the 55-64
year age group experiencing a growth of 79 percent since 2012.
[4] “Social media is not an option — it is a must!” [11] The
numbers are staggering with over one billion plus active users
on
Facebook, 500 million plus users on Twitter with an average of
400 million tweets being sent per day, 38 million total users on
LinkedIn and 1 billion unique monthly visitors on YouTube. [9]
Social technology sites are now translating into unparalleled
profits for businesses savvy enough to use social technologies
for customer service, increased awareness/exposure, gaining
new customers, marketing, and networking and professional
relationships. “Social technologies, theories, best practices and
strategy are still evolving, but there is one principle that
remains
constant behind every PR, marketing and advertising campaign:
people persuading people.” [12] Google has joined the social
technologies frenzy as sites like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram,

LinkedIn and YouTube continue to increase in popularity.
Cross-
platform integration among social technology sites is gaining
momentum with Google already collaborating with Twitter to
offer tools beyond the opt-in that LinkedIn offers Twitter users
that allows every tweet to appear not just on Twitter but also on
LinkedIn.
Less transparent and somewhat controversial, social
technologies are being used by companies to learn more about
individuals when making interviewing and hiring decisions.
Whether companies use these sites for marketing, establishing
relationships or recruitment purposes, students must understand
both the positive and negative ramifications of social
technologies.
With companies saving hundreds of thousands of dollars in
advertising costs and increasing profits, social technologies are
likely to impact future college graduates more than any other
sector of technology.
This new and rapidly changing media bring up questions
that must be addressed. What social technology platforms are
businesses currently using, for what purposes, which of these
results in benefits realized, and how can these social
technologies
best be leveraged for competitive advantage? What does this
mean to those who are about to leave the ‘social’ world of
social
technologies and enter the world where everything posted means
business and how should this impact the curriculum in higher
education? Finally, what does the future of social technologies
hold?
METHODOLOGY
Many organizations are currently using social technologies
for competitive advantage or realize they need to implement a

social strategy in the near future. Numerous social technology
studies have been conducted, but few have investigated which
social technologies are used for business support, the purpose(s)
organizations use a specific social technology platform and
whether benefits are realized. Research in this field must be
conducted on a continual basis so companies have proven up-to-
date research results in which to base their social strategies and
academicians can better update curriculum to prepare students
for the business world. Thus, a questionnaire (see Appendix A)
was developed and individuals most closely associated with the
organizations’ social technologies were interviewed.
PARTICIPANTS AND PROCEDURES
During Fall Semester 2013 and Spring Semester 2014,
students from four (two online and two on campus) sections of
an
Information Networks Technology Management class for MBA
students at Oklahoma State University were given instructions
to
interview an individual in an organization that used at least one
of
Fall 2014 Journal of Computer Information Systems 93
the following social technology platforms — Facebook, Twitter,
LinkedIn or YouTube and complete the questionnaire based on
the interviewee’s responses. A place to write in additional
social
platforms was provided on the questionnaire. Students without
corporate experience often think of social technology as it was
a few years ago — a network for social interaction among their
peers, but certainly not used in the business world. This
experience

allowed them to learn first-hand about the social strategies of
businesses and how research results may provide guidelines to
educators for curriculum revision and help other businesses
develop social strategies.
DATA ANALYSES
Descriptive statistical analyses were used to give academicians
and practitioners alike straight forward applicable results.
Analyses of open-ended questions
are also included in the following
results.
RESULTS
To ensure confidentiality and
open responses, the interviewees
were assured that individual
names, contact information, or
the names of their organizations
would not be revealed. This in-
formation was required, how-ever,
to ensure credibility. The total
number of usable questionnaires
numbered 178 with 80 responding
organizations from Oklahoma,
19 from Texas, 9 from Colorado
and the remaining 70 from 32
additional states throughout
the United States and 5 other
countries.
Approximately one-third of
the respondents by classification
of organization were classified
as corporations while sole pro-
prietorship and non-profit made

up another one-third of the
respondents. The ‘other’ category
was primarily comprised of gov-
ernment. Respondents by classi-
fication of organization shown as
percentage of total respondents are
shown in the graph in Figure 1.
Beyond the classification of
organizations, the type of or-
ganization was identified. Ser-
vice, retail, and health were the
top three with 41, 26, and 21
respondents respectively. The
‘other’ category brought in a
plethora of responses, including
military, construction, and enter-
tainment. Figure 2 illustrates the
distribution of the respondents by
types of organizations.
The size of the organizations varied greatly with a low of
one employee and a high of 123,000 employees. The average
number of employees among the 178 respondents was 11,744.
The demographic information reveals that organizations studied
vary greatly in location, classification, type, and number of
employees.
The main purpose of the study was to investigate the business
side of social technologies, specifically what social platforms
are
used, the purpose(s) organizations use a specific social
technology
platform and whether benefits are realized for stated purpose(s).
Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, and a general category
of Other Social Technologies were the platforms specified with

the first question being whether the specific social technology
is used to support business processes or if plans are being made
for the future use of these technologies within the respondent’s
organization.
FIGURE 1: Respondents by Classification of Organization
FIGURE 2: Respondents by Type of Organization
Facebook
Facebook is the platform used by the largest number of
organizations with 168 respondents or 94.4 percent indicating
that
their organization will use Facebook for business support with
seven more planning to within the next year. This calculates to
an
astounding 98.3 percent of the respondents who currently or
will
within the next year use Facebook within their organizations!
This
finding alone suggests that organizations are reaping big
benefits
from using social technologies and specifically Facebook in this
case. Social technology posts by organizations should be
designed
with an objective of achieving an intended result. In other
words,
what is the purpose(s) and are the results beneficial?
Table 1 reveals the number and percentage of respondents who
use Facebook for the listed purposes and whether benefits have

been realized for each. Percentages were calculated based on the
number of respondents who use Facebook for business support.
Social technologies vary in how and why they are used, but for
consistency and comparability reasons, the same list of purposes
was used for each social technology platform.
As noted in Table 1, Facebook is used for multiple business
related purposes of the responding organizations with the top
five being: 1) to gain exposure and create awareness; 2) for
marketing; 3) to communicate and collaborate; 4) to network
and
build relationships, and; 5) to gain new customers. Respondents
using Facebook for specific purposes realized benefits related
to that specific purpose with an astounding 90% or more of
the respondents who indicated that they use Facebook — to
communicate and collaborate, to gain exposure and create
awareness, and to network and build relationships — realizing
benefits.
A somewhat perplexing result is that only 58.3 percent of the
respondents indicated the use of Facebook to increase revenue/
profits, yet 81.5% of that group realized a benefit when using
Facebook for this purpose. This suggests that many
organizations
start out using Facebook for a variety of reasons other than the
bottom line and realize an increase of revenue/profits as a
result.
An analysis of Table 1 shows significant support for using
Facebook for competitive advantage and that organizations
realize
benefits from all of the listed purposes.
Twitter
Twitter continues to grow in popularity and results indicate

that not only is it increasingly being used for personal reasons,
it
is now considered to be a viable tool to support business within
organizations. An analysis of the results shows that 110 of the
178
(62%) respondents indicated that they use Twitter for business
support and 22 (12.4%) who do not currently use Twitter, plan
to in the next year. Thus, according to this study, approximately
TABLE 1: Facebook
TABLE 2: Twitter
three-fourths of the business world will be using Twitter within
one year for business purposes. Table 2 reveals the number and
percentage of respondents that use Twitter for the listed
purposes
and whether benefits have been realized for each. Percentages
were calculated based on the number of respondents that use
Twitter for business support.
Of the eight specific purposes listed, the top reasons that
organizations use Twitter are 1) to gain exposure and create
awareness; 2) for marketing; 3) to communicate/collaborate; 4)
to network and build relationships; and 5) to gain new
customers.
Ironically, the top five of Twitter are identical to the top five
for Facebook and in the exact same order from high to low.
Also interesting to note is the fact that like Facebook users, the
percentage of Twitter users who realized an increase in revenue/
profits was higher than the percentage of those who used the
social technology for that purpose — a benefit which is certain

to be welcomed by organizations. After all, the purposes listed
should ultimately all impact revenues/profits.
LinkedIn
LinkedIn is the least used social technology platform for
business support of the four listed — Facebook, Twitter,
LinkedIn,
and YouTube. Approximately 40 percent of the respondents
currently use LinkedIn for business purposes, with 14 percent
indicating plans to do so within the next year. Thus, 81 or
slightly
less than half of the respondents do not use LinkedIn within
their
organizations and have no plans to in the near future.
Table 3 reveals the reasons that business users include LinkedIn
within their social strategies and whether benefits were realized.
A comparison of the LinkedIn platform to other social
technology
platforms is discussed.
LinkedIn is used for multiple business related purposes
of responding organizations with the top five being: 1) to
network and build relationships; 2) to gain exposure and create
awareness; 3) for marketing; 4) for recruiting employees, and;
5) to communicate/collaborate. All respondents using LinkedIn
for specific purposes realized benefits related to that specific
purpose. Not surprising, networking and building relationships
was number one and recruiting employees made the top five list
for the first time. Often referred to as the board room of social
technologies, LinkedIn is known for facilitating connections
with
like-minded business people which may lead to job recruitment.

YouTube
Almost half, or 49 percent of the respondents use YouTube
for business support with an additional 15 percent who do not
TABLE 4: YouTube
TABLE 3: LinkedIn
currently use YouTube planning to do so within the next year.
This leaves 36 percent of the respondents who do not currently
use YouTube and have no future plans to include it in their
social
strategy.
Table 4 includes the percentage of responses for each of the
listed purposes and benefits realized from using YouTube for
business support.
As noted in Table 4, YouTube is used for multiple business
related purposes of the responding organizations with the top
five being: 1) to gain exposure and create awareness; 2) for
marketing; 3) to gain new customers; 4) to communicate and
collaborate and; 5) to increase revenue/profits. Respondents
using YouTube for specific purposes realized benefits related to
that specific purpose, however, the top reason YouTube is used
— to gain exposure and create awareness — also provided the
biggest benefit to organizations. Ironically, the lowest response
rate for the purpose that YouTube is used — for customer
service
— also resulted in the least benefit to respondents.

Other Social Technologies
Less than half (41 percent) or 73 of the 178 respondents use
other social technologies for business support, 15 (8.4 percent)
do not, but plan to in the next year,
and 90 (50.6 percent) do not and have
no future plans to use other social
technologies.
The most common ‘other’ so-cial
technologies listed by the respon-
dents included Instant Messenger,
Flickr, Sound Cloud, Yelp, Instagram,
Google+, Blogspot.com, and Hoot-
[email protected] with Google+
slightly edging out the others.
Table 5 reveals results for social
technologies other than Facebook,
Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube.
The top reasons that organizations
use a variety of ‘other’ social tech-
nologies include the following: 1) to
gain exposure and create awareness;
2) to communicate/collaborate; 3)
for marketing; 4) to gain new cus-
tomers and; 5) to network and build relationships. Although
not one of the top five reasons for using social technologies for
business support, over 90 percent of those using ‘other’ social
technologies to increase revenue/profits realized this benefit.
A comparison of the percentage of respondents indicating the
social technology platforms used within their organizations for
business support is shown in Figure 3. Figures 4 illustrates the

purposes of using social technologies for business support by
platform and Figure 5 reveals the benefits realized by purpose
and platform by the organizations using these social
technologies
(shown by percentage).
Facebook and Twitter are the two most popular platforms used
for business support at this time, although as shown in Figures
3,
4, and 5, all platforms and purposes listed are used in the
business
world with the majority resulting in high percentages of user
satisfaction in response to benefits.
SOCIAL TECHNOLOGY
FOR COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE
Strategic use of social technologies has saved companies
hundreds of thousands of dollars in advertising costs while
being
attributed to an increase in profits. “Social Media for
corporations,
TABLE 5: Other Social Technologies
FIGURE 3: Use of Social Technology Platforms
small businesses or startups is
not just about “engagement”. It’s
much broader than that — often
including things like advertising,
reputation management and cus-

tomer service.” [16] In addition,
companies have effectively branded
their products online, established
professional relationships that
have led to profit, and used social
technologies for interviewing and
hiring decisions. The results of
this study and related literature
confirms that examples heard and
read about aren’t isolated cases,
rather, the majority of businesses
using social technologies for
specific purposes are realizing
benefits?
Following is a further discus-
sion of research results and re-
lated literature on each of the
purposes studied and benefits
realized as shown in Figures 4
and 5.
Communicate and Collaborate
“Combine a multifaceted
schema of communication with
a sophisticated set of choices for
forming communities, and —
bang! — you have a technologi-
cally enhanced social system.
And once you have a social
system that gives people — both
as individuals and on the behalf
of larger entities — the ability
to communicate seamlessly,
virtually for free, and with lots

of cool filtering systems, you
have something that is commer-
cially attractive.” [10]
The two platforms used by
the most respondents for communicating and collaborating
were Facebook and Twitter, however, the benefits realized
from using all platforms for communicating and collabor-
ating were 80 percent or above indicating the power of
communication and collaboration in the social technology
arena.
Customer Service
Customer service can make a difference in return customers,
new customers of an organization due to word-of-mouth, and
ultimately an organization’s survival and success.
“When companies today try to meet their customers where
they live, they increasingly find that it is on social media.
Now that such sites are an integral part of the culture, using
them for customer care is moving from cutting-edge concept
to business necessity. Even with its challenges, social media
customer care clearly represents a tremendous and growing
opportunity for businesses to foster strong customer relation-
ships.” [6]
Customer Service was not selected in the top half of the
purposes listed by the respondents in the study, but ranked high
in
benefits by those using Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn for this
purpose. Customer service is most likely handled more by e-
mail,
telephone or face-to-face, but as the use of social technologies
increases even more in the future, customer service will

inevitably
shift to this mode as well.
Gaining Exposure and Creating Awareness-Branding
To Gain Exposure and Create Awareness was the number
one purpose indicated by respondents across all platforms
except
LinkedIn where it came in number two getting trumped by
Networking and Building Relationships.
Gaining exposure and creating awareness is the key to effective
branding.
FIGURE 5: Benefits Realized by Purpose and Platform
FIGURE 4: Purposes the Social Technologies are Used by
Platform
Branding can result in higher sales of not just one product, but
of all products associated with that brand. Branding is creating
a
unique value for a product to attract customers. [13]
There are many examples of successful branding using both
traditional media and social technologies, yet the majority of
the
elements necessary for branding may be accomplished
effectively
through the use of social technologies.
Most importantly, gaining exposure and creating awareness
are a must. For example, products including Shredded Wheat

and Old Spice have experienced a huge surge in sales primarily
because of social campaigns.
Gaining New Customers
“Social media is a vital tool that is readily available and
will help your business reach new customers and grow in
ways — and at speeds — that more traditional marketing can’t
accomplish.” [5]
Gaining New Customers was listed by respondents as a reason
and a benefit of using social technologies and was ranked
among
the top five purposes for using social technologies for all
platforms
except LinkedIn. Based on the results of this study, Facebook
is the best platform to use as far as benefits go for gaining new
customers.
Increasing Revenue/Profits
Is profit a dirty word? Without revenue and profit, businesses
couldn’t exist, yet of the eight purposes listed, to Increase
Revenue
and Profit, ranked in the bottom half of every platform as a
reason
for using social technologies, yet spiked up considerably as a
benefit realized.
Perhaps this makes a statement that organizations know they
must excel in the social technology arena on many levels —
communicating, customer service, gaining exposure and
creating
awareness, gaining new customers, marketing, and networking
and building relationships—in order to increase revenue and
profits.

It is difficult to isolate the purposes for using social
technologies
and benefits realized. Many of the purposes listed, most likely
translate into profits. For example, does marketing help gain
new
customers, which results in additional revenues and profits?
“There’s no question that social media marketing is a popu-
lar and effective way to connect with customers and increase
profits.” [3]
Marketing and Advertising
Unlike a decade ago, traditional marketing methods were used
exclusively to advertise products using media such as
television,
radio, newspaper, magazines, billboards or mail. Today, many
of those same organizations are using social technologies and
reaching more people at a lower cost. “If you can harness social
media marketing, you don’t have to pay for advertising
anymore.”
Millions of people are using social technologies effectively
every
day. It enhances reach, strengthens relationships, establishes
credibility/trust and can work at amazing speeds. [7]
Marketing ranked among the top three purposes for using
social technologies across all platforms with considerable
benefits
realized. Although all platforms are used by organizations for
marketing, the top platforms for marketing, according to this
study are Facebook and Twitter.
Networking and Building Relationships

Professional relationships are invaluable and with social
technologies, relationships that would have been impossible
before are now easily cultivated. To realize the most out of a
professional relationship, it is imperative to include face-to-face
time as well.
Social technologies have allowed individuals to connect
and reconnect with businesses increasingly cashing in through
professional relationships. MBA Online reports that 8 in 10
social
media users in the U.S. would rather connect with companies
via
social media than via corporate websites. [17] In fact, Rawson
[15] indicates that if you’re not nurturing relationships online,
you’re missing opportunities for business.
To Network and Build Relationships was listed as one of the
top five reasons social technologies are used among all
platforms
except YouTube. LinkedIn is the platform of choice to network
and build relationships with benefits realized from
approximately
85 percent of the respondents.
Recruiting — Interviewing and Hiring Decisions
Job candidates now have the luxury of not only searching
for jobs online, but also making initial contact with a potential
employer. Some would be alarmed to know that approximately
three-fourths of companies use social technologies to help with
decisions on whether to interview or hire potential job
candidates?
[1] Some even go beyond this and look at their employees social
technology posts as a part of their job performance appraisals.
“Social media for hiring purposes is at an all-time high: 92
percent of companies use platforms such as Twitter, LinkedIn

and
facebook for recruitment, and 45 percent of Fortune 500 firms
include links to social media on their career page sections.” [1]
“Almost three-quarters (73 percent) of recruiters say that they
have made successful hires through social media, and,
conversely,
one third of employers rejected candidates because of something
that they found in their social profiles.” [1]
Users of social technologies are encouraged to post and share
an unlimited amount of personal information, including name,
education history, career experience, and personal photos and
videos. What is posted speaks to a person’s background both
personally and professionally and may determine an
interviewing
or hiring decision. In addition, there are plenty of tools
available
through social technologies for the job seeker and employer.
For
example, The Facebook Marketplace is a site where available
jobs can be posted for free. The ad requires basic information
such as location, job category, subcategory, title, why you need
to
fill this position, description, and allows a photo or image to be
posted. The limitation of a free job posting is that you can’t
target
it to a specific group of people like you can with a Facebook
Ad.
LinkedIn has similar job related services.
By viewing an individual’s personal profile and related media,
employers can easily find a suitable job candidate. LinkedIn
allows recommendations and endorsements adding additional
information and credibility to an individual’s listing.
LinkedIn is the platform of choice for recruiting employees
with almost 78 percent of the respondents who use LinkedIn
indicating Recruiting Employees as a purpose and over 80
percent realizing benefits when using this platform for

recruiting.
Although the other platforms had some activities in the human
resource arena, recruiting was among the top five only for those
using LinkedIn.
Pros and Cons
It is evident that social technologies offer a competitive
advantage to businesses through increased profits, branding
or creating an awareness of products and brands, professional
relationships, and human resources, all while providing a
global reach that may not have otherwise been possible. With
any technology, the threat of security is always a factor on the
negative side as is the concern of corporate image and employee
productivity. The bottom line is that companies without the
presence of social technologies risk a loss of credibility and
ultimately failure.
IMPACT ON CURRICULUM IN BUSINESS SCHOOLS
Students must be exposed to and understand the professional
side of social technologies prior to entering the world of work.
College graduates’ first jobs are very likely to depend on the
image portrayed through their social technologies sites,
including
words, pictures, and videos. Furthermore, keeping in mind that
jobs and employee performance appraisals may be impacted by
the presence of their social technologies.
What’s on a student’s Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube
and why does it matter?

Once something is posted, it becomes “public”. So before
posting or tweeting, it should be noted that it will have an
impact on reputations. One of many examples . . . Two stu-
dents were suspended and one student was expelled after a
negative facebook post about a teacher. The word “pedophile”
was used to describe their teacher, which is detrimental to the
teacher’s reputation and to the reputation of those who posted.
Even though the students’ parents insisted that posting some-
thing from the privacy of their own home shouldn’t be pun-
ished, using social technologies is public and time after time
has resulted in punishment or individuals losing their jobs as
a result. [14]
Decisions about college admissions today are based partially
on a student’s social technologies posts which could be a
positive
or a negative for the student. Few think about the ramifications
of
their posts at this age, which paints a picture of their reputation
and may be a determining factor in getting admitted to the
college
of their dreams.
Think before posting! Social technologies impact others, build
individuals’ professional brands, and may determine a person’s
fate in life!
Respondents’ Experience Using Social Technologies
An inquiry regarding the respondents experience or outcome
from using social technologies revealed that 175 were positive
and 58 had one or more negative experiences. These numbers
reveal that only three of the 178 respondents did not view their
experience or outcome from using social technologies as
positive
and as might be expected, some had both positive and negative

experiences.
Valuable comments were offered by the respondents, including
positive, negative, the impact of social technologies on the
organization and other miscellaneous comments. Emphasizing
the
importance of social technologies, one of the respondents had
the
following comment: “Organizations have to be on social media
to
survive, especially when it comes to marketing. Our
organization
has Facebook guidelines for posts, best practices, and dealing
with
negative comments. Users within our organization are realizing
the importance of utilizing social media.”
In the negative category, the most common complaint was the
difficulty of quantifying the results of using social
technologies.
Following is a respondent’s related comment: “It has been
difficult
to quantify the results of social media. We did put together
about
20 special item numbers that were publicized through Facebook
and Twitter last year that resulted in approximately $17,000 in
net sales. This was our first attempt at using social media in this
manner.”
While the previous two comments were from respondents from
a very large energy corporation and a large industrial
corporation
respectively, the following comment is from an individual
involved in a start-up: “Though we are a young company, social
media has already proven useful. By doing online promotions

and
giveaways, we’ve already attracted 100+ followers. This will be
huge leading up to our grand opening.”
Comments from respondents were overwhelmingly positive,
which is a reflection of the fact that only three respondents
indicated not viewing their experience or social technologies
outcome positive.
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
In summary, as millions of people are using social technologies,
it is critical for organizations to take advantage of the business
opportunities presented. Those looking to communicate/
collaborate; provide better customer service; gain exposure
and create awareness; attract new customers; increase revenue/
profit; improve marketing efforts; network and build
professional
relationships, and recruit new employees, should look to social
technologies for answers.
How should the results of this study impact an organization’s
social strategy?
To gain competitive advantage, platforms, purposes social
technologies are used, and the benefits realized should be
incorporated into an organization’s social strategy based on the
results of this study with a focus on benefits. Unless benefits
are realized for a specified purpose by a significant percentage
of respondents or an organizations’ own experience has proven
otherwise, the effort is pointless.
Initial consideration should be given to the following:
• Hire or designate personnel who are social technology
experts and committed specifically to this initiative.

• Identify objectives of using social technologies by
selecting from the list of purposes in this study and
adding any additional purposes that are specific to the
organization’s goals.
• Based on an organizations identified purposes, and the
desired results, a platform(s) can be selected. For example,
LinkedIn may be the platform of choice for networking
and building relationships, but if the objective is to select
just one social technology platform for multiple purposes,
Facebook would be the best overall choice based on both
purposes and benefits. Both or all platforms could be
used for the same purpose for even greater results or one
may choose to select one platform for a specific purpose
and another platform for another purpose.
Strategies to consider when posting to social technology
platforms:
• Attract followers by offering something of value either
through a coupon or contest.
• Follow the 80/20 rule where approximately 80 percent
of your posts should be something of value to the reader
and 20 percent can be directly selling your product or
service.
• Remember that all posts do not have to be original content
— provide links to other sites or post interesting facts
related to your product, service, or organization making
sure that you credit the source.

• Devote at least two hours daily to each platform, keeping
in mind the desired outcome.
• Always respond to negative posts and try to find a solution
to the issue — ignoring negative posts typically causes
negative results for the organization.
What impact should the results of this study have on higher
education business curriculum?
Academicians in business schools have a responsibility to
make sure students understand the importance of a positive
social technologies presence and the impact that these technol-
ogies will have on their lives? Equally as important is the edu-
cation that students need to gain an understanding of the
business support various social technology platforms can
provide. The following activities should be incorporated
into existing classes to prepare students for today and the
future.
• Speakers. Hearing the facts from someone in the business
often means more than hearing it as a part of a traditional
lecture by a professor.
• Assignments. Interview assignments in which the stu-
dents are required to ask questions of an individual
who works in a social technologies savvy company
create great learning and networking experiences for
students.
• Projects. Projects incorporating a review of social
technologies research, an interview assignment and a
presentation of the findings create knowledge and a better
appreciation for social technologies in today’s business
world.

• Lecture: Incorporating a discussion and ‘real world’
examples of social technologies throughout the semester
serves to reinforce the good, the bad, and the facts of the
business of social technologies.
The results of this study provide convincing evidence for
organizations to join the social technology revolution or for
those organizations that already use social technologies to
consider rethinking their social strategy. In addition, higher
education and IT specifically must include social technologies
in the curriculum so that students graduate with knowledge of
the use of different social technologies in the business world,
which platforms are better suited for specific purposes, and
an understanding of the power of these technologies for busi-
ness support.
TRENDS AND THE FUTURE
Software developers are working around the clock to keep up
with the exponential growth experienced by social technologies
and related applications.
Mobile Social Networks
As technology is growing rapidly, people now use their mobile
phones to download apps and engage in various social
technology
platforms.
Mobile is growing — users will expect websites and tools that
work on mobile as well as desktop. [11] Approximately half of
mobile phone users use mobile as their primary internet source.
Ninety-one percent of all people on earth have a mobile phone
as 751 million users access Facebook from mobile with 7000
different devices. [8] Mobile applications make connecting
faster,
more convenient and always available for viewing, connecting,

and updating.
Intra-Business Social Networks
CompanyLoop, LinkedIn and Facebook are three social
technologies with a focus on Intra-Business social networks.
For example, CompanyLoop is a professional network, which
allows co-workers to connect with each other while restricting
external users. By using CompanyLoop, organizations are able
to create a social environment that increases communication and
productivity. Employees can communicate relevant work related
events, tasks, and projects to create a team environment online.
Cross-Platform Integration
Applications to support cross-platform integration of social
media across all devices will become commonplace.
Individuals are seeking to have an all-in-one functional
machine in every electronic device where Web, TV, and videos
could be watched cohesively across platforms and devices.
Social
technologies will be an integrated, unquestionable component of
your online and offline experience. The cross-platform
integration
across media sites open APIs and OpenID have made that
possible
with LinkedIn opening its APIs. [12]
Summary
The number of organizations using social technologies for
business support will continue to grow as digital inclusion
spreads
across the globe; support of cross-platform integration of social
technologies across all devices becomes commonplace, the use
of

mobile technology continues to increase; and the benefits
realized
become even greater.
College graduates will be expected to understand social
strategy for business and the how’s and why’s of social
technologies in the business world. Based on the results of this
study showing significant use and benefits of social
technologies
for business support, creative inclusion into the curriculum will
be imperative.
REFERENCES
[1] Bennett, Shea. “92% of Companies Use Social Media for
Recruitment,” http://www.mediabistro.com/alltwitter/
social-media-recruiting_b50575, October 16, 2013.
[2] Black, Tiffany. “How to use Social Media as a Recruiting
Tool,” http://www.inc.com/guides/2010/04/social-media-
recruiting.html, April 22, 2010.
[3] Cohen, Phillip. “7 Technologies Companies are Using to
Increase their Profits,” http://socialmediatoday.com/phil
cohen4/2052981/7-technologies-companies-are-using-
increase-their-profits, January 11, 2014.
[4] Cooper, Bell Beth, “10 Surprising Social Media Statistics
That Will Make You Rethink Your Social Strategy,”
http://www.fastcompany.com/3021749/work-smart/10-
surprising-social-media-statistics-that-will-make-you-
rethink-your-social-stra, November 18, 2013.

[5] Cuevas, David, “Need More Customers?” http://intouch-
marketing.com/is-social-media-necessary-for-getting-new-
customers/, March 13, 2014.
[6] Forbes: “The Ignored Side Of Social Media: Custom-
er Service,” http://www.forbes.com/sites/knowledgewhar
ton/2014/01/09/22014/, January 9, 2014.
[7] Gannes., Liz. “Sequoia’s Kvamme: Social Media
Marketing
can Replace Advertising,” http://gigaom.com/2010/03/17/
sequoias-kvamme-social-media-marketing-can-replace-
advertising/, March 17, 2010.
[8] Infographic: “2013 Mobile Growth Statistics,” http://www.
digitalbuzzblog.com/infographic-2013-mobile-growth-
statistics/, October 1, 2013.
[9] Infographic: “Social Media Stats 2013,” http://www.
digitalbuzzblog.com/infographic-social-media-stats-2013/,
November 14, 2013.
[10] Klososky, Scott. Enterprise Social Technology: Helping
organizations harness the power of Social Media, Social
Networking, and Social Relevance, Greenleaf Book Press,
Austin, Texas, 2011, pp. 3-10.
[11] Lepi, Katie. “6 Ways Social Media will Change in 2014,”
http://www.edudemic.com/social-media-changes/, January
2, 2014.
[12] Lichtenberg, Ravit. “10 Ways Social Media will Change in
2010,” http://readwrite.com/2009/12/10/10_ways_social_
media_will_change_in_2010#awesm=~oBQrZbzLc4ipvE,

December 11, 2009.
[13] Pearce, Robert. “Beyond Name and Logo: Other Elements
of Your Brand,” Merriam Associates, Inc. Brand Strategies,
Merriamassociates.com. Retrieved April 29 2013.
[14] Proctor, Aungelique. “Douglas Co. Students Disciplined
over Facebook Post,” http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/dpp/
news/douglas-co-students-disciplined-over-facebook-
post-030111, March 1, 2011.
[15] Rawson, Richard. “Social Media is All About
Relationships
and Reputation in the Professional Services Industry,” http://
rawsoninternetmarketing.com/social-media-relationships-
reputation-professional-services-industry/, April 10, 2014.
[16] Treanor, Tom, “5 Ways Your Company Can Use Social
Media: Tools to Employ,” Social Media Today, http://so
cialmediatoday.com/rtmixmktg/1824456/5-ways-your-com
pany-can-use-social-media-tools-use, October 13, 2013.
[17] Wirthman, Lisa, “Social Media Marketing For Small
Businesses: How To Hang Onto Every Fan And Follower,”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/23/social-media-
marketing-small-business-amex-open_n_3941926.html,
October 23, 2013.
APPENDIX A
SOCIAL TECHNOLOGIES SURVEY
Identify an organization/business that uses at least one social
technology platform (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube,
etc.) as a tool(s)
for business purposes. Interview an individual who is aware of
the organization’s use of these technologies and indicate his/her

responses
below. Note: The name of the organization and the person
interviewed will remain confidential.
Name of Organization _______________________________1.
Location of Organization _____________________________2.
Organization (check one only)3.
_____a. Sole Proprietorship
_____b. Partnership
_____c. Corporation
_____d. Franchise
_____e. Cooperative
_____f. Direct Selling or Network Marketing
_____g. Non Profit
_____h. Other (Please Specify)
Type of organization (check one only)4.
_____a. Energy
_____b. Health
_____c. Manufacturing
_____d. Retail
_____e. Service
_____f. Technology
_____g. Transportation
_____h. Other (Please Specify)
Number of Employees _______________________________5.
Name and contact information (e-mail) of person interviewed6.
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________

Please respond to the following regarding whether the specified
7.
social technologies are used to support business processes or
plans are being made for future use of these technologies in
your
organization.
Facebook:
_____a. Our organization does not use Facebook and has no
future plans to use Facebook.
_____b. Our organization does not use Facebook, but plans to
within the next year.
_____c. Our organization uses Facebook. Please complete the
following table. (Check all that apply)
Place a check mark below yes or no in the second or third
column
to indicate whether the stated social technology is used for the
purpose(s) listed in the leftmost column of the table and if yes,
place a check mark below yes, no or unknown in the
corresponding
rightmost columns to indicate whether your organization has
realized a benefit from using this social technology for the
stated purpose. Note: Some of the purposes listed may not apply
to all platforms,
but all are listed for consistency.
Facebook

Twitter:
_____a. Our organization does not use Twitter and has no future
plans to use Twitter.
_____b. Our organization does not use Twitter, but plans to
_____c. Our organization uses Twitter. Please complete the
table below: (check all that apply)
Twitter
LinkedIn:
_____a. Our organization does not use LinkedIn and has no
future plans to use LinkedIn.
_____b. Our organization does not use LinkedIn, but plans to
_____c. Our organization uses LinkedIn. Please complete the
LinkedIn
YouTube:
_____a. Our organization does not use YouTube and has no
future plans to use YouTube.

_____b. Our organization does not use YouTube, but plans to
_____c. Our organization uses YouTube. Please complete the
Other Social Technologies (Please Specify)
_____________________________________________________
______________________
_____a. Our organization does not use social technologies
other than those previously listed and has no future plans to use
additional social
technologies.
_____b. Our organization does not use social technologies
other than those previously listed, but plans to within the next
year.
_____c. Our organization uses social technologies other than
those previously listed (please specify social technology(ies)
_____________
_____________________________________________________
______ and complete the following table. (Check all that apply)
Our organization’s experience with social technologies has
been: (check all that apply)8.
_____1. Positive (please share an example of a positive
experience or outcome from using social technologies)

_____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
_____ 2. Negative (please share an example of a negative
experience or outcome from using social technologies)
_____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
Please comment on the impact that social technologies have had
on the success of your organization. If you have specific
examples, 9.
including increases in revenue, number of customers, sales, etc.
please specify.
_____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________

Other comments: 10.
_____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
Copyright of Journal of Computer Information Systems is the
property of International
Association for Computer Information Systems and its content
may not be copied or emailed
to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright
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permission. However, users may print, download, or email
articles for individual use.
[MT450: Marketing Management]
Unit 9 Assignment
Assignment: Social Strategy for Competitive Advantage

Winer (2011) suggests an important feature of services is that
because they are often distributed by people, their
quality may be inconsistent at different points in time. Many
services companies are seeking new methods to distinguish
themselves from the competition. The Internet and information
technology have provided robust, tangible opportunities
for such differentiation.
Using the Nord, Paliszkiewicz and Koohang article in the
readings and one additional source from the KU Library, write
a persuasive essay on how organizations in the tax services
industry can rethink their social strategy to gain competitive
advantage.
Your essay should make use of explanation to demonstrate that
one proposal is more reasonable than another idea. A
persuasive essay tries to convince a reader to accept a definite
point of view. Your paper should range between 2–3
pages of content and include in-text citations for references.
Submit your APA formatted and citation styled paper to the
Unit 9 Assignment Dropbox.
Unit 9 Assignment Grading Rubric 40
Possible

Points
Specific Paper Objectives: Assignment Checklist
(80%):
Write a persuasive essay on how organizations in the
tax services industry can rethink their social strategy to
gain competitive advantage 32
32
Writing Style, Grammar, APA (20%)
Grammar and Spelling 3
Paper is 2–3 pages in length and responses are
concise and direct 3
Reference list and citations are provided 2
8
[MT450: Marketing Management]
Total 40

Social Strategy for Competitive Advantage
Winer (2011) suggests an important feature of services is that
because they are often distributed by people, their quality may
be inconsistent at different points in time. Many services
companies are seeking new methods to distinguish themselves
from the competition. The Internet and information technology
have provided robust, tangible opportunities for such
differentiation.
Using the Nord, Paliszkiewicz and Koohang article in the
readings and one additional source from the KU Library, write a
persuasive essay on how organizations in the tax services
industry can rethink their social strategy to gain competitive
advantage.
Your essay should make use of explanation to demonstrate that
one proposal is more reasonable than another idea. A persuasive
essay tries to convince a reader to accept a definite point of
view. Your paper should range between 2–3 pages of content
and include in-text citations for references.
Submit your APA formatted and citation styled paper to the
Unit 9 Assignment Dropbox.
ID: MT450-09-08-AS

92 Journal of Computer Information Systems Fall 2014USING .docx

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