Some of the social media aspects that I feel are important so far are trust and credibility. In social media, it may seem that there are some complications with trust and credibility because it is easy for any person or entity to share or present information on social media that may be false or deceiving. Trust and credibility not only matter when it comes to social media use, but these two concepts are also necessary and relevant in the workplace. For any workplace to run effectively it is vital for management and supervisors to trust their employees and peers, and it is also important for employees to have trust in their supervisors and management and know that the organization they work for is credible. Lipschultz (2017) states, “Source and message credibility may evoke audience trust, which is a driver of influence through strategic engagement” (p. 23). This message also relates to the workplace as the messages and image that an organization or workplace reflects to their employees, can “evoke trust.” A lack of trust and non-credible messages make it difficult for employees to trust their organization and have a desire to be effective and productive employees.
Trust and credibility in social media make a difference to audiences, this is especially important in how an organization uses social media. As social media becomes a tool that more business and organizations use to engage their customers and audiences, social media becomes a tool that can influence the perceptions of such organizations. The messages that an organization chooses to send out over social media can influence the growth of a company and determine how credible and relevant they are to their viewers. Social media also influences organizations to be aware of their messages and to understand the need to be transparent and credible to their audiences. Social media can also influence companies to have a social media strategy and be more prepared for the constant changes and evolution of technology and social media.
Throughout my use of social media, I have learned to use social media in the workplace. One of my duties is to cover information and relevant stories for our Senior Services Division.
Because my place of employment is a government entity, it is vital for everything I share over social media, to not only be credible but to also come from credible and trustworthy resources. The information shared on the care of older Americans, resources for older Americans, and information directed to an aging population, has to come from sources that our audience can guarantee are credible and true. Many sources used over the years come from other government agencies and sites such as https://www.nih.gov/ the National Institutes of Health, https://www.n4a.org/ the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging, and the https://www.ncoa.org/ The National Council on Aging. A lack of credible messages only hurt and organization and can make an organization less credible to a stakeholder.
Being an effect on social media is not only about being relevant and trustworthy but is also entails understanding how to engage your desired audience. Businesses use social media as a tool to reach a larger audience and advertise and market their products. Social media plays a large role in the current business environment because it helps a business align all their messages in a more cost-effective way while also being more time wise. More importantly, social media allows a business to gain more exposure and build relationships of trust and credibility with their audience. “Social media are marketing into an industry with traditional media advertising and marketing plans designed to reach large audiences (M. Mille, 2013). Beyond offering additional marketing channels, social media are unique because of relationship building” (Lipschultz, 2017, p. 132).
