Pros and Cons of Social Media

You use LinkedIn to build business relationships and your presence on Twitter helps you stay in the minds of your customers. You also contribute to a blog that discusses topics related to your business. These social media tools can be effective ways to reach your customers, but it is important to keep security in mind.

A form of peer-to-peer communication, social media has become increasingly popular with businesses seeking to connect with a wider audience. Knowledge of the pros and cons of social networking can help you make the most effective use of these tools for your business.

Pros of Social Media

• Make use of dynamic, interactive ways to share information with your clients.
• Receive feedback from your target audience without incurring market research costs.
• Improve your business' search engine visibility.

Cons of Social Media

• Must avoid sharing sensitive information, such as your business structure or future plans.
• Must protect customer and business information that could be put at risk by computer hackers.

Best Practices

• Train your employees on social media security practices and make sure they are familiar with your business' social media strategy.
• Create a secure password; it should be easy for you to remember, but difficult for others to guess.
• Avoid using the same password on multiple sites.
• Protect yourself against phishing schemes where criminals prompt you to provide sensitive information, such as usernames and passwords on fake log-in screens.
• Keep your anti-virus software up to date.

For more information about social media and online security:

• Online Marketing
  
  http://www.canadabusiness.ca/eng/guide/4516/
  Marketing techniques and tools like social networking, emailing and blogging often involve low or no direct costs.
• E-business security, privacy and legal requirements
  
  http://www.canadabusiness.ca/eng/145/148/4331/
  E-business is a powerful tool, but it has risks that are not often experienced by more conventional business. You need to be aware of those risks to protect yourself and your customers.
• Explore the Benefits of Marketing Online
  
  http://marketing.about.com/od/internetmarketingstrategy/a/marketingonline.htm
  When marketing your business online, you can make changes on the fly and track real-time results. Find out about other benefits of online marketing.