The marketing and brand management software company Brandworkz has today launched an internal Social Collaboration module as part of the Brandworkz platform.
Comprising an internal Blog feature and Who’s Who listing of teams within a company, the Social Collaboration module enables marketers to build an online community within their company, align internal teams, share information and create a valuable knowledge base.
The launch of the Social Collaboration module is significant because the feature makes it easier for everyone within a company to communicate a common goal or set of values externally. Consumers are increasingly turning to social media recommendations to choose the products they buy, rather than that product’s marketing communications.
Therefore it is important that everybody in a company is able to understand and communicate a unified external message and consistent experience of the brand, whatever the department. A misaligned company or brand will be exposed quickly in social media, potentially affecting sales.
The Blog feature of the Social Collaboration module acts as a central knowledge and content sharing vehicle, communicating facts and stories company-wide and educating employees to communicate brand values and messages better.
It becomes a collective repository of information and removes the common over reliance on one or two people in the marketing team to answer all brand-related questions.
The Blog sits within the Brandworkz brand asset management platform and is accessed through the site navigation. The look and feel is in keeping with a modern app and different styling options or multiple distinct blogs can be set up.
Users can contribute content, insert images, comment and reply. In addition, they can subscribe to either the whole Blog or just individual posts, receiving them by email, or viewing directly in the platform when they log in. The Blog is permissions based, therefore it is possible to restrict who can submit content and what certain user groups can see.
Posts can be categorised and tagged for better search and, because the Blog is integrated with the Brandworkz digital asset management system, images can be automatically resized and inserted in a post in the correct format. Posts can be cross-linked to any other section or module within Brandworkz.
The Blog feature is integrated with the Brandworkz Workflow system so posts and comments can be approved by management before being made available for users to see. There is an option for permanent archiving of old posts and comments, a typical requirement for financial service companies.
The Who’s Who feature lists users and brand champions along with a photograph and biography, and is integrated with Google maps, giving a clear picture of who is responsible for what, where. Relationship building and collaboration between geographically separated teams is easier when people know a little about each other.
Andrew Twitchett, Head of Development says, “We are excited about the launch of our Social Collaboration tool. Its purpose is to make sharing and cooperation within companies easier. The Blog and Who’s Who can help news, information and best practice to be shared faster and more accurately both internally and externally.”
