Yammer has apps for Android, iOS, Blackberry and Windows Phone, but have you ever heard of it?  If you haven’t already, you soon will.  Snapped up in June by Microsoft for a nice $1.2 billion, this is a corporate-friendly social media website that is growing rapidly in popularity with businesses of all sizes.  But what actually is Yammer and is it any better than Facebook for businesses?  Let’s take a look.

What is Yammer?

The Google Play store describes Yammer as “the best in-class enterprise social network that makes your job easier and more productive”.  It goes on to say that it can bring together your business data, content, conversation and employees into a single location that is convenient for everyone.  As well as communicating with staff members, it is also possible to create an external network on Yammer that allows customers and suppliers to communicate with your business.  By enabling everyone, no matter where they are, to collaborate and share ideas, Yammer certainly sounds promising; especially for small businesses who previously would have had to fork out lots of cash for a similar set up.

Makes Work a Breeze

Yammer can certainly help to make your life easier, especially if you run an online business or a business that is medium to large in size.  Some of the benefits of using this social network are:

• Sharing files is made simple – Instead of sending emails or printing off hard copies, staff members can easily attach a file to a post on their Yammer page.  This will enable recipients that need it to download it efficiently without the need to scroll through emails looking for the correct one.
• Groups – The groups on Yammer are much more effective than on Facebook.  It is possible to create a private group containing specific staff members and then invite other staff members in if required.  Alternatively, you can also leave them open so that everyone within your network can have a say in what you are discussing.
• Photos can easily be shared – Like on Facebook, it is easy to take a photograph of something and share it with the other members of your group.
• Hashtags – You are probably used to using hashtags on Twitter, however on Yammer they have a more specific function.  The main aim of hashtags on Yammer is to search for posts that were made in the history of the company.  So, remember to make them relevant when you add them, or perhaps even come up with some specific tags to use.
• Collaboration – Staff members can easily create pages in which files and documents can be shared.  Admins can decide on whether the documents are official or read only and can also block certain staff members from opening them if required.

Yammer is now used by over 100,000 businesses and this figure is growing, and with Microsoft being behind the social network we can bet that the network is only going to keep on improving.  With a mobile app also available, this is one social network that can keep all staff members updated no matter where they are.