The irony of me posting these comments on a (version of) social media, is not lost. However, I fear this is a topic which has to be put out using this method, as otherwise, it will be like shouting into an abyss.
There are surprisingly few recent studies into the impact of social media on business performance; maybe they are all still in process, or maybe I should be looking at TikTok to find them. One thing the studies do have in common though is that business use of social media is still tactical rather than strategic in its own right (1): for example, many brands are using it for B2C advertising without necessarily focussing on the customer engagement aspect. Social media, despite its pitfalls, could be used more extensively for strategic sales, relationship building, integrated communications, and employee engagement betterment. Allegedly.
However, it is the last suggestion that bothers me most. There may be a paucity of studies on the impact on business performance, but there is a world of research into the harm social media can and does do. An early study (2) demonstrated the significant reduction in job performance linked to social media exhaustion. ‘Technostress’ is just one new (irksome) word which has entered our dictionary, but what has happened to freedom of speech?
While some of the social media jockeys are trying to put forward thought-provoking content, many more are haters, reviling anyone who dares to speak outside the currently (demanded) norm and even disseminating falsehoods; the rest of us are too anxious to speak out in case we fall victim to a tsunami of abuse, personal and even professional.
Friends and colleagues have begun to withdraw from online exposure, stating there seem to be fewer meaningful conversations occurring in the property world.
The world of real estate, often a slow-adopter of technology, is not immune to this inexorable dumbing-down of content, this sanitisation of thought leadership, and this reluctance to stand up in case one becomes a clear target. Go on, take your best shot.
(1) Cartwright et al 2021 (2) Yu et al 2018