Social Media: Critical Assessment and Consequences Organizations seeking to be competitive in this digital age ought to conduct regular social media audits so as to identify their weaknesses on the social media front, while at the same time assessing their future social media needs. For purposes of tis discussion, social media will be inclusive of all "internet-based resources that facilitate user participation and user-generated content" (Flynn, 2012). In seeking to assess my organization's current social media presence, I would first perform an internal audit of the company's online presence. This is an exercise that would call for the identification of all the social media profiles the company has. Here, I would be seeking to answer this question -- where exactly is the organization online? It would be wise to start with the big four spots, which include, Google+, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook. I would also want to consider YouTube, Pinterest, Instragram, etc., while taking stock of all accounts that are unofficial -- i.e. those created by spammers or, perhaps, well-meaning employees.

Next, in seeking to assess my organization's current social presence, I would embrace a number of tools. These include, but they are not limited...

Google Analytics is an important tool that would come in handy in the real time tracking of website user activity. This tool would tell me exactly how many people have visited the organization's website, how they were referred to the said website, as well as how long they stayed. The Social Media Monitor, on the other hand, is an important tool that could make it easy for us to compare and contrast the organization's social media presence vis-a-vis that of competitors. It is from an assessment of this nature that I would be to determine or chart the organization's future social media needs. Checking all the social media profiles would help determine whether there is any need for a comprehensive once-over. Utilization of the tools defined above would help in the formulation of an alternative or more effective social media strategy.
Part 2

An organization that does not understand or have in place a social media strategy has no idea of how to harness the full potential of social media. In addition to helping the organization determine what social media is, or is not, a social media strategy defines social media for the organization and outlines its purpose. It could…