Business Communication 2.0: Social Media and Digital Communication

Imagine a fresh approach to equipping students for social media's AI transformation. Here's the stunning revelation: Today, over 80% of companies will use AI in their social media strategies.

But here's what makes this truly remarkable - Chapter 8 of Business Communication Today, 16th Edition, transforms this challenge into an opportunity.

I'm excited to walk you through how this chapter redefines everything we thought we knew about teaching social media. The breakthrough came when we realized students need both AI fluency and human authenticity to succeed.

The real magic happens when students learn to see AI not as a replacement for human creativity, but as a powerful tool to enhance it.

Imagine the possibilities when your students enter the workforce fully equipped for this new era. This isn't just another textbook chapter - it's the missing piece of the puzzle in modern business communication education. Ready to revolutionize how you teach social media?

Order an examination copy of Business Communication Today, 16th Edition, by Bovee and Thill. Unlock our powerful new approach to guiding your students toward career success.

TikTok has emerged as a powerful platform for business communication.​

In the digital age, business communication is undergoing a radical transformation, driven by an unlikely force: internet memes. These bite-sized, shareable pieces of content have evolved from simple jokes to powerful tools for conveying complex ideas, building brand identity, and connecting with audiences in ways traditional methods never could.

In the evolving landscape of communication, AI is no longer a disruptive force, but a collaborative catalyst. 

Lubomir Kozak, CEO of BulkGate discusses business communication challenges and how they can be solved.

Can AI become your personalized productivity partner? Find out here..

Trying out generative AI tools is a great way to understand their upsides, limitations, and benefits."

As the coauthor of the leading textbooks in business communication, I'm often asked to describe the technologies that are significantly influencing business communication today. Here is my list.

Artificial Intelligence: AI-based technologies are revolutionizing business communication through chatbots, natural language processing, voice recognition, and predictive analytics, among others.

Cloud Computing: The cloud allows businesses to share data in real-time, improving collaboration and communication. This boosts productivity and makes it easier to work together despite different geographical locations.

Internet of Things (IoT): IoT technology, such as wearable devices, sensors, and smart home appliances, enables businesses to collect, analyze, and use data to improve communication and customer engagement.

Video Conferencing: With tools like Zoom, Google Meet, Skype, and Cisco Webex, video conferencing technology has made remote communication with teams, clients, and partners more efficient and productive.

Mobile Technology: With the widespread availability of mobile devices, business communication is becoming more mobile-friendly, facilitating communication on-the-go.

Social Media: Social media channels like LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube are increasingly being used for business communication, networking, and advertising.

Instant Messaging: Instant messaging technologies like WhatsApp, WeChat, and Viber enable real-time messaging, document sharing, and group chats, helping in quick and informal communication among team members and clients.

Collaboration Tools: Modern collaboration tools like Slack, Microsoft Teams, and Trello enable teams to work seamlessly on projects regardless of location, simplifying communication and increasing productivity.

Wearable Technology: Wearable devices like smartwatches and smart eyeglasses are being used in business communication to schedule meetings, set reminders, and receive notifications, among other things.

Unified Communications (UC): This is a technology that integrates different communication tools, such as email, instant messaging, voice, and conferencing, into a single platform.

Autonomous Things (AuT): This refers to a category of advanced robotics and AI-driven systems that can perform tasks and make decisions without human intervention. Autonomous things can have a significant impact on business communication in several ways: by making communication faster and more efficient by automating routine tasks such as answering emails, scheduling meetings, and sorting through documents; by interacting with customers more efficiently, providing immediate assistance and faster response times; and by significantly reducing labor costs by automating tasks previously carried out by humans, freeing up staff to focus on more complex, value-added tasks.

Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR): These are immersive and interactive technologies that allow users to have a more profound and interactive experience, within a virtual or augmented environment.

Gesture-Based Computing: This allows users to interact with devices using hand gestures or body movements to make collaboration easier by enabling more natural and intuitive communication, facilitating remote communication and work, allowing teams to collaborate efficiently from different locations, and improving accessibility for people with disabilities.

Drones: These unmanned aerial vehicles that can be controlled remotely or programmed to fly autonomously to map, inspect, and survey enable businesses to obtain accurate data, improve operations communications, and make informed decisions. Drones can also be used for inventory management, aiding communication in logistics operations and supply chain management, to monitor crop health, weather patterns, and soil, improving communication between farmers and agribusinesses, and to capture aerial footage and photographs, improving real estate marketing communication.

Blockchain: Blockchain technology has the potential to improve communication in supply chain management operations, enabling businesses to track and verify the authenticity of products from origin to delivery.

Voice Recognition: Voice recognition technology is making it possible for users to interact with devices using natural language, improving business communication and making it more intuitive.

Big Data: Big Data analytics technology enables businesses to collect, process, and analyze large volumes of data to make informed business decisions, improving communication for more efficient business operations.

Biometric Authentication: Biometric authentication technology is improving security and authentication for businesses, such as facial recognition technology to access features within video conferencing tools.

5G Networks: The advent of 5G networks is providing faster communication speeds, improving the efficiency of remote communication, and facilitating real-time collaboration.

Modern intranet software refers to the use of internet-based collaborative platforms within an organization to improve internal communication and workflow.

Infographics and Images: Graphic design software such as Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator, Canva, Piktochart, and Infogram makes it easier to create high-quality graphics and design elements, edit and enhance images, develop icons, modify visuals, and create unique layouts for delivering effective messages. Additionally, such software applications often have templates, pre-set designs, and customizable elements, which make it easier for businesses to create high-quality graphics in a time-efficient manner. This software has become increasingly crucial in recent years for businesses, particularly with the rise of social media and visual-based messaging.

Quantum Computing: Although still at its nascent stage, Quantum computing has potential to revolutionize how businesses store, process and analyze data. The computational power delivered by quantum computing can significantly enhance the processing speed required for machine learning, predictive analytics and data simulations that can improve communication and decision-making processes.

WebRTC: WebRTC is a real-time communication technology that allows businesses to communicate directly through web browsers and eliminate the need for third-party communication tools.

These technologies are significantly changing the way businesses approach communication, leading to more efficient, effective, and personalized collaboration and communication within organizations as well as with customers and clients.

Visit my blog at http://blog.businesscommunicationnetwork.com.

Bovee & Thill write the only business communication textbooks that cover artificial intelligence and intelligent technologies.

To teach your students more about artificial intelligence and intelligent technologies, check out Excellence in Business or Business Communication Today at https://lnkd.in/bvxGGmT.

Learn about the latest social media trends dominating in 2023 so you can stay ahead of competitors and showcase your brand where it counts.

You don’t need to be a fortune teller to guess which social media trends are poised to take off in 2023. All you need is data.

Combining performance and consumer preference data creates a vivid picture of the months ahead. 

3D printing is a manufacturing process in which material is laid down, layer by layer, to form a three-dimensional object. 

3D printing has revolutionized many industries. As a result, here are some of the ways 3D printing is impacting business communication:

Faster Prototyping: 3D printing has made it possible for businesses to create rapid prototypes, facilitating communication between designers and engineers to iterate and refine product concepts. It also makes it easier to demonstrate visual representations of products.

Reduced Costs: Traditional manufacturing methods can be costly, but 3D printing allows businesses to manufacture products at a faster and more affordable rate and prototype components without the need for expensive tooling costs.

Customization: 3D printing enables customization and mass personalization of products, leading to unique and tailored customer experiences. By designing parts for a specific end-use, companies can design improved replacement parts within shorter lead times.

Productivity: 3D printing can harness returns in productivity for businesses by printing custom-made tools, optimized fixtures, jigs or parts, reducing lead times, cost, and complexity.

Visual Aids: 3D printing enables businesses to create visual aids to explain concepts and products. By using physical models, individuals can solidify their understanding quickly and can easily grasp the relationships among parts.

Overall, 3D printing has transformed how businesses communicate, making it easier to create prototypes, allowing for customization, and providing simplified visual aids that enhance understanding and communication among team members, suppliers, and customers.

Bovee and Thill are the leading authors in technology coverage in business communication textbooks. To order review copies of their texts, visit https://lnkd.in/bvxGGmT.

The ChatGPT writing tool that is causing a stir in business and academia is more evidence of the pervasive role of technology in modern business communication. These tools have profound ethical, legal, and practical implications for communication professionals.

Bovee and Thill have been tracking the rise of AI and other digital tools for years and continues to lead the market with coverage of disruptive and innovative technologies, from social media listening tools to deepfake videos. In fact, they're the only authors covering artificial intelligence and intelligent communication technologies in the textbooks they write.

To request examination copies of Bovee and Thill's award-winning business communication textbooks (instructors only), visit https://lnkd.in/bvxGGmT.

The article gives you a closer look at different reasons to consider blockchain for business communication and ways to introduce it."

Your students are going to enter a workplace where AI isn't just a buzzword—it's a daily reality. How prepared are your students to leverage AI while maintaining the human touch that business communication demands?

Let me explain something that is quite remarkable: The new edition of Business Communication Today, 16th Edition, by Bovee and Thill, doesn't just acknowledge this challenge—it embraces it.

Chapter 7 seamlessly integrates AI throughout its coverage of digital media, providing your students with both the traditional foundations they need and the cutting-edge tools they'll use tomorrow.

Did you know that many companies are seeing up to 30% improvement in communication efficiency when they properly integrate AI tools with traditional business communication practices?

Now, you might be wondering: "Does this emphasis on AI overshadow the fundamental communication principles?" Absolutely not. The chapter carefully balances innovation with tradition, ensuring students master the timeless skills while gaining confidence with emerging tools.

The end-of-chapter material offers comprehensive learning tools, including knowledge tests, skill-building exercises, and real-world cases. Students strengthen understanding through practice, while instructors gain ready-made assessment options and flexible activities for deepening student engagement.

Your students are heading into a workplace where AI isn't optional—it's essential. Isn't it about time you give your students this competitive advantage?

Chapter 7 of Business Communication Today, 16th Edition, by Bovee and Thill. Order an examination copy today and just imagine the possibilities you and your students can experience with this exciting new edition. Prefer contacting your local Pearson Rep to request examination copies?If so, use this Rep Locator

Optimize your teaching of social media.

.Start a class discussion about social media with the questions above.

Here are ten secrets for posting successfully on social media:

Timing Matters: Posting at the right time of day, day of the week, and season can maximize post visibility, engagement, and interactions from your audience. Do research as to the best time to post.

Consistency: Regular and consistent posting can help establish a brand's image in the digital space, which improves content visibility and may help create a loyal following of your work.

Engaging with Audience: Communicating, interacting, and staying engaged with your audience can prompt conversation, encourage brand loyalty and advocacy, and increase long-term social media success.

Engaging Visuals: Posts with high-quality visuals tend to attract more attention and engagement, leading to more sharing and reaching a new audience.

Hashtags: Using the right hashtags can increase your post views and discoverability, driving engagement and widening your audience.

Be Human and Authentic: People are more likely to engage with an authentic, friendly, and relatable brand or influencer.

Know Your Audience & Expectations: Knowing your audience's needs, preferences, behaviors, and communicating in a way that resonates with them can lead to stronger engagement and better conversion results.

Message length: Concise messaging and clear language can improve the readability and impact of the post.

Experiment and A/B Test: Testing different post types, content and styles can help determine what works best, what drives engagement, and how to adapt in an ever-changing media landscape.

Stay on Top of Trends: Keeping up with trends and incorporating them into social media strategies can attract more viewers and engagement, increasing chances of virality.

Posting successfully on social media requires creativity, effort, and strategic planning. It is essential to understand your target audience, the type of content that resonates with them and consistently produce high-quality content that fits within your target audience's expectations.

Business Communication Today and Excellence in Business Communication offer full coverage of social media. Request examination copies of these texts today!

Here are 16 ways that instant messaging can be used effectively in a business context:

Effectively using instant messaging in a professional capacity can aid clear communication, coordination, and timely decision-making within any workplace context.

Set Guidelines: Establish guidelines for professional behavior, message tone, and other aspects of instant messaging to promote clarity and respect within workplace communication.

Use It for Quick and Casual Communication: Instant messaging can be a good way to send quick, informal messages or to ask simple questions without cluttering up inboxes or being interrupted in person.

Choose the Right App: Depending on the needs of your business, choose an app that offers features like flexible and customizable chat rooms, group settings, integrations, and increased productivity.

Use It for Team Collaboration: Instant messaging can encourage team collaboration, which can be facilitated by creating groups for departments, project teams, or individuals.

Respect Time Zones: When sending messages to colleagues who work in different time zones, make sure to choose your words carefully and provide clear instructions, instead of impeding work efficacy and clarity.

Optimize Status Updates: Use status updates to inform your coworkers of your availability when you will be back online or in the office, or busy with project work, etc.

Use It to Eliminate Barriers: Instant messaging can help break down barriers between staff members and increase inclusivity levels, creating a comfortable environment for communication and collaboration.

Use It for Quick Decision Making: A timely collaboration with instant messaging can lead to faster decision-making, improving communication efficiency and idea generation.

Monitor Its Usage: Monitor the frequency and content of instant messaging conversations and address any issues related to its usage that may hinder communication negatively.

Ensure Security: Instant messaging should be used with security measures in place to avoid any security breaches, keeping potentially sensitive business conversations private.

Check Security Information and Privacy Policy: Before implementing instant messaging for business, it is important to check the security information and privacy policy of the messaging app you are planning to use. This will help you ensure that your business data is safe and secure.

Involve Other Departments: Instant messaging can be used to involve other departments in your business. For example, you can use instant messaging to communicate with your marketing team or sales team.

Check The Source, Process And Reviews: It is important to check the source, process and reviews of the instant messaging app you are planning to use. This will help you ensure that the app is reliable and trustworthy.

Redact Personally Identifiable Information: It is important to redact personally identifiable information (PII) from your instant messages. This will help you ensure that your business data is safe and secure.

Delete Old Conversations: It is important to delete old conversations from your instant messaging app. This will help you ensure that your business data is safe and secure.

Here are 30 major trends in business communication.

Simplification: The trend towards using concise, unambiguous, and straightforward language, avoiding jargon, technicalities, and acronyms to enhance readability.

Personalization: Crafting individualized messages for clients and customers using client information, preferences, and experience data, improving engagement, and customer satisfaction. Personalized emails, targeted advertising, and tailored messaging are all becoming more common.

Storytelling: The use of narratives and emotional appeals to capture attention, create a connection between the audience and the business and engage on a personal level.

Visuals: The integration of visuals, graphics, and images into business communication to enhance understanding, audience engagement, and brand equity.

Inbound Marketing: An integrated approach leveraging a mix of useful and valuable writing, SEO optimization, deep consumer insights, and strategic distribution to attract prospects and convert audience into customers.

Mobile-first Writing: The importance of developing content compatible with mobile platforms, including text size, readability, aesthetics, and responsiveness.

Mobile communication: With the widespread adoption of smartphones and tablets, mobile communication has become a major trend in business communication. Companies are developing mobile apps and optimizing their websites for mobile devices to reach customers on the go.

5G: 5G mobile internet is being adopted for faster and better video communication.

Software Integration: The marriage of writing with AI-based software to evaluate style, structure and content before publication and offer editorial suggestions. This software integration can help to improve writing quality while minimizing the risk of errors before publication.

Globalization: Writing for a global audience that may include different languages, cultures, and norms, and tailoring communication strategies accordingly to improve comprehension, create a sense of inclusivity, and foster international business relationships.

Social Responsibility: Businesses increasingly being more socially responsible in their communication with the focus on reducing the environmental impact, addressing social problems and injustices, and emphasizing the ethical framework that aligns the organization's decision-making processes with their core values.

Tone Control: Crafting writing pieces that establish an appropriate tone and voice based on the audience, context, and objectives by using modalities such as tone detectors, sentiment analysis, and AI-powered natural language processing (NLP) to maximize both precision and emotional accuracy.

Remote work and virtual communication: These are here to stay, thanks to the rise of cloud-based tools and unified communication channels.

Internet of Things (IoT) technology: This is being used for wireless connections and collecting critical data.

Visible light communication technology: This technology is being used for data transmission using LEDs.

Cloud services: These are being used for secure and reliable data storage. 

Social media: Social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram have become an important part of business communication. Companies use social media to connect with customers, promote their brand, and gather feedback.

Data-driven communication: With the rise of big data, businesses are using data analysis to inform their communication strategies. Data can help companies understand their audience better, tailor their messaging, and track the success of their communication efforts.

Collaboration tools: As more people work remotely, collaboration tools have become essential for businesses. Tools like Trello, Asana, and Basecamp help teams work together and stay organized.

Multilingual communication: As businesses expand globally, multilingual communication has become increasingly important. Companies are investing in translation services, hiring multilingual staff, and using technology to translate messages.

Virtual events: With the pandemic, virtual events have become a major trend in business communication. Companies are hosting webinars, virtual conferences, and online networking events to connect with customers and partners.

Chatbots and AI: Chatbots and artificial intelligence (AI) are becoming more common in business communication. Chatbots can help automate customer service and improve response times, while AI can help analyze data and improve communication strategies. Generative AI, also known as generative models, is a branch of artificial intelligence (AI) that focuses on creating new data or information. Unlike other AI models that are trained to find patterns in existing data, generative models utilize various algorithms for analyzing and predicting new data based on probability theory. ChatGPT is an example.

Omnichannel communication: As customers expect seamless communication across multiple channels, businesses are adopting an omnichannel approach. This means integrating communication across email, phone, chat, and social media to provide a consistent customer experience.

Customer feedback: Businesses are increasingly using customer feedback to inform their communication strategies. This can involve gathering feedback through surveys, social media, or other channels, and using the insights to improve messaging and engagement.

Influencer marketing: Influencer marketing has become a popular way for businesses to connect with customers. By partnering with influencers on social media, companies can reach new audiences and build brand awareness.

Remote work: With more people working remotely, businesses are adapting their communication strategies to support remote teams. This can involve using digital tools to stay connected and collaborating effectively across time zones and locations.

Content marketing: Content marketing involves creating valuable content to engage customers and build brand awareness. Businesses are increasingly using blogs, social media, and other channels to share content and connect with customers.

Transparency: Customers are increasingly expecting businesses to be transparent about their communication and practices. This means being open about company policies, sharing information about products and services, and being responsive to customer feedback.

Brand storytelling: Storytelling has become a powerful tool for businesses to connect with customers on an emotional level. By sharing stories about their brand, businesses can build a stronger relationship with customers and differentiate themselves from competitors.

Cybersecurity: With the increasing use of digital communication tools, cybersecurity has become a major concern for businesses. Companies are investing in cybersecurity measures to protect sensitive data and prevent cyber attacks that can compromise communication systems.

These are 30 major trends in business communication that individuals and companies can follow to improve their communication strategies. While some of these trends are not novel, every sector continues to evolve with the advent of new technologies and trends, and it is essential for businesses to stay up to date with the recent trends and leverage them to maintain relevancy and enhance their effectiveness.

Bovee & Thill are the leading authors in the field of business communication. Learn more about their blog and their textbooks.

Here are ten of the most important findings that research has discovered about written business communication:

Email Length: Shorter emails tend to be more effective than longer ones in businesses, which leads to better email response rates and improved workplace efficiency.

Tone and Style: Professional tone, coupled with an individual writing style, establish a company's voice, captivates the reader, and conveys confidence when deploying certain communicative styles.

Audience Awareness: Understanding the target audience, their preferences, and needs helps businesses determine the tone, style, and format for their communication, which can enhance readability, understanding, and engagement from the audience.

Active Voice: Active voice provides clear and concise language, making communication more engaging and memorable.

Politeness and Persuasion: Politeness in written business communication, such as the use of please and thank you, can enhance persuasion, increase the likelihood of positive feedback, and foster improved business relationships.

Visual Appeals: Visuals like graphics, images or tabled data make the content interesting and easier to understand and retain.

Brevity: The use of simple language, bullet points, and emphasis on collaboration saves time, enabling more efficient and effective communication and reduces the chances of miscommunication.

Framing: Strategic and discreet framing techniques can emphasize important information, key points and redirect focus when necessary towards significant goals.

Making a Human Connection: Businesses communicating with their audience in a personalized and friendly tone, uses in-joke, or humor can create a sense of relatability and human connection with your audience resulting in better communication and stronger relationships.

Call-to-Actions: Including clear and effective calls-to-action drives engagement, workflows, and encourages interactions between business and its audience or prospects.

These findings offer businesses insights into how written communication can be used to engage, persuade, and build healthy relationships with their audience and stakeholders.

Comprehending the strategic use of language to persuade and engage customers and partners has become more crucial in the modern business landscape than ever before. By paying attention to important elements like language, tone, structure, audience specificity, and visuals, businesses can have a better chance of creating that level of engagement, driving results, fostering goodwill, and keeping communication lines open.

For further information about the leading textbooks in business communication, visit http://blog.businesscommunicationnetwork.com/texts. 

Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly being used in college classrooms today and is having a significant impact in several interesting ways:

1. Personalized Learning: AI can be used to develop personalized learning algorithms for students, providing tailored instructions and feedback to help students learn at their own pace.

2. Data Analytics and Predictive Modelling: AI and data analytics technologies can analyze large amounts of student data, identifying patterns, and behaviors, that can help predict student performance and needs, improving the overall quality of the academic experience.

3. Intelligent Tutoring Systems: AI can simulate one-on-one tutoring, providing instant feedback, answering student questions, and providing personalized study recommendations.

4. Automated Grading: AI technology can grade assignments, reducing the workload on professors and allowing them to dedicate more attention to instruction, mentoring and promoting research.

5. Better Resource Allocation: AI-informed resource allocation in classrooms is possible, prioritizing equipment and resources to achieve the highest potential for student learning outcomes.

6. Assistance in Research and Data Analysis: AI can assist researchers and students in complex data analysis, leading to new discovery and generating new business insights.

Overall, AI technology has the potential to significantly transform the college classroom, making it more personalized, productive, accessible, and inclusive for everyone involved.

However, the implementation of AI must be approached carefully, in a holistic, comprehensive, and beneficially ethical manner. Instructors and educational stakeholders must also ensure proper guidelines and privacy frameworks are in place to protect student data and privacy while leveraging the potential of AI.

For more details about this topic, see 43 Examples of Artificial Intelligence in Education.

To teach your students about artificial intelligence and intelligent technologies, check out Excellence in Business or Business Communication Today at https://lnkd.in/bvxGGmT.

The newest OpenAI text-generator is a marked improvement over its predecessor – but it still has its pitfalls.

One of the latest technologies to affect business communication is Artificial Intelligence (AI). Here are some of the ways AI is revolutionizing the way businesses communicate:

AI-powered chatbots: Chatbots are being widely adopted by businesses to enable fast and efficient communication with customers, with AI-based natural language processing enabling chatbots to accurately identify and respond to customer queries.

Natural Language Processing (NLP): NLP technology enables computers to understand human language, improving speech recognition for virtual assistants and enabling more accurate translation of written language.

Language Translation: AI-powered language translation services are making it easier for businesses to communicate globally, with translation accuracy improving every year.

Smart virtual assistants: Smart virtual assistants like Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant are using AI to understand and respond to voice commands, allowing users to perform tasks like setting reminders, sending messages, and making phone calls.

Video and audio transcription: AI-powered voice recognition software like Google Speech-to-Text or Amazon Transcribe can accurately transcribe meetings, interviews, and lectures, making it easier for businesses to create written content from spoken words.

Predictive analytics: Predictive analytics powered by AI can help businesses better understand their target audience, and communicate messages that resonate with them, making their communication more effective.

Personalization: AI-powered data analysis is allowing businesses to personalize communication based on user behavior and preferences, leading to more effective and targeted communication.

Overall, AI is constantly evolving and impacting the world of business communication, making it more efficient, accurate, and personalized.

Check out my blog at https://lnkd.in/e-y9ye7.

Bovee & Thill write the only business communication textbooks that cover artificial intelligence and intelligent technologies.

Write order examination copies (instructors only), visit http://blog.businesscommunicationnetwork.com/texts.

This article explains the five major ways business communication is being impacted by artificial intelligence."