Social media impacts every aspect of your organization.  When I work with companies to develop a social media training plan it is important to consider how it can impact your entire organization before building your plan.

In order to be successful in social media with a big or medium sized company there are usually a lot of different departments that have to be involved.  Since there are so many stake-holders it is important to think about how each of them may be impacted by social media, and to consider this as a part of your strategic social media plan and your training program.

Here are some of the ways that social media is impacting different departments in your organization:

  • Human Resources
    • Recruiting546230 working with computer
    • Social Media Policy
    • Social Media Compliance
    • Monitoring Employee Social Media
    • Training
  • IT
    • Enabling technology
    • Security
    • Internal Social Media
    • Software compatibility
  • PR
    • Reaching “new influencers”
    • Managing reputation
    • Social Media PR
    • Measurement
    • Crisis communication
    • Managing messages
  • CEOpeople on puzzle pieces 300x300 1
    • Online reputation
    • Voice of the company
    • Often searched for
    • Credible and trustworthy
  • Marketing
    • Connect with consumers
    • Build awareness
    • Generate leads
    • Marketing channels
    • Coupons/offers/promos
    • Build loyalty
  • Customer Service
    • Respond to questions/issues
    • Monitor for issues
    • Share back within organization
  • Research and Development
    • Look for new product uses
    • Product improvements
    • Product features

This isn’t a comprehensive list, but it should give you some idea of how businesses can leverage social media across the organization.  If you are only thinking about one aspect you could be missing out on the big picture.  The reality is that once you get in to social media (even if it is for marketing) you may have to get some of these other stake-holders involved.
Consider the entire organization in your social media efforts.