Businesses 'must seamlessly integrate social media'

Firms that use IP telephony to enhance their communications network need to integrate social media seamlessly into their operations, it has been claimed.

Tim Gibbon, director at communications consultancy Elemental, said too many firms treat their interaction with sites such as Twitter and Facebook as a separate marketing tool, rather than incorporating it into everything they do.

This is a "knee-jerk" reaction, Mr Gibbon continued, which results in the techniques used not being inclusive in relation to customers and clients.

A unified approach is required, he explained, to ensure communication is consistent across all platforms, although he warned many companies will have to change their collective mindset before they can achieve this.

"There needs to be a shift in the way that brands, media owners, technology providers think and work together otherwise the right conditions won't be present for seamless communications to be created and managed effectively," the expert remarked.