Member Avatar for MktgRob

Over on Linkedin someone has a poll up asking which of 5 obstacles is the greatest in terms of engaging in social networking at the corporate level:

- Cost
- Security
- Executive buy-in
- Administration
- Time wasting

for my part, I answered security but for one of my clients there were three all together, two I have over come (executive buy-in and security) and one that I am dealing with, that being administration. Another that I have found is staff buy-in, as the majority of the staff are software consultants who have busy schedules working with numerous clients simultaneously. I am slowly overcoming this last one but it is a work in progress.

Can anyone else offer input as to the biggest obstacle encountered?

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Two distinct problems are visible in this thread: the organizational blockers that prevent a corporate network from being allowed or provisioned, and the operational work of keeping it useful once it exists. highlights the former; points to the latter. Treat them separately and deliberately: create simple governance and sponsorship up front, then design lightweight workflows that make participation low-friction and outcome-driven.

Practical steps that have worked in multiple enterprise rollouts:

  • Start with a focused pilot tied to one clear business outcome, 3–5 champions, and 8–12 week milestones with 2–3 KPIs (for example: active contributors/week, collaboration instances that complete a task, time saved).
  • Assign a community owner (even a part-time role) to seed content, moderate, and report results. That role dramatically reduces the “dead space” problem.
  • Cut administration overhead with role-based templates, automated onboarding (SSO/LDAP), and simple moderation queues. Use integrations so contribution can happen inside existing tools and calendars.
  • Protect data and trust with a short security checklist (data classification, app approvals, access rules, audit logging) rather than an all-or-nothing ban.
  • Incentivize short, regular participation: micro-tasks, public recognition, and visible business wins rather than vague “engagement” goals.

A pragmatic 30/60/90 rollout keeps effort measurable: launch and baseline (30), optimize content and workflows (60), decide scale or sunset (90). For broader evidence on how social tools reshape work, see McKinsey’s research on enterprise social tools: .

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Member Avatar for InsightsDigital

The Biggest obstacle I would say is: Constant Engagement/Making It Alive. I managed a corporate networking group on Ning and though I have many members, only a handful were active. This contributed to the community not reflecting the true purpose of the group.

Member Avatar for MktgRob

The Biggest obstacle I would say is: Constant Engagement/Making It Alive. I managed a corporate networking group on Ning and though I have many members, only a handful were active. This contributed to the community not reflecting the true purpose of the group.

I would say that yours is more an after-the-fact obstacle. The others are before a social media campaign is established.

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