What is Social Networking?
Social networking creates online communities that let people interact, share ideas, and build relationships — both personal and professional — regardless of where they are in the world.
Social Networking
An online community that eliminates barriers of time, distance, and cultural differences. Members share opinions, insights, information, interests, and experiences with people they know — or want to know.
Staying Connected
Members interact with friends, family, and colleagues they already know. Social media keeps relationships alive across distances and time zones instantly.
Building New Relationships
Beyond existing contacts, social media lets people develop new professional and personal networks — opening doors to careers, collaborations, and communities worldwide.
How It's Used
Social media plays a major role in three core areas studied in this chapter:
Social Media in the Hiring Process
Social media has fundamentally changed recruitment. Your online presence is your resume — whether you manage it or not.
of recruiters use LinkedIn — #1 platform for finding skilled candidates
use Facebook — a distant second for background checks and candidate research
use Twitter/X — third place, used to gauge personality and professional voice
✅ What Helps You Get Hired
- Relevant volunteer work or community involvement
- Professional portfolio, projects, and publications
- Verified qualifications and credentials
- Positive endorsements from colleagues
- Consistent, professional personal brand
❌ What Gets You Rejected
- Information about drinking or drug use
- Provocative or inappropriate photos
- Discriminatory remarks (race, gender, religion)
- Confidential information from previous employer
- Complaints about former colleagues or managers
📢 Publicizing Job Openings
Employers post job listings on social media platforms to reach a wider, more targeted pool of candidates than traditional job boards alone. LinkedIn dominates this space.
🔍 Background Checks
Employers research candidates' profiles to verify qualifications and reveal character. They may find race, age, medical/family issues — information that raises both legal and ethical concerns about discrimination.
When employers use social media for background checks, they may unintentionally access information about protected characteristics (race, religion, age, health). Using this info in hiring decisions can constitute illegal discrimination. This is one of the biggest ethical tensions in social media and employment.
Social Media in Organizations — Pros & Cons
Social media gives organizations powerful communication and marketing abilities — but opens new doors to fraud, productivity loss, and legal liability at the same time.
✅ Pros for Organizations
- Facilitates open communication and information sharing across teams
- Employees can discuss ideas, post news, ask questions, share links
- Widens business contacts and professional networks
- Effective and wide-reach recruitment tool
- Improves reputation and client base with minimal ad spend
- Supports marketing campaigns and market research
- Directs traffic to company websites
❌ Cons for Organizations
- Opens door for hackers, fraud, spam, and virus attacks
- Increases risk of online scams leading to identity or data theft
- Employees may post negative comments about the company
- Legal liability if employees view objectionable or illicit material
- Lost productivity from employees updating profiles during work hours
Social Networking Use Policy at Work
Employers have the right to ban non-work internet use — but this often backfires. The smarter approach is a comprehensive, well-defined policy that sets clear boundaries while educating employees on risks.
| Policy Element | What It Does | Why It Matters |
|---|---|---|
| 📖 Clear Definition | Defines what "social networking" means in your organization's specific context | Prevents ambiguity — employees know exactly what rules apply to what |
| 🎯 Defined Purpose | States why the policy exists and what it aims to prevent | Gives employees a reason to follow it, not just a rule to resent |
| 📢 Communicates Benefits | Explains what employees gain from both using social media responsibly and having a policy | Builds buy-in and reduces resistance |
| 🎓 Employee Education | Teaches staff how a single click on a malicious link can infect the entire network | Most employees don't realize their actions can have company-wide consequences |
| ⚠️ Security Awareness | Advises against clicking suspicious links and warns about sharing personal info online | Having an online profile ≠ having security awareness. These must be taught separately. |
Employees may not be aware of how their actions online can compromise company security. Just because someone has an active social media presence does NOT mean they understand the security risks. Education is essential.
Role of Social Media in Digital Marketing
See target · Respond instantly · More sales · It's free · Brand recognition · Brand loyalty · Customer insights — the 7 core benefits of social media marketing.
Know Your Target
See your audience up close and personal — their interests, demographics, and behaviors.
Instant Response
Respond to customer problems or crises in real time — before they escalate.
More Sales
Increased visibility drives traffic directly to purchase pages and converts followers to buyers.
Free to Use
Posting, sharing, and engaging on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram costs nothing. The lowest-barrier marketing tool available.
Brand Recognition
More people sharing = more people knowing your brand. Social signals boost SEO rankings too.
Brand Loyalty
Ongoing engagement builds a loyal follower base that advocates for your brand organically.
Customer Insights
Direct feedback, comments, and reactions give businesses real data on what customers actually think.
Connectivity
Stay permanently connected to customers as their preferences, lifestyles, and needs evolve over time.
Better Customer Service
Social media lets businesses respond to complaints and questions almost instantly — boosting satisfaction and trust.
Facebook Marketing Tools — All 5
Business Page · Ads (Classic/Marketplace) · Promoted Posts · Sponsored Stories · Exchange (FBX)
📄 Facebook Business Page
A free marketing tool. Businesses list services, share links and images, post updates, and shape their brand personality. The foundation of any Facebook marketing strategy.
📢 Classic Ads (Marketplace Ads)
Paid ads appearing in the side columns of Facebook. Include a headline, copy, image, and click-through link to a page, app, or external website.
📌 Promoted Posts
Pay a flat rate to boost a specific post's reach — guaranteeing it's seen by a defined number of users beyond your organic followers. Good for announcements, sales, or events.
👥 Sponsored Stories
Shows a user's interactions (likes, claims) to their friends as an ad. Capitalizes on word-of-mouth marketing — "3 of your friends like this brand" is more persuasive than any direct ad.
🔁 Facebook Exchange (FBX)
Ad retargeting via real-time bidding. If a user browsed a product elsewhere, they see an ad for it on Facebook. News feed ads via FBX get 10–50× higher response rates than column ads.
Brand Promotion — Benefits vs. Drawbacks
✅ Benefits of Promoting Your Brand
- Social Signals — shares and likes boost SEO rankings directly
- Brand Awareness — people recommend your brand to their circles
- Word of Mouth — higher trust than company-generated content
- Customer Insights — real-time feedback on what people think
- Better Service — respond to complaints almost instantly
- Cost Efficient — free to post; minimal budget needed
- Connectivity — stay aligned with shifting customer preferences
- Increased Sales — social traffic converts to actual purchases
❌ Drawbacks of Promoting Your Brand
- Competitor Exposure — your strategy is visible to rivals too
- Needs Qualified Staff — requires dedicated, skilled social media personnel
- Brand Damage — one negative viral post can tarnish your reputation fast
- Time Consuming — requires consistent, high-quality content to maintain engagement
📈 Social Signals & SEO
Every time someone shares, likes, or recommends your content, search engines interpret this as a signal that your site is relevant and trustworthy — boosting your position in search results. More social activity = better SEO.
💬 Word of Mouth Power
Consumer-generated recommendations carry higher trust than brand advertising. When real people share their positive experiences, their followers are far more likely to convert than from seeing a paid ad.
Tips for Safer Social Networking
Most social media security incidents happen because of carelessness — clicking unknown links, oversharing personal info, and trusting too easily. Awareness is your best defense.
Use a strong, unique password for every platform
Never reuse passwords across sites. Never use your eID or banking password on social media. One breach shouldn't cascade into all your accounts.
Share as little personal info as possible
Avoid posting your birthdate, home address, phone number, or daily routine. This data is gold for identity thieves and social engineers.
Understand and customize your privacy settings
Don't leave settings on defaults. Review who can see your posts, profile, and contact info on every platform you use.
Block 3rd party app access to your data
Quizzes, games, and third-party apps often request access to your profile. This data is frequently sold or misused. Deny access whenever possible.
Be very careful what you post
Never post: inappropriate photos, controversial opinions, negative remarks about employers/colleagues, or anything your future employer would be uncomfortable seeing. The internet is permanent.
Never post employer-related content without authorization
Sharing internal information, company news, or work-related content without permission can violate confidentiality agreements and cost you your job.
Supervise children's use of social platforms
Children are especially vulnerable to predators, scams, and inappropriate content on social media. Active parental involvement and monitoring is essential.
Be suspicious of friend requests, ads, and chat messages
Random follow/friend requests, enticing ads, and DMs from strangers are common social engineering vectors. Treat them with skepticism.
Minimize careless clicking on ads, videos, and games
Random content is a common malware delivery method. Don't click on ads or videos from unknown sources, and avoid third-party games embedded on social platforms.
Use browser security tools
Enable anti-phishing filters (available in major browsers), install Web of Trust, NoScript, AdBlock Plus, and use bit.ly or TinyURL preview features before visiting shortened links.
Google yourself regularly
Periodically search your own name and scrutinize the results. Know what potential employers and strangers can find about you — then take action to clean up anything harmful.
Think before you click
The most important rule of all. One second of thought before every click can prevent malware, identity theft, phishing, and most other social media security incidents.
Key Terms — Flashcards
Quick Recap — Before Your Exam
🗂 Everything in 12 bullets
- Social networking eliminates barriers of time, distance, and culture — used for hiring, organizational communication, and digital marketing
- 92% of recruiters use social media; LinkedIn (87%) → Facebook (55%) → Twitter (47%)
- Employers use social media to recruit AND conduct background checks — background checks raise ethical/legal discrimination risks
- Things that get you hired: volunteer work, credentials · Things that get you rejected: drug references, inappropriate photos, discriminatory remarks
- Pros in organizations: open communication, recruitment, marketing, reputation · Cons: fraud risk, productivity loss, legal liability
- A total social media ban rarely works — a clear policy with education is more effective
- Having a social media profile ≠ having security awareness. Employees must be trained separately.
- 7 digital marketing benefits: Target · Respond · Sell · Free · Brand · Loyalty · Insight → mnemonic: TRSF-BLI
- 5 Facebook marketing tools: Business Page · Classic Ads · Promoted Posts · Sponsored Stories · FBX → mnemonic: BAPSE
- FBX (retargeting) ads in news feeds get 10–50× higher response than column ads
- Brand drawbacks: competitor exposure, staffing costs, reputation damage, time investment
- 12 safety tips — key ones: unique passwords, minimal personal info, privacy settings, think before you click, Google yourself regularly
HOM — Hiring · Organizations · Marketing (3 applications of
social media)
TRSF-BLI — Target · Respond · Sell · Free · Brand · Loyalty ·
Insights (7 marketing benefits)
BAPSE — Business Page · Ads · Promoted Posts · Sponsored Stories
· Exchange (5 Facebook tools)