Social Media and the Changing Nature of Business Communication

Social Media and the Changing Nature of Business Communication --- Technological advances in business communication continue to evolve. Social media has forced past favorites to recreate themselves into new formats while new social media companies penetrated existing markets and businesses. Social media has transformed internal and external business communication, such that it is becoming more democratic, open, and participatory than ever before. All of these changes have been happening at a speed previously unforeseen in business communication. Businesses that have been slow to adapt are finding that their business practices are quickly becoming inefficient and outdated. This course will teach students about the rapidly changing landscape in social media to enable them to adapt to contemporary business communication challenges. The course will be broken down into three parts. The first part of the course will provide students with the background necessary to understand the key concepts covered in the course. This background section will first provide students with a historical perspective of technological changes relevant to business communication. In addition, students will be provided with an overview of key business communication principles. The second part of the course will provide an overview of the contemporary digital communication channels that are currently being used by corporations. In addition to examining current usage trends, each channel will be examined in terms of its strengths and potential pitfalls. Furthermore, students will be instructed on how to select the most appropriate message structure, delivery strategy, and argument support for the channel. The third part of the course will review the "new rules" of business in the era of social media and their implications for business communication. This section also covers how to organize and display ideas in forms (e.g., images, videos, and infographics) most effective on social media.