Recently I wrote a blog post reviewing David Meerman Scott’s “New Rules of Marketing and PR” – in it, David implores his readers that every company can find value in this world of Social Media and that EVERY SINGLE COMPANY, without question, should be tapping into the online community to enhance the buyer experience.

The post brought up an interesting debate and throughout, we kept getting caught up in the semantics of the term “Social Media”. What does it mean? What does it encompass? Why should every company be using it?

All valid questions. Defining Social Media is no easy task. Why? Because it encompasses so much – it involves so many different networks and platforms that in short – there is no clear definition but one of the commenters left me walking away with this common theme:

“…the level of satisfaction your employees experience is directly correlated with the level of satisfaction your customers experience.”

Think about it for a second – could it be any more true? The thought resonated with me and from that, I turned back to this idea of defining Social Media and why every company out there can find value in the medium.

Social Media, of course includes Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, blogging, etc. But what about the more niche networks? They have platforms too. I’ve worked with clients who are extremely active in medical “networks”, Real Estate platforms – niche communities that aren’t much different from the one’s us twenty-something’s are used to (Brazen Careerist, Twenty-Something Bloggers, etc). The platforms may be different, but the concept is the same – a place where indivduals, professionals, and businesses can come together to network, share ideas, and build relationships.

But it doesn’t stop there.

What about all of the internal networking that can and should be taking place within any and every company. For example, my company has put into action the following three things (and it’s only the tip of the iceberg).

• Monthly internal e-newsletter (“Social” Media)
• Social Network to collaborate on tasks, track to-do’s, etc called On the System (“Social” Media)
• Another social network for the management team to track KPI’s of their respective teams on a weekly basis (“Social” Media).

All of these work toward building relationships amongst our staff – and what does that translate into? Happier employees. And what does that mean? Happier customers. BINGO!

It’s not rocket science – anyone can figure out that Social Media (a very loose and general term) can benefit any and all companies. It’s up to you, as the business owner, or whatever role you play on your team, to find the networks that are relevant to you and run with it.

What Social Media Networks are you and/or your company involved with?

Matt Cheuvront is the mastermind behind Life Without Pants. Take the next step by saying hello on Twitter and subscribing to his blog today!

Tags: Advertising, applications, Business, community, companies, Marketing, Matt Cheuvront, networking, online marketing, Social Media, social media tools, social networking, Strategy