A common problem for both large and small organizations is ensuring all processes related to IT run smoothly and remain up to date. While social media is oftentimes thought of as purely a channel for marketing, the truth is that your IT professionals can maximize their impact by leveraging the information found in these networks. Here are just five of the ways: 

1.     Curate Volumes of Information in Record Time

Gone are the days of searching painfully through hundreds of search engine results. Now you can curate exactly the information you want near instantly from the select groups of people from whom you want the information. For an IT professional, this means research done at warp speed using simple yet effective tools like Twitter hashtags or through access to dedicated and highly specialized online communities.

2.     Stay on Top of Today (and Tomorrow’s) Trends

The IT industry is probably one of the fastest moving parts of most organizations. Subscribing to RSS Feeds is one way for professionals to get relevant, timely information delivered directly to their inbox. Regular updates from industry gurus’ Twitter accounts are another great resource.

3.     Broadcast Far and Wide Within the House

In most cases, IT pros come out of the woodwork only when something goes wrong. But with effective use of social media, important updates can be shared instantaneously company-wide. A regular stream of information fed to members of an organization can thwart major calamities in the digital interface such as shutdowns, viral infections or security infringements. Twitter offers short, quick and instant messaging that can be used to connect to each other.

4.     Set Up a Sounding Board for End-Users

Social media provides the perfect platform for a plethora of end-users to voice their concerns, share experiences and more. User-generated content can maximize exposure to IT problems and increase communication between the IT staff and everyone else in a company.

5.     Get Premier Troubleshooting From the Real Pros

Sometimes you encounter system concerns that have no known fix or readily available vendors to resolve the issue. The next best thing is to tap into the myriad network resources that you’ve pegged as your strong network of peers. For your IT professionals, this means access to product information and reviews, IT blogs, forums and a host of other how-to resources.

How has social media helped to impact other parts of your organization, apart from marketing? Let’s talk about it below.