Social Media: Clash between Business and Pleasure

© March Oyinki 2016

The impact of social media on productivity has both negative and positive sides. For some employers, socializing during office hours is a complete taboo. It is seen as a big source of distraction to the workflow process, a complete waste of valuable time and loss of productive man-hour. This position is an extreme case, pitched by some social commentators on the employer’s side of the divide, while on the moderate side; there are companies that have established a social media policy and rolled out guidelines on the use of social media in the workplace.


These companies understand the important role social media plays in the online marketing environment and appreciate the benefits it will bring to the company, by allowing employees to have controlled access and use of social media platforms to tell their stories, promote and engage prospective customers and also to advertise the company’s brands, products and services. Some organizations have even gone further to develop customized social media application for company employees.


By no mean can the importance of social media be down-played, because it has fully become part and parcel of our daily lives. The interactive nature of social media has made it so relevant, especially with mobile phones, that it has become a companion to many, almost providing the same level of companionship as pets, and to others, it is a pre-occupation. For these set of people, life becomes boring and unbearable without interacting on social media. Social media has made informal communication so easy and accessible, particularly with instant messaging Apps, that you just find yourself glued to your screen.



For both cooperate and private users, it is necessary that we understand how to moderate the amount of time that is spent on social media. That is of great importance and even more so, if time spent on social media are official work hours or time that you would have used more productively in your private endeavor. So many persons have lost their jobs on that basis, and relationships have been severed as a result of over-indulgence in social media.


Social media is no longer just for socializing, they now have commercial aspects which can help you generating new stream of income. There are quite a number of social media channels that now provide features that enable users to display and sell products on their Walls or Pages. The Facebook Storefront is a typical example of such channels. Other channels such as Affiliate Marketing Networks, Amazon Resellers, Google Shopping Feeds, eBay Resellers, Google Search Network also provide ecommerce opportunities.


Social media is not only for sharing family experiences, news, videos and music, these new storefront features now allow you to share products and services with your contacts, and to those within networks or groups that you belong. Instead of using that valuable data credit in your mobile device or laptop to upload images and videos that are of no economic value to you, rather, an absolute waste of money and precious time, both to you and the person at the other end who eventually will have to download or view your post.


Most of these ecommerce features come for free, and for those who want to promote their products or services, it cost just a little amount to promote or advertise your storefront. It will definitely pay you better if you divert the energy you spend posting all sorts, and viewing everything under heaven, to begin to advertise those products, services or skills that you have. If by any chance you make any sales and start earning an income, it means you will be able to cover the cost of your data subscription at the least, and pay some other bills while you are still socializing and having a great time with friends and family.
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