Pest Management Professional, March 2011

news views Fired up or just fired The good the bad and the ugly of social media in the workplace Rhonda R Savage Contributor T heres no doubt that Facebook participation can be an asset to any business The question is how can you use it to promote your products and company yet be sure your team members are cautious in the way they use it What should the owner and office manager post Where is the line between personal and professional Knowing the good the bad and the ugly of Facebook for business your company can take full advantage of this tool and watch your business grow The Good One benefit Facebook offers for business is it lets the customers and potential clients know your company on a personal level Clients come to you for a relationship They assume you know how to take care of their needs Being accessible on social media sites helps your clients and customers feel connected to your company A Facebook page can also help bring people to your website Customers will look for your presence on the Internet and a Facebook profile is just another way they can find you leading them to your website to find out more information and possibly contact you Facebook can be a tremendous networking tool Business pages on Facebook can elevate your website status through Search Engine Optimization In addition if you have a Facebook business page link on the opening page of your website potential clients can feel that they know you and your office before coming in for their new customer experience Several companies have gained new clients simply because of their Facebook page The Bad A recent study of companies with 1000 employees found that 8 of their employees have actually been dismissed for their behavior on sites like Facebook and LinkedIn Thats double from the previous year Companies have also fired employees for sharing sensitive details about the business and their clients In addition team members have been sanctioned and fired for making unprofessional remarks about their boss via social networking sites The Ugly Realize that even if you use Facebook privacy settings you may still be in danger Remember going to high school and doing things you thought your parents would never know about and yet somehow they always found out The same is true of social media Avoid bad mouthing your boss co worker or anyone in your professional life in such a public way on a public forum Every business should have specific guidelines that apply to social media WORD on the street What are your top obstacles to decreased termite revenue See Facebook on 16 Justin McCauley Vice President of McCauley Services in Benton Ark We havent experienced a good swarm in years which has effected our overall revenue in termite services Also the building and real estate industries have slowed down so we have had fewer pre treats Greg Baumann Director of Technical Services for Orkin First the housing market has tumbled in the recession Add to that the lack of new construction and the opportunities are not as they were in 2006 Sheri Spencer Owner of Sencer Pest Services in Roswell Ga Our termite revenue is actually up We have created a combination green pest control service customers pay a small down payment and then pay monthly Kurt Scherzinger of Scherzinger Pest Control in Cincinnati Ohio Our top obstacles to decreased termite revenue are developing successful programs that incorporate termite prevention and also looking into other avenues to increase our business mix 14 March 2011 Pest Management Professional mypmp net