Siemens Facebook strategy and organizational communication

¶ … Company's Head of Corporate Communications

Siemens is a company which is extremely noble in its place in the world and in business. Siemens is a company which really is making the world, a greener, safer and more sustainable place to live and to do business. Siemens is a company which can be of an enormous asset when it comes to empowering other firms to engage in business activities with a higher level of stability and aplomb. Facebook is a powerful tool for Siemens to strengthen relationships with existing partners, meet new partners, and to extend its presence on the web in the exact manner that Siemens chooses.

Positive Feedback

One of the ideal aspects of Siemens' usage of its Facebook page is that it is able to consistently post a few times a day. Many other companies can't even seem to manage that. Establishing a consistent presence on Facebook is half the battle. Another really positive aspect is that many of the company posts are benefit driven and educational. A lot of people don't know the basics of what Siemens does and the Facebook postings help to bridge that gap. This helps the company of Siemens generally seem more accessible and more transparent, two qualities which are ideal. Another beneficial aspect of the current way the Facebook profile is being used is that every time a bit of information is posted; it is always posted with a picture. This is so crucial; posting with photographs cannot be underestimated. Postings with photographs almost always receive significantly more attention than ones which do not have photographs. Furthermore, because so many of the posts have pictures attached to them, it helps clients and potential clients better understand what the company is all about, and how working with Siemens can offer extreme benefit. Finally, nearly all of the posts have a strong synergy with the Sustainability Report. This synergy isn't perfect, and can definitely be improved, but that will be explored later.

Recommendations for Improvement

The strategies which currently make up Siemens' use of its Facebook page are largely very information and benefit driven. This is good: by following Siemens on Facebook, the average client or potential client is constantly receiving more information about the company and is able to reach a higher level of understanding about what the company does and can do. However, the problem is that the bulk of Siemens' posts are just information driven. Siemens has a responsibility to deliver more posts which actively seek to engage their clients. For instance, a particular post would ask a question to their Facebook followers in order to better engage them. For example, such a post might post a picture of a better way for a company to engage in sustainable energy and ask people to openly share their experiences with such a method. Offering up a strong sense of humor is yet another way to build alliances and to draw in more potential clients. This helps to show the humanity behind the company, along with a greater sense of authenticity. For example, Siemens could offer fun or funny facts about the benefits of switching over to more sustainable energy. As long as the reasons listed are funny in a positive manner, it's likely to garner a greater response from the followers. One just needs to be careful that the postings are never self-deprecating, as that will make the company look unprofessional or potentially incompetent. Another way in which these postings could be improved for the better are by being more inspirational: clients like to feel good and they like to feel like what they're doing is inspirited work and changes to make their companies better.