Social media is now the underlying social structure of our human existence. Yes, we do meet up in person from time to time, but let’s be honest, most of our interactions with others happen digitally.
There are some interesting trends surrounding how we behave on social media.
Here are a few statistics to consider:
- 56% of Facebook fans say they’re more likely to recommend a brand to a friend after becoming a fan (Social Media Quickstarter, 2011)
- 76% of Twitter users now actively tweet (as opposed to just “following” users) compared to 47% in 2010 (Convince and Convert, 2013)
- 45% of Facebook users’ time is spent in the newsfeed (Social Media Quickstarter, 2011)
We are a people highly influenced by the voice of our peers. This fact is only inflated by our behavior on social media. Due to the constant posting and interactions that take place online, we find ourselves in a highly interactive environment. If a close friend posts an article link or photo, it’s sometimes only a matter of minutes before all their friends are notified of it.
This trend in social media invokes the main lesson learned from the social learning theory: the most effective learning takes place in a highly social context. HR managers and other management officers can capitalize on this by incorporating social media into their training mix. Social media can be mixed with training by creating an interactive element to training modules. This allows employees to participate in trainings in an online environment they are already familiar with.
A 2013 study by Bersin by Deloitte shows that large businesses tripled their spending on social media learning training modules (Bersin, 2013). The study goes on to speak about the increased development of “blended trainings” that feature internal blogs and social networks.
Businesses would do well to adapt their traditional training programs into the “blended” social media-inspired trainings employees want to see.